,transcriber's note3 ,text enclosed by underscores is in italics 7italics74 ,small capital text has been replaced with all capitals4 ,minor typographical and punctuation errors have been corrected without note4 ,irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as printed4 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 cover ,riverside ,edition ,,the ,,writings ,,of ,,harriet ,,beecher ,,stowe ,,with ,,biographical ,,introductions ,,portraits1 ,,and ,,other ,,illustrations ,,in ,,sixteen ,,volumes ,,volume ,,xv ,illustration ,the ,writings of ,harriet ,beecher ,stowe ,riverside ,edition ,illustration3 large house ,,houghton1 ,,mifflin ,,co4 ,,religious ,,studies ,,sketches ,,and ,,poems ,,by ,,harriet ,,beecher ,,stowe ,illustration ,,boston ,,and ,,new ,,york ,,houghton1 ,,mifflin ,,and ,,company ,the ,riverside ,press1 ,cambridge #ahif ,copyright1 #ahee1 ,,by ,,phillips1 ,,sampson ,,co4 ,copyright1 #ahfg1 #ahhc1 and #ahie1 ,,by ,,harriet ,,beecher ,,stowe4 ,copyright1 #ahgf1 ,,by ,j4 ,b4 ,,ford ,,co4 ,copyright1 #ahif1 ,,by ,,houghton1 ,,mifflin ,,co4 ,all rights reserved4 ,the ,riverside ,press1 ,cambridge1 ,mass41 ,u4 ,s4 ,a4 ,electrotyped and ,printed by ,h4 ,o4 ,houghton ,co4 ,,contents ,,page ,,introductory ,,note ix ,,religious ,,studies4 ,,footsteps ,,of ,,the ,,master4 ,advent ,i4 ,,christ ,,in ,,the ,,old ,,testament #a ,,ii4 ,,christ ,,in ,,prophecy #aa ,christmas ,,iii4 ,,the ,,cradle ,,of ,,bethlehem #bc ,,iv4 ,,the ,,blessed ,,woman #cj ,v4 ,,the ,,holy ,,childhood #dj ,epiphany ,,vi4 ,,gentile ,,prophecies ,,of ,,christ #dd ,,vii4 ,,the ,,hidden ,,years ,,of ,,christ #eb ,lent ,,viii4 ,,the ,,prayer-,,life ,,of ,,jesus #eg ,,ix4 ,,the ,,temptations ,,of ,,jesus #fb ,x4 ,,our ,,lord',s ,,bible #ff ,,xi4 ,,christ',s ,,first ,,sermon #ga ,,xii4 ,,the ,,friendships ,,of ,,jesus #ge ,,xiii4 ,,christ',s ,,unworldly ,,methods #hc ,,xiv4 ,,christ ,,and ,,the ,,fallen ,,woman #hg ,,xv4 ,,the ,,revealer ,,of ,,god',s ,,sympathy #id ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,attractiveness ,,of ,,jesus #ajh ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,tolerance ,,of ,,jesus #aag ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,silence ,,of ,,jesus #aba ,,xix4 ,,the ,,secret ,,of ,,peace #abe ,,xx4 ,,the ,,church ,,of ,,the ,,master #acj ,,xxi4 ,,judas #adc ,passion ,week ,,xxii4 ,,going ,,up ,,to ,,jerusalem #aej ,,xxiii4 ,,the ,,barren ,,fig-,,tree #aee ,,xxiv4 ,,caiaphas #aei ,,xxv4 ,,the ,,joy ,,of ,,christ #afb ,,xxvi4 ,,gethsemane #afe ,,xxvii4 ,,the ,,last ,,words ,,of ,,jesus #agj ,,xxviii4 ,,the ,,darkest ,,hour #agd ,easter ,,xxix4 ,,the ,,resurrection ,,of ,,jesus #agg ,ascension ,,xxx4 ,,the ,,ascension ,,of ,,our ,,lord #ahc ,,xxxi4 ,,the ,,holy ,,spirit #ahd ,,xxxii4 ,,christ',s ,,second ,,life1 ,,in ,,his ,,followers #ahf ,,earthly ,,care ,a ,,heavenly ,,discipline #aid ,,the ,,ministration ,,of ,,our ,,departed ,,friends #bjb ,,religious ,,sketches4 ,,children #bjh ,,the ,,old ,,oak ,,of ,,andover #bab ,,the ,,elder',s ,,feast3 ,a ,,tradition ,,of ,,laodicea #bag ,a ,,scene ,,in ,,jerusalem #bbf ,,the ,,old ,,meeting-,,house #bcd ,,little ,,edward #bdc ,,conversation ,,on ,,conversation #bej ,,how ,,do ,,we ,,know #beh ,,how ,,to ,,make ,,friends ,,with ,,mammon #bfc ,,the ,,sabbath #bgc ,,religious ,,poems4 ,,st4 ,,catherine ,,borne ,,by ,,angels #cja ,,the ,,charmer #cjd ,,knocking #cjf ,,the ,,old ,,psalm ,,tune #cji ,,the ,,other ,,world #cab ,,mary ,,at ,,the ,,cross #cad ,,the ,,inner ,,voice #cag ,,abide ,,in ,,me1 ,,and ,i ,,in ,,you #cai ,,the ,,secret #cba ,,think ,,not ,,all ,,is ,,over #cbb ,,lines ,,to ,,the ,,memory ,,of ,,annie #cbc ,,the ,,crocus #cbe ,,consolation #cbg ,,only ,a ,,year #cbi ,,below #cca ,,above #ccb ,,lines ,,suggested ,,by ,,the ,,death ,,of ,,the ,,wife ,,of ,,moses ,,stuart #ccd ,,summer ,,studies #ccg ,,the ,,shepherds' ,,carol #cdj ,,hours ,,of ,,the ,,night2 ,,or1 ,,watches ,,of ,,sorrow4 ,i4 ,,midnight #cdb ,,ii4 ,,first ,,hour #cdd ,,iii4 ,,second ,,hour #cdf ,,iv4 ,,third ,,hour #cdh ,v4 ,,fourth ,,hour #cej ,,vi4 ,,day ,,dawn #ced ,,vii4 ,,when ,i ,,awake ,i ,,am ,,still ,,with ,,thee #cef ,,pressed ,,flowers ,,from ,,italy4 ,a ,,day ,,in ,,the ,,pamfili ,,doria #ceh ,,the ,,gardens ,,of ,,the ,,vatican #cfb ,,st4 ,,peter',s ,,church #cfc ,,the ,,miserere #cfd ,the frontispiece portrait of ,mrs4 ,stowe is from a photograph taken in #ahfb4 ,the vignette 7,mrs4 ,stowe's home at ,andover1 ,mass47 is from a painting in #ahfj by ,f4 ,roundel4 ,,introductory ,,note4 ,no one can read ,mrs4 ,stowe's writings as a whole without perceiving how constant is the appeal to the religious sensibilities4 ,her greatest book1 which took captive the humblest reader and such a genius in literature as ,george ,sand1 was in a marked degree a religious book2 and again and again1 even in playful scenes1 there is a quick passage to the religious nature4 ,the explanation is in the simple fact that ,mrs4 ,stowe herself from early girlhood to her latest years was governed by religion1 and it is not surprising1 therefore1 that an entire volume should be gathered from her writings exclusively given over to direct expression of religious feeling and thought4 ,she would gladly1 especially in her later life1 have confined herself to writing of this sort1 for the realities of faith1 especially the presence of the ,divine ,master1 came to have a commanding power over her mind and heart1 and to make her almost impatient of much concern about adventures of the ordinary sort4 ,even the reminiscence of the racy life of the ,new ,england of her childhood could not absorb her4 ,i would much rather1 she writes in #ahgf to her son ,charles1 have written another such a book as ,footsteps of the ,master1 but all1 even the religious papers1 are gone mad on serials4 ,the book which she was then writing was ,poganuc ,people1 and the reader knows what a thread of religious experience runs through that lively narrative4 ,footsteps of the ,master was published in #ahgg4 ,in its original form1 each section contained interludes of verse1 sometimes her own1 more frequently hymns and poems from well-known sources4 ,there were also scriptural passages illustrative of the great divisions1 and the book was set forth thus as a devotional companion4 ,in reissuing it in this volume1 the poems by the author have been preserved in the section given to her ,religious ,poems2 the others and the illustrative scriptural passages have been omitted and ,mrs4 ,stowe's ,meditations preserved in their continuous form4 ,the word ,to the ,reader1 prefixed to the volume1 is as follows3-- ,when a city is closely besieged and many of its outworks destroyed1 the defenders retreat to the citadel4 ,in our day there is warm fighting about the outworks of ,christianity4 ,many things are battered down that used to be thought indispensable to its defense4 ,it is time to retreat to the citadel2 and that citadel is ,,christ4 ,the old medival symbol shown above#a is still more than ever good for our day4 ,jesus ,christ of ,nazareth is still our ,king1 our ,light1 our ,law1 our ,leader4 ,these names comprise all that a human being needs in this transitory1 perplexing and dangerous pilgrimage of life4 #a ,the familiar combination of ,rex4 ,lux1 ,lex1 ,dux4 ,we are born to suffer4 ,the very conditions of our mortal existence here imply suffering of the most terrible kind as a possibility1 a probability1 or a certainty4 ,we have affections absorbing our whole being which are hourly menaced by danger and by death--at any moment our sweetest joys may become sources only of bitterest remembrance4 ,we are born to perplexity4 ,we stand amid the jar and conflict of a thousand natural laws1 to us inexplicable1 and which every hour threaten us in ourselves or those dearer than ourselves4 ,we stand often in no less perplexity of moral law in ways where the path of duty and right is darkened and beset4 ,we are born to die4 ,at the end of every possible road of life lies the dark ,river--the unknown future4 ,if we cling to life1 it is only to see it wither gradually in our hands1 to see friends dropping from our side1 places vacant at our fireside1 infirmities and pains gathering about us1 and a new generation with their impetuous energies rising around us to say1 ,why do you wait here8 ,why are you not gone8 ,and the ,hereafter8 ,what is it8 ,who will go with us into that future where no friend1 however dear1 can accompany the soul8 ,what hand of power and love will take ours in the last darkness1 when we have let go all others8 ,the dear old book which we call the ,bible gives our answer to all this4 ,it tells us of a ,being so one with the great ,author of nature and ,source of all power that whoso hath seen him hath seen the ,creator4 ,it tells us that all things that we behold in our material world were made by him and for him3 that it pleased the ,father that in him should all fullness dwell1 and that to him all things in heaven and on earth are made subject4 ,it shows him to us from the beginning of time as constantly absorbed in the care and education of this world of ours4 ,he has been the ,desire of all nations--predicted1 waited for1 come at last6 ,and when he came and lived a mortal life what did he show the divine nature to be8 ,it may all be told in one word3--,,love4 ,love1 unconquered1 unconquerable by human sin and waywardness4 ,love1 sympathetic with the inevitable sorrows of human existence4 ,love1 expressed in every form by which a ,god could express love4 ,his touch was healing2 the very hem of his garment had restoring virtue4 ,he lived and loved as we live and love1 only on a higher ideal1--he gave to every human affection a more complete interpretation1 a more perfect fullness4 ,and finally1 as the highest revelation of ,love1 he died for us1 and in anguish and blood and dying pains still loved1 still prayed for us1 the ungrateful race of man4 ,he passed through the night of death that he might learn not to fear it1 and came forth radiant and immortal to tell us that we shall never die4 ,by a refinement of infinite mercy1 the law of our lives is written not in hard statutes but in the life of this tender and sympathetic friend4 ,christ is our law4 ,we learn courage1 patience1 fortitude1 forgiving love from him4 ,the lesson impossible in statute is made easy by sympathy4 ,but lest the very brightness of the ideal fill us with despair we have his promise1 ,lo1 ,i am with you alway to the end of the world6 ,i will not leave you comfortless4 ,i will come to you4 ,jesus1 as an inseparable soul-friend--a consoler1 a teacher1 an enlightener--dwells on earth now in a higher sense than when he walked the hills of ,palestine4 ,forever more beside us on our way1 ,the unseen ,christ doth move1 ,that we may lean upon his arm and say1 ',dost thou1 dear ,lord1 approve8' ,to that great multitude whom no man can number1 who are living the hidden life of faith1 these studies into the life of our ,master are dedicated4 ,they have been arranged in the order of the seasons of the ,christian year1 with the hope of aiding the efforts of those who wish at these sacred seasons to bring our ,lord more clearly to mind4 ,we hear much of modern skepticism4 ,there is1 perhaps1 no more in the world now than there has always been1 only its forms are changed4 ,its answer lies not in argument1 but in the lives of ,christ's followers4 ,it was ,christians who lived like ,christ that won the first battle for ,christianity1 and it must be ,christians who live like ,christ that shall win the last4 ,the life of faith in the ,son of ,god1 when fully lived out1 always has been and always will be a victorious argument4 ,but to live this our faith must be firm4 ,we cannot meet a skeptical world with weak faith4 ,if we would draw our friend out of a swift-rushing current1 our own feet must not stand on slippery places4 ,we must seek faith in looking to ,him who has the giving of it4 ,we must keep ,him before our minds1 and come so near ,him in daily prayer that we can say3 ,that which we have seen with our eyes1 which we have looked upon and our hands have handled1 of the ,word of ,life1 declare we unto you4 ,and even to those who have no conscious belief in ,christ1 his name can never be a matter of indifference4 ,whether they believe it or not1 ,christ stands to them in a peculiar relation that no other being holds4 ,he is their best ,friend1 the ,shepherd that is seeking them1 the generous ,saviour and ,giver that is longing to save them from all that they fear and to give exceeding abundantly beyond all they can ask or think4 ,the other ,studies and the ,religious ,sketches which follow are drawn from the early ,mayflower and intimate how instinctively in the beginning of her career as a writer ,mrs4 ,stowe turned her mind in this direction4 ,her poems appeared at irregular intervals and were gathered into a volume by themselves in #ahfg4 ,the collection then issued is here slightly enlarged by the inclusion of one or two estrays4 ,,religious ,,studies ,,footsteps ,,of ,,the ,,master ,i ,,christ ,,in ,,the ,,old ,,testament ,the ,lamb slain from the foundation of the world4 ,our ,lord asserts nothing more frequently than that he came to this world1 not as other men come1 but as a voluntary exile from a higher and purer life4 ,he said in public1 speaking to the ,jews1 ,i came down from heaven1 not to do my own will1 but the will of him that sent me4 ,when the ,jews tauntingly said to him1 ,thou art not yet fifty years old1 and hast thou seen ,abraham8 he answered1 ,before ,abraham was1 ,i ,,am4 ,in fact1 while he walked as a brother among men1 there were constant and mysterious flashes from the life of a higher sphere4 ,jesus moved about in our life as a sympathetic foreigner who ever and anon in moments of high excitement breaks out into his native language4 ,so ,christ at times rose into the language of heaven1 and spoke for a moment1 unconsciously as it were1 in the style of a higher world4 ,he did not say1 ,before ,abraham was1 ,i was1 but ,i ,,am1 using the same form which in the ,old ,testament is used by ,jehovah when he declares his name to ,moses1 ,i ,,am that ,i am4 ,so1 too1 when conversing with ,nicodemus1 our ,lord asserts that he is the only person competent to bear testimony to heavenly things1 because he came from heaven4 ,he says1 ,no man hath ascended into heaven but he that came down from heaven1 even the ,son of man which is in heaven4 ,this last is one of those changes into the language of a higher world which so often awed and perplexed those who talked with ,jesus4 ,it would seem that he had the power by moments to breathe aside the veil which separates from the higher state1 and to be in heaven4 ,such a moment was this1 when he was declaring to an honest-minded1 thoughtful inquirer the higher truths of the spiritual life1 and asserting his right to know about heavenly things1 because he came down from heaven--yea1 because for the moment he was in heaven4 ,but in the last hours of his life1 when he felt the scenes of his humiliations and sufferings approaching1 he declared this truth1 so often shadowed and intimated1 with explicit plainness4 ,he said1 ,i came forth from the ,father1 and am come into the world4 ,again1 ,i leave the world1 and go to the ,father4 ,this was stating the truth as plainly as human words can do it1 and the disciples at last understood him fully4 ,lo6 now speakest thou plainly1 and speakest no proverb4 ,and in that affecting prayer that followed our ,lord breathes the language of an exile longing to return to the home of his love3 ,and now1 ,o ,father6 glorify me with thine own self--with the glory that ,i had with thee before the world was4 ,it is then most plain on the face of the ,new ,testament that our ,lord had a history before he came to this world4 ,he was a living power4 ,he was1 as he says1 in glory with the ,father before the world was4 ,are there any traces of this mysterious ,word1 this divine ,son1 this ,revealer of ,god in the ,old ,testament8 ,it has been the approved sentiment of sound theologians that in the ,old ,testament every visible appearance of an ,angel or divine ,man to whom the name of ,jehovah is given is a pre-appearance of the ,redeemer1 ,jesus4 ,it is a most interesting study to pursue this idea through the ,old ,testament history1 as is fully done by ,president ,edwards in his ,history of ,redemption and by ,dr4 ,watts in his ,true ,glory of ,christ4 ,in ,milton's ,paradise ,lost he represents the ,son of ,god as being the ,lord ,god who walked in the ,garden of ,eden after the trespass of our first parents1 and dwells on the tenderness of the idea that it was in the cool of the day1-- when from wrath more cool ,came the mild ,judge and ,intercessor both4 ,this sentiment of the church has arisen from the plain declaration in the first chapter of ,john1 where it is plainly asserted that no man hath seen ,god at any time1 but the only begotten ,son1 which is in the bosom of the ,father1 he hath declared him4 ,the ,old ,testament records to which our ,lord constantly appealed were full of instances in which a being called ,jehovah1 and spoken of as ,god1--the ,almighty ,god1--had appeared to men1 and the inference is plain that all these were pre-appearances of ,christ4 ,it is an interesting study for the sacred season of ,advent to trace those pre-appearances of our ,lord and ,saviour in the advancing history of our race4 ,a series of readings of this sort would be a fit preparation for the triumphs of ,christmas1 when he1 the long-desired1 was at last given visible to man4 ,we shall follow a few of these early appearances of the ,saviour1 in the hope that some pious hearts may be led to see those traces of his sacred footsteps1 which brighten the rugged ways of the ,old ,testament history4 ,in the eighteenth chapter of ,genesis we have an account of a long interview of ,abraham with a being in human form1 whom he addresses as ,jehovah1 the ,judge of all the earth4 ,we hear him plead with him in words like these2-- ,behold now1 ,i have taken on me to speak unto ,jehovah1 which am but dust and ashes 444 that be far from thee to do after this manner1 to slay the righteous with the wicked3 and that the righteous should be as the wicked4 ,shall not the ,judge of all the earth do right8 ,what a divine reticence and composure it was1 on the part of our ,lord1 when afterwards he came to earth and the scoffing ,jews said to him1 ,thou art not yet fifty years old1 and hast thou seen ,abraham8 ,he did not tell them how their father ,abraham had been a suppliant at his feet ages ago1 yet he must have thought of it as they thus taunted him4 ,again we read in ,genesis xxviii41 when ,jacob left his father's house and lay down1 a lonely traveler1 in the fields with a stone for his pillow1 the pitying ,jesus appeared to him3-- ,he dreamed1 and behold a ladder set up on the earth1 and the top of it reached unto heaven2 and behold the angels of ,god ascending and descending upon it4 ,and behold1 ,jehovah stood above it1 and said1 ,i am ,jehovah1 ,god of ,abraham1 thy father4 ,as afterwards ,jesus1 at the well of ,samaria1 chose to disclose his ,messiahship to the vain1 light-minded1 guilty ,samaritan woman1 and call her to be a messenger of his good to her townsmen1 so now he chose ,jacob--of whom the worst we know is that he had yielded to an unworthy plot for deceiving his father--he chose him to be the father of a powerful nation4 ,afterward our ,lord alludes to this vision in one of his first conversations with ,nathaniel1 as given by ,st4 ,john3-- ,jesus said unto him1 ,because ,i said unto thee1 ,i saw thee under the fig-tree1 believest thou8 thou shalt see greater things than these1 ,verily ,i say unto you1 hereafter ye shall see heaven open and the angels of ,god ascending and descending upon the ,son of man4 ,this same divine ,patron and ,presence watches over the friendless ,jacob until he becomes rich and powerful1 the father of a numerous tribe4 ,he is returning with his whole caravan to his native land4 ,but the consequence of his former sin meets him on the way4 ,esau1 the brother whom he deceived and overreached1 is a powerful prince1 and comes to meet him with a band of men4 ,then ,jacob was afraid and distressed1 and applies at once to his heavenly ,helper4 ,i am not worthy1 he says1 of all the mercy and all the truth which thou hast shown to thy servant1 for with my staff ,i passed over this ,jordan and now ,i am become two bands4 ,deliver me1 ,i pray thee1 from the hand of my brother ,esau1 for ,i fear him1 lest he come and smite me and the mother with the children4 ,such things were common in those days--they were possible and too probable--and what father would not pray as ,jacob prayed8 ,then follows a passage of singular and thrilling character4 ,a mysterious stranger comes to him1 dimly seen in the shadows of the coming dawn4 ,is it that human ,friend--that divine ,jehovah8 ,trembling and hoping he strives to detain him1 but the stranger seeks to flee from him4 ,made desperate by the agony of fear and entreaty1 he throws his arms around him and seeks to hold him4 ,the story is told briefly thus3-- ,and ,jacob was left alone4 ,and there wrestled ,a ,,man with him until the breaking of day4 ,and when he saw that he prevailed not he touched the hollow of his thigh1 and the hollow of ,jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him4 ,and the man said1 ,let me go1 for the day breaketh2 and he said1 ,i will not let thee go except thou bless me4 ,and he said1 ,what is thy name8 and he said1 ,jacob4 ,and he said1 ,thy name shall be called no more ,jacob1 but ,israel3 for as a prince thou hast power with ,god and with men1 and hast prevailed4 ,and ,jacob said1 ,i beseech thee tell me thy name4 ,and he said1 ,wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name8 ,and he blessed him there4 ,how like is this mysterious stranger to the ,one in the ,new ,testament history who after the resurrection joined the two sorrowful disciples on the way to ,emmaus4 ,there is the same mystery1 the same reserve in giving himself fully to the trembling human beings who clung to him4 ,so when the disciples came to their abode he made as though he would go farther1 and they constrained him and he went in4 ,as he breaks the bread they know him1 and immediately he vanishes out of their sight4 ,in his dying hour 7,gen4 xlviii47 the patriarch ,jacob1 after an earthly pilgrimage of a hundred and forty-seven years1 recalls these blessed visions of his ,god3-- ,and ,jacob said to ,joseph1 ,god ,almighty appeared to me at ,luz in the land of ,canaan and blessed me4 ,and again1 blessing the children of ,joseph1 he says3-- ,god1 before whom my fathers ,abraham and ,isaac did walk1 the ,god which fed me all my life long unto this day1 the ,angel which redeemed me from all evil1 bless the lads4 ,but it was not merely to the chosen father of the chosen nation that this pitying ,friend and ,saviour appeared4 ,when the poor1 passionate1 desperate slave-girl ,hagar was wandering in the wilderness1 struggling with the pride and passion of her unsubdued nature1 he who follows the one wandering sheep appeared and spoke to her 7,gen4 xvi474 ,he reproved her passionate impatience2 he counseled submission2 he promised his protection and care to the son that should be born of her and the race that should spring from her4 ,wild and turbulent that race of men should be2 and yet there was to be a ,saviour1 a ,care-taker1 a ,shepherd for them4 ,and she called the name of the ,lord that spake unto her1 ,thou ,god seest me2 for she said1 ,have ,i also here looked after him that seeth me8 ,afterwards1 when the fiery1 indomitable passions of the slave-woman again break forth and threaten the peace of the home1 and she is sent forth into the wilderness1 the ,good ,shepherd again appears to her4 ,thus is the story told 7,gen4 xxi473-- ,and the water was spent in the bottle1 and she cast the child under one of the shrubs1 and she went and sat down a good way off1 for she said1 ,let me not see the death of the child4 ,and ,god heard the voice of the lad1 and the angel of the ,lord called to ,hagar out of heaven1 saying1 ,what aileth thee1 ,hagar8 fear not4 ,god hath heard the voice of the lad where he is4 ,arise1 lift up the lad1 hold him in thy hand1 for ,i will make of him a great nation4 ,and ,god opened her eyes1 and she saw a well of water4 ,thus did he declare himself the ,care-taker and ,saviour not of the ,jews merely1 but of the ,gentiles4 ,it was he who afterwards declared that he was the living bread which came down from heaven1 which he gave for the life of the ,,whole ,,world4 ,afterwards1 in the history of ,moses in the wilderness of ,sinai1 we read of a divine ,being who talked with him in a visible intimacy3-- ,and it came to pass1 as ,moses entered into the tabernacle1 the cloudy pillar descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle1 and ,jehovah talked with ,moses4 ,and all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door1 and all the people rose up and worshiped1 each man in his tent door4 ,and ,jehovah spake unto ,moses1 face to face1 as a man speaketh unto his friend4 ,some record of this strange conversation is given4 ,moses was a man of wonderful soul1 in whom was the divine yearning2 he longed to know more and more of his ,god1 and at last beseeches to have the full beatific vision of the divine nature in its glory2 but the answer is3 ,thou canst not see my face in its divine glory1 for there shall no man see me and live4 ,that overpowering vision was not for flesh and blood2 it would dissolve the frail bonds of mortality and set the soul free1 and ,moses must yet live1 and labor1 and suffer4 ,what an affecting light this interview of ,moses sheds on that scene in the ,new ,testament1 where1 just before his crucifixion1 the disciples see their ,master in the glory of the heavenly world1 and with him ,moses and ,elijah1 who spake with him of his decease1 which he should accomplish at ,jerusalem1--,moses1 who had been taught by the divine ,word in the wilderness how to organize all that system of forms and sacrifices which were to foreshadow and prepare the way for the great ,sacrifice--the great ,revealer of ,god to man4 ,we see these noble souls1 the two grandest prophets of the ,old ,testament1 in communion with our ,lord about that last and final sacrifice which was to fulfill and bring to an end all others4 ,a little later on1 in the ,old ,testament history1 we come to a time recorded in the ,book of ,judges when the chosen people1 settled in the land of ,canaan1 sunk in worldliness and sin1 have forgotten the ,lord ,jehovah1 and as a punishment are left to be bitterly oppressed and harassed by the savage tribes in their neighborhood4 ,the nation was in danger of extinction4 ,the stock from which was to come prophets and apostles1 the writers of the ,bible which we now read1 from which was to come our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 was in danger of being trampled out under the heel of barbarous heathen tribes4 ,it was a crisis needing a deliverer4 ,physical strength1 brute force1 was the law of the day1 and a deliverer was to be given who could overcome force by superior force4 ,again the mysterious stranger appears2 we have the account in ,judges xiii4 ,a pious old couple who have lived childless hitherto receive an angelic visitor who announces to them the birth of a deliverer4 ,and the woman came and told her husband1 saying1 ,a man of ,god came unto me1 and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of ,god1 very terrible2 but ,i asked him not whence he was1 neither told he me his name4 ,this man1 she goes on to say1 had promised a son to them who should deliver ,israel from the hand of the ,philistines4 ,manoah then prays to ,god to grant another interview with the heavenly messenger4 ,the prayer is heard2 the divine ,man again appears to them and gives directions for the care of the future child1--directions requiring the most perfect temperance and purity on the part of both mother and child4 ,the rest of the story is better given in the quaint and beautiful words of the ,bible3-- ,and ,manoah said to the angel of ,jehovah1 ,i pray thee let us detain thee till we shall have made ready a kid for thee4 ,and the angel of ,jehovah said to ,manoah1 ,though thou detain me ,i will not eat of thy bread2 and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering thou must offer it unto ,jehovah4 ,for ,manoah knew not that he was an angel of ,jehovah4 ,and ,manoah said1 ,what is thy name8 that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honor4 ,and the angel of the ,lord said unto him1 ,why askest thou my name1 seeing that it is secret8 ,so ,manoah took a kid with a meat offering and offered it upon a rock to the ,lord2 and the angel did wonderously1 and ,manoah and his wife looked on4 ,for it came to pass1 when the flame went up to heaven from off the altar1 that the angel of ,jehovah ascended in the flame on the altar1 and ,manoah and his wife fell on their faces on the ground4 ,and ,manoah said1 ,we shall surely die1 for we have seen ,god4 ,this tender1 guiding ,power1 this long-suffering and pitying ,saviour of ,israel1 appears to us in frequent glimpses through the writings of the prophets4 ,isaiah says1 ,in all their affliction ,he was afflicted1 and the ,angel of his ,presence saved them2 in his love and his pity he redeemed them1 and he bore and carried them all the days of old4 ,it is this thought that gives an inexpressible pathos to the rejection of ,christ by the ,jews4 ,st4 ,john begins his gospel by speaking of this divine ,word1 who was with ,god in the beginning1 and was ,god2 that he was in the world1 and the world was made by him1 and the world knew him not4 ,he came unto his own1 and his own received him not4 ,this gives an awful1 pathetic meaning to those tears which ,christ shed over ,jerusalem1 and to that last yearning farewell to the doomed city3-- ,o ,jerusalem1 ,jerusalem1 thou that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee2 how often would ,i have gathered thy children as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings1 and ye would not4 ,it gives significance to that passage of ,revelation where ,christ is called the ,lamb slain from the foundation of the world4 ,not alone in the four years when he ministered on earth was he the suffering ,redeemer2 he was always1 from the foundation of the world1 the devoted sacrifice3 bearing on his heart the sinning1 suffering1 wandering race of man1 afflicted in their afflictions1 bearing their griefs and carrying their sorrows1 the friend of the ,jew and the ,gentile1 the seeker for the outcast1 the guide of the wanderer1 the defender of the helpless1 the consoler of the desolate1 the self-devoted offering to and for the sins of the world4 ,in all these revelations of ,god1 one idea is very precious4 ,he reveals himself not as a fixed ,fate--a mighty1 crushing1 inexorable ,power--but as a ,being relenting1 tender1 yearning towards the race of man with infinite tenderness4 ,he suffers himself to be importuned2 he hides himself that he may be sought1 and1 although he is omnipotent1 though with one touch he might weaken and paralyze human strength1 yet he suffers human arms to detain and human importunity to conquer him1 and he blesses the man that will not let him go except he bless4 ,on this scene ,charles ,wesley has written his beautiful hymn beginning1-- ,come1 ,o thou ,traveler unknown4 ,the struggles1 the sorrows1 and aspirations of the soul for an unknown ,saviour have never been more beautifully told4 ,,ii ,,christ ,,in ,,prophecy ,in the ,old ,testament ,scriptures we have from the beginning of the world an advent dawn--a rose sky of ,promise4 ,,he ,,is ,,coming1 is the mysterious voice that sounds everywhere1 in history1 in prophecy1 in symbol1 type1 and shadow4 ,it spreads through all races of men2 it becomes an earnest aspiration1 a sigh1 a moan of struggling humanity1 crying out for its ,unknown ,god4 ,in the ,garden of ,eden came the first oracle1 which declared that the ,,seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head4 ,this was an intimation1 vague yet distinct1 that there should come a ,deliverer who should break the power of evil4 ,from that hour every mother had hope1 and child-bearing was invested with dignity and blessing4 ,when the mother of all brought the first son into the world1 she fondly hoped that she had brought forth the ,deliverer1 and said1 ,i have gotten the ,,man ,jehovah4 ,poor mother6 destined to a bitter anguish of disappointment6 ,thousands of years were to pass away before the second ,eve should bring forth the ,,man ,jehovah4 ,in this earliest period we find in the history of ,job the anguish1 the perplexities1 the despair of the helpless human creature1 crushed and bleeding beneath the power of an unknown1 mighty ,being1 whose ways seem cruel and inexplicable1 but with whom he feels that expostulation is impossible3-- ,lo1 he goeth by me and ,i see him not2 he passeth on also and ,i perceive him not4 ,behold1 he taketh away1 and who can hinder him8 who will say unto him1 ,what doest thou8 ,if ,god will not withdraw his anger1 the proud helpers do stoop under him4 ,how then shall ,i answer him and choose out words to reason with him8 ,job admits that he desires to reason with ,god to ask some account of his ways4 ,he says3-- ,my soul is weary of my life4 ,i will speak in the bitterness of my soul4 ,i will say unto ,god1 ,do not condemn me2 show me why thou contendest with me4 ,is it good that thou shouldest oppress1 that thou shouldest despise the work of thy hands8 ,he then goes through with all the perplexing mysteries of life4 ,he sees the wicked prosperous and successful1 and he that had always been devoted to ,god reduced to the extreme of human misery2 he wrestles with the problem2 he longs to ask an explanation2 but it all comes to one mournful conclusion3-- ,he is not a man as ,i am1 that ,i should answer him1 and we should come together in judgment4 ,neither is there any daysman arbiter between us1 that might lay his hand on both of us4 ,let him take his rod away and let not his fear terrify me4 ,then would ,i speak2 but it is not so with me4 ,here we have in a word the deepest want of humanity3 a daysman between the infinite ,god and finite man2 a ,mediator who should lay his hand on both of them6 ,and then1 in the midst of these yearnings and complainings1 the ,spirit of ,god1 the ,heavenly ,comforter1 bearing witness with ,job's spirit1 breaks forth in the prophetic song3-- ,i know that my ,redeemer liveth ,and that he shall stand in the latter days upon the earth4 ,and though worms destroy this body1 ,yet in my flesh shall ,i see ,god4 ,i shall see him for myself and not another4 ,my reins are consumed with longing for that day4 ,as time passes we have the history of one man1 called from all the races of men to be the ancestor of this ,,seed4 ,abraham1 called to leave his native land and go forth sojourning as a pilgrim and stranger on earth1 receives a celestial visitor who says3 ,abraham1 ,i am the ,almighty ,god4 ,walk before me and be thou perfect4 ,he exacts of ,abraham the extremes of devotion--not only to leave his country1 kindred1 friends1 and be a sojourner in a strange land1 but to sacrifice the only son of his heart4 ,and ,abraham meets the test without a wavering thought2 his trust in ,god is absolute3 and in return he receives the promise1 ,in ,,thy ,,seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed4 ,how ,abraham looked upon this promise we are told by our ,lord himself4 ,the ,jews asked him1 ,art thou greater than our father ,abraham8 ,and he answered1 ,your father ,abraham rejoiced to see my day--he saw it1 and was glad4 ,the same promise was repeated to ,jacob in the self-same words1 when he lay sleeping in the field of ,luz and saw the heavenly vision of the ,son of man4 ,from the time of the first announcement to ,abraham his descendants became the recipients of a special divine training1 in which every event of their history had a forelooking to this great consummation4 ,they were taken into ,egypt1 and1 after long suffering1 delivered from a deadly oppression4 ,in the solemn hour of their deliverance the blood of a spotless lamb--a lamb without blemish--was to mark the door-posts of each dwelling with a sign of redemption4 ,not a bone of him shall be broken1 said the ancient command1 referring to this typical sacrifice2 and when in a later day the ,apostle ,john stood by the cross of ,jesus and saw them break the limbs of the other two victims and leave ,jesus untouched1 he said1 that it might be fulfilled which was commanded1 not a bone of ,him shall be broken4 ,the yearly festival which commemorated this deliverance was a yearly prophecy in every ,jewish family of the sinless ,redeemer whose blood should be their salvation4 ,a solemn ritual was instituted1 every part of which was prophetic and symbolic4 ,a high priest chosen from among his brethren1 who could be touched with the feelings of their infirmities1 was the only one allowed to enter that mysterious ,holy of ,holies where were the mercy-seat and the cherubim1 the throne of the ,invisible ,god4 ,there1 for the most part1 unbroken stillness and solitude reigned4 ,only on one memorable day of the year1 while all the congregation of ,israel lay prostrate in penitence without1 this high priest entered for them with the blood of atonement into the innermost presence of the ,king ,invisible4 ,purified1 arrayed in spotless garments1 and bearing on his breast--graven on precious gems--the names of the tribes of ,israel1 he entered there1 a yearly symbol and prophecy of the greater ,high ,priest1 who should not by the blood of bulls and of goats1 but by his own blood1 enter at once into the holy place1 having obtained eternal redemption for us4 ,thus1 by a series of symbols and ceremonies which filled the entire life of the ,jew1 the whole national mind was turned in an attitude of expectancy towards the future ,messiah4 ,in the more elevated and spiritual natures--the poets and the prophets--this was continually bursting forth into distinct predictions4 ,moses says1 in his last message to ,israel1 ,a prophet shall the ,lord your ,god raise up unto you from the midst of your brethren like unto me2 unto ,him shall ye hearken4 ,our ,lord referred to this prophecy when he said to the unbelieving ,jews1 ,had ye believed ,moses ye would have believed me1 for he wrote of me4 ,the promise made at first to ,abraham was afterwards repeated not only to ,jacob1 but long centuries afterward to his descendant1 ,david1 in a solemn1 prophetic message1 relating first to the reign of ,solomon1 but ending with these words3 ,and thy house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee4 ,thy throne shall be established forever4 ,that ,david understood these words as a promise that the ,redeemer should be of his seed is evident from the declaration of ,st4 ,peter in ,acts ii4 #cj1 where he says that ,david being a prophet1 and knowing that ,god had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins he would raise up ,messiah to sit on his throne1 spake thus concerning him4 ,the ,psalms of ,david are full of heaving1 many-colored clouds and mists of poetry1 out of which shine here and there glimpses of the mystic future4 ,in the second ,psalm we have a majestic drama4 ,the heathen are raging against ,jehovah and his anointed ,son4 ,they say1 ,let us break their bands in sunder and cast away their cords4 ,then the voice of ,jehovah is heard in the tumult1 saying calmly1 ,yet have ,i set my king on my holy hill of ,zion4 ,then an angelic herald proclaims3-- ,i will declare the decree4 ,the ,lord hath spoken3 ,thou art my ,son2 ,this day have ,i begotten thee3 ,ask of me and ,i will give the heathen for thine inheritance1 ,and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession4 ,this mighty king1 this glorious defender1 is celebrated as the ,all-,loving ,one4 ,his reign is to be a reign of truth and love4 ,all the dearest forms of human affection are used to shadow forth what he will be to his people4 ,he is to be the royal bridegroom2 his willing people the bride4 ,so1 in the forty-fifth ,psalm1 entitled ,a ,song of ,love1 we have the image of a mighty conqueror--radiant1 beloved1 adored1 a being addressed both as ,god and the ,son of ,god1 who goes forth to victory3-- ,thou art fairer than the children of men4 ,grace is poured into thy lips4 ,therefore ,god hath blessed thee forever4 ,gird thy sword on thy thigh1 ,o most mighty1 with thy glory and majesty4 ,and in thy majesty ride prosperously because of thy truth and meekness and righteousness4 ,thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things4 ,thy throne1 ,o ,god1 is for ever and ever4 ,a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom4 ,thou lovest righteousness and hatest iniquity4 ,therefore ,god--thy ,god--hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows4 ,then follows a description of the royal bride1 the king's daughter1 who is all glorious within--her clothing of wrought gold--who with gladness and rejoicing shall be brought to the king to become mother of princes4 ,it is said by some that this is a marriage hymn for the wedding of a prince4 ,it may have been so originated2 but in the mind of the devout ,jew every scene and event in life had become significant and symbolical of this greater future4 ,every deliverer suggested the greater ,deliverer2 the joy of every marriage suggested the joy of that divine marriage with a heavenly bridegroom4 ,so the seventy-second ,psalm1 written originally for ,solomon1 expands into language beyond all that can be said of any earthly monarch4 ,it was the last poem of ,david1 and the feelings of the king and father rose and melted into a great tide of imagery that belonged to nothing earthly3-- ,yea1 all kings shall fall down before him2 ,all nations shall serve him4 ,he shall deliver the needy when he crieth2 ,the poor also1 and him that hath no helper4 ,he shall spare the poor and needy1 and shall save the souls of the needy4 ,he shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence1 ,and precious shall their blood be in his sight4 ,and he shall live1 and to him shall be given the gold of ,sheba4 ,prayer also shall be made for him continually1 and daily shall he be praised4 ,his name shall endure forever4 ,his name shall be continued as long as the sun4 ,men shall be blessed in him4 ,all nations shall call him blessed4 ,but in these same ,psalms there are glimpses of a divine sufferer4 ,in the twenty-second ,psalm ,david speaks of sufferings which certainly never happened to himself--which were remarkably fulfilled in the last agonies of ,jesus3-- ,all they that see me laugh me to scorn4 ,they shoot out the lip1 they shake the head1 saying1 ,he trusted in ,god that he would deliver him4 ,let him deliver him1 seeing he delighted in him4 ,i am poured out like water2 all my bones are out of joint4 ,my heart is like wax--it is melted in my bosom4 ,my strength is dried up like a potsherd4 ,my tongue cleaveth to my mouth4 ,thou hast brought me into the dust of death4 ,for dogs have compassed me1 ,the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me2 ,they pierced my hands and my feet4 ,i may tell all my bones4 ,they look and stare on me4 ,they part my garments among them ,and cast lots for my vesture4 ,in this ,psalm1 written more than a thousand years before he came into the world1 our ,lord beheld ever before him the scenes of his own crucifixion2 he could see the heartless stare of idle1 malignant curiosity around his cross2 he could hear the very words of the taunts and revilings1 and a part of the language of this ,psalm was among his last utterances4 ,while the shadows of the great darkness were gathering around his cross he cried1 ,my ,god1 my ,god1 why hast thou forsaken me8 ,it would seem as if the words so bitterly fulfilled passed through his mind1 as one by one the agonies and indignities followed each other1 till at last he bowed his head and said1 ,it is finished4 ,as time rolled on1 this mingled chant of triumph and of suffering swelled clearer and plainer4 ,in the grand soul of ,isaiah1 the ,messiah and his kingdom were ever the outcome of every event that suggested itself4 ,when the kingdom of ,judah was threatened by foreign invasion1 the prophet breaks out with the promise of a ,deliverer3-- ,behold1 the ,lord himself shall give you a sign4 ,behold1 a virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son and shall call his name ,immanuel ,god with us4 ,again he bursts forth as if he beheld the triumph as a present reality3-- ,unto us a child is born ,unto us a son is given4 ,the government shall be upon his shoulders4 ,his name shall be called ,wonderful1 ,counsellor1 ,mighty ,god1 ,everlasting ,father1 ,prince of ,peace4 ,of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end1 ,upon the throne of ,david and his kingdom1 ,to establish it with justice from henceforth and forever4 ,the zeal of the ,lord of ,hosts will perform this4 ,again1 a few chapters further on1 he sings3-- ,there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of ,jesse ,a ,branch shall grow out of his roots4 ,the ,spirit of the ,lord shall rest upon him2 ,the spirit of wisdom and understanding1 ,the spirit of counsel and might1 ,the spirit of knowledge1 and fear of the ,lord4 ,with righteousness shall he judge the poor1 ,and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth4 ,then follow vivid pictures of a golden age on earth1 beneath his sway1 when all enmities and ferocities even of the inferior animals shall cease1 and universal love and joy pervade the earth4 ,in the fifty-third of ,isaiah we have again the sable thread of humiliation and sorrow2 the ,messiah is to be despised and rejected of men2 his nation hide their faces from him2 he bears their griefs1 and carries their sorrows1 is wounded for their transgressions1 is brought as a lamb to the slaughter1 is dumb before his accusers1 is taken from prison to judgment1 is cut off out of the land of the living1 makes his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death1 and thence is raised again to an endless kingdom4 ,thus far the tide of prophecy had rolled2 thus distinct and luminous had grown the conception of a future suffering1 victorious ,lord and leader1 when the ,jewish nation1 for its sins and unfaithfulness1 was suffered to go to wreck4 ,the temple was destroyed and the nation swept into captivity in a foreign land4 ,but they carried everywhere with them the vision of their future ,messiah4 ,in their captivity and sufferings their religious feelings became intense1 and1 wherever they were1 the ,jews were always powerful and influential men4 ,daniel1 by his divine skill in spiritual insight1 became the chief of the ,chaldean magi1 and his teachings with regard to the future ,messiah may be traced in those passages of the ,zendavesta which predict his coming1 his universal dominion1 and the resurrection of the dead4 ,everywhere through all nations this scattered seed of the ,jews touched the spark of desire and aspiration--the longing for a future ,redeemer4 ,in the prophecies of ,daniel we find the predictions of the ,messiah assuming the clearness of forewritten history4 ,the successive empires of the world are imaged under the symbol of a human body1 with a head of gold1 a breast of silver1 body and thighs of brass1 legs and feet of iron4 ,by these types were indicated the ,babylonian1 ,medo-,persian1 ,greek and ,roman nations1 with their successive rule4 ,in prophetic vision1 also1 a stone was without hands cut out of the mountains1 and it smote the feet of the image1 so that the whole of it passed away like the chaff of the threshing-floor4 ,how striking this description of that invisible1 spiritual force which struck the world in the time of the ,roman empire1 and before which all the ancient dynasties have vanished6 ,in the ninth chapter of ,daniel1 verses #be1 #bf1 #bg1 we find given the exact time of the coming of the ,messiah1 of his death1 of the subsequent destruction of ,jerusalem by the ,romans1 and the cessation of the ,jewish worship and sacrifices4 ,remembering that ,daniel was the head of the ,chaldean magi1 we see how it is that their descendants were able to calculate the time of the birth of ,christ and come to worship him4#b #b ,m4 ,lenormant says in ,the ,magic of the ,chaldees3 ,the more one advances in the understanding of the cuneiform text1 the more one sees the necessity of revising the condemnation too prematurely uttered against the ,book of ,daniel by the ,german ,exegetical ,school4 ,without doubt1 the use of certain ,greek words serves to show that it has passed through the hands of some editor since the time of ,alexander4 ,but the substance of it is much more ancient--is imprinted with a perfectly distinct ,babylonian tinge1 and the picture of life in the court of ,nabuchodonosor and his successors has an equal truthfulness which could not have been attained at a later period4 ,at length the ,jews were recalled from captivity and the temple rebuilt4 ,while it was rebuilding prophets encouraged the work with prophecies of the ,lord who should appear in it4 ,the prophet ,haggai 7ii4 #c-i7 thus speaks to those who depreciate the new temple by comparing it with the old3-- ,who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory8 ,yet now be strong1 all ye people of the land1 and work1 for ,i am with you1 saith the ,lord of ,hosts4 ,for thus saith the ,lord3 ,yet a little while and ,i will shake the heavens and earth1 the sea and the dry land1 and the ,desire of all nations shall come1 and ,i will fill this house with glory1 saith the ,lord4 ,the glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former1 for in this house will ,i give peace1 saith the ,lord of ,hosts4 ,the prophecies of ,zechariah1 which belonged to the same period and had the same object1--to encourage the rebuilding of the second temple1--are full of anticipation of the coming ,messiah4 ,the prophet breaks forth into song like a bird of the morning3-- ,rejoice greatly1 ,o daughter of ,zion2 ,shout1 ,o daughter of ,jerusalem3 ,behold1 thy king cometh unto thee4 ,he is just and hath salvation2 ,he is lowly1 riding upon an ass-- ,upon a colt1 the foal of an ass4 ,again he breaks forth in another strain3-- ,awake1 ,o sword1 against my ,shepherd1 ,against the man that is my fellow1 saith the ,lord of ,hosts4 ,smite the ,shepherd1 ,and the sheep shall be scattered4 ,we remember that these words were quoted by our ,lord to his disciples the night before his execution1 when he was going forth to meet his murderers4 ,a hundred or so of years later1 the prophet ,malachi says3-- ,behold1 ,i send my messenger4 ,he shall prepare the way before me4 ,the ,lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple3 ,even the messenger of the covenant1 in whom ye delight2 ,but who may abide the day of his coming8 ,who shall stand when ,he appeareth8 ,for1 like a refiner's fire shall ,he be1 ,and like fullers' soap4 ,he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver4 ,he shall purify the sons of ,levi4 ,how remarkably this prophecy describes the fiery vehemence and energy of our ,lord's first visit to the temple1 when he drove out the money-changers and completely cleansed the holy place of unseemly traffic6 ,with this prophet the voice of prediction ceases4 ,let us for a moment look back and trace its course4 ,first1 the vague promise of a ,deliverer1 born of a woman2 then1 a designation of the race from which he is to be born2 then of the tribe2 then of the family2 then the very place of his birth is predicted--,bethlehem-,ephratah being mentioned to discriminate it from another ,bethlehem4 ,then come a succession of pictures of a ,being concerning whom the most opposite things are predicted4 ,he is to be honored1 adored1 beloved2 he is to be despised and rejected--his nation hide their faces from him4 ,he is to be terrible and severe as a refiner's fire2 he is to be so gentle that a bruised reed shall he not break1 and smoking flax shall he not quench4 ,he is to be seized and carried from prison to judgment2 he is surrounded by the wicked2 his hands and feet are pierced1 his garments divided2 they cast lots for his vesture2 he is united by his death both with the wicked and with the rich2 he is cut off from the land of the living4 ,he is cut off1 but not for himself2 his kingdom is to be an everlasting kingdom2 he is to have dominion from sea to sea1 and of the increase of his government and of peace there is to be no end4 ,how strange that for ages these conflicting and apparently contradictory oracles had been accumulating1 until finally came ,one who fulfilled them all4 ,is not this indeed the ,christ--the ,son of ,god8 ,,iii ,,the ,,cradle ,,of ,,bethlehem ,we should have supposed that when the time came for the entrance of the great ,hero upon the stage of this world1 magnificent preparations would be made to receive him4 ,a nation had been called and separated from all tribes of earth that he might be born of them1 and it had been their one special mission to prepare for the coming of this ,one1 their ,head and ,king1 in whom the whole of their organization--laws1 teachings1 and prophecies--was to be fulfilled4 ,christ was the end for which the tabernacle was erected and the temple built1 for whom were the ,holy of ,holies1 the altars1 and the sacrifices4 ,he was the ,coming ,one for whom priests and prophets had been for hundreds of years looking4 ,what should we have expected of divine wisdom when the glorious hour approached8 ,we should have thought that the news would be sent to the leaders of the great national council of the ,sanhedrim1 to the ,high ,priest and elders1 that their ,prince was at hand4 ,doubtless we should suppose that the nation1 apprised of his coming1 would have made ready his palace and have been watching at its door to do honor to their newborn ,king4 ,far otherwise is the story as we have it4 ,in the poorest1 most sordid1 most despised village of ,juda dwelt1 unknown and neglected1 two members of the decayed and dethroned royal family of ,juda1--,joseph the carpenter and ,mary his betrothed4 ,though every circumstance of the story shows the poverty of these individuals1 yet they were not peasants4 ,they were of royal lineage1 reduced to the poverty and the simple life of the peasants4 ,the ,jews1 intensely national1 cherished the tradition of ,david their warrior and poet prince2 they sang his ,psalms1 they dwelt on his memory1 and those persons1 however poor and obscure1 who knew that they had his blood in their veins were not likely to forget it4 ,there have been times in the history of ,europe when royal princes1 the heirs of thrones1 have sojourned in poverty and obscurity1 earning their bread by the labor of their hands4 ,but the consciousness of royal blood and noble birth gave to them a secret largeness of view and nobility of feeling which distinguished them from common citizens4 ,the ,song of ,mary given in ,st4 ,luke shows the tone of her mind2 shows her a woman steeped in the prophetic spirit and traditions1 in the ,psalms of her great ancestor1 and herself possessing a lofty poetic nature4 ,we have the story of the birth of ,christ in only two of the ,evangelists4 ,in ,matthew we have all the facts and incidents such as must have been derived from ,joseph1 and in ,luke we have those which could only have been told by ,mary4 ,she it is who must have related to ,st4 ,luke the visit of the angel and his salutation to her4 ,she it is who tells of the state of her mind when those solemn mysterious words first fell upon her ear3-- ,hail thou1 highly favored6 ,the ,lord is with thee3 ,blessed art thou among women6 ,it is added1-- ,and when she saw him she was troubled and cast about in her mind what manner of salutation this should be4 ,only ,mary could have told the interior state of her mind1 the doubts1 the troubles1 the mental inquiries1 known only to herself4 ,the rest of the interview1 the magnificent and solemn words of the angel1 in the nature of things could have come to the historian only through ,mary's narrative4 ,thou shalt conceive and bring forth a ,son and shalt call his name ,jesus4 ,he shall be great1 and shall be called the ,son of the ,highest1 and the ,lord ,god shall give unto him the throne of his father ,david1 and he shall reign over the house of ,jacob forever1 and of his kingdom there shall be no end4 ,in ,st4 ,matthew we have the history of the hesitation of ,joseph1 his manly delicacy and tenderness for his betrothed wife1 and the divine message to him in a dream2 all of which are things that could have been known only through his own narration4 ,we find also in this history1 whose facts must have come from ,joseph1 a table of genealogy tracing his descent back to ,david1 while in the account given by ,mary in ,st4 ,luke there is another and different table of genealogy4 ,the probable inference on the face of it would be that the one is the genealogy of ,joseph and the other of ,mary2 and it confirms this supposition to find that she was spoken of in ,rabbinic writings of an early period as the daughter of ,heli1#c who concludes the genealogy given in ,luke1 and on this supposition would be the father of ,mary and grandfather of ,jesus4 ,moreover1 as the angel himself in announcing the birth of ,christ laid special stress upon the fact that his mother was of the house of ,david1 it is quite probable that the genealogy which proved that descent was very precious in ,mary's eyes1 and that this is therefore imbedded in the account which ,st4 ,luke derives from her1 as the very chief treasure of her life4 ,that genealogical record was probably the one hoarded gem of her poverty and neglect--like a crown jewel concealed in the humble cottage of an exiled queen4 #c ,lightfoot1 in his notes on ,luke iii41 maintains this theory1 and quotes in support of it three passages from the ,jerusalem ,talmud1 folio #gg1 #d1 where ,mary the mother of ,jesus is denounced as the daughter of ,heli1 and mother of a pretender4 ,the same view is sustained by ,paulus1 ,spanheim1 and ,lange4 ,when the conviction was brought home to both these hidden souls that their house was to be the recipient of this greatest of all honors1 we can easily see how it must have been a treasury of secret and wonderful emotions and contemplations between them4 ,a world of lofty thought and feeling from that hour belonged to those two of all the world1 separating them far as heaven is above the earth from the sordid neighborhood of ,nazareth4 ,every tie which connected them with the royal house of ,david must have been wakened to intense vitality4 ,all the prophecies with regard to the future ,messiah must have blazed with a new radiance in the firmament of their thoughts4 ,the decree from ,csar that all the world should be taxed1 and the consequent movement towards a census of the ,jewish nation1 must have seemed to them a divine call and intimation to leave the village of ,nazareth and go to their ancestral town1 where prophecy had told them that the ,messiah was to be born3-- ,and thou ,bethlehem-,ephratah1 though thou be little among the thousands of ,judah1 yet out of thee shall come a ,governor which shall rule my people ,israel1 whose goings forth have been from of old1 from everlasting4 ,on this magnificent mystery were these two poor1 obscure1 simple people pondering in their hearts as they took their journey over the picturesque hill-country towards the beautiful little town of ,bethlehem1 the village of their fathers2 ,bethlehem1 the city of the loving ,ruth1 and her descendant1 the chivalrous poet king1 ,david4 ,it seems they went there poor and without acquaintance1 casting themselves in simple faith on the protection of ,god4 ,the caravanserai of those days bore more resemblance to camping-huts than anything suggested by our modern inn4 ,there was a raised platform which gave to the traveler simply space to spread his bed and lie down1 while below this was the portion allotted to the feeding and accommodation of the animals4 ,when these two guests arrived the space allotted to travelers was all taken up1 and a shelter had to be arranged in the part allotted to the animals4 ,we are so accustomed to look at that cradle in ,bethlehem through the mists of reverential tradition that we have ceased to realize what a trial and humiliation it was to these children of a royal race to find themselves outcasts and homeless in the city of their fathers--in the very hour when home and its comfort were most needed4 ,we must remember they had to live by faith as well as we4 ,though an angel had announced this coming child as the ,king of ,israel1 still their faith must have been severely tried to find themselves1 as the hour of his birth approached1 unwelcomed1 forlorn1 and rejected by men1 in the very city of ,david4 ,the census in which they came to have their names enrolled was the last step in the humiliation of their nation2 it was the preparation for their subjugation and taxation as a conquered tribe under the ,roman yoke3 and they1 children of the royal house of ,david1 were left to touch the very lowest descent of humiliation1 outcasts from among men1 glad to find a resting-place with the beasts of the stall4 ,christ is called the ,morning ,star1 and truly he rose in the very darkest hour of the night4 ,the ,friend of the outcast1 the ,care-taker of the neglected1 the poor man's ,helper1 must needs be born thus4 ,but was there no message8 ,yes4 ,in those very hills and valleys of ,bethlehem where ,david kept his father's sheep were still shepherds abiding4 ,the ,psalms of ,david were there the familiar melodies2 they lived by the valley and hill1 as when he sang of old1-- ,the ,lord is my ,shepherd2 ,i shall not want4 ,he maketh me to lie down in green pastures2 ,he leadeth me beside the still waters4 ,these shepherds probably were poor men of a devout and simple faith1 men who longed and prayed and waited for the consolation of ,israel4 ,their daily toil was ennobled by religious associations4 ,jehovah himself was addressed as the ,shepherd of ,israel2 ,he that leadeth ,joseph like a flock2 ,he that dwelleth between the cherubims4 ,it was to such souls as these1 patient1 laborious1 prayerful1 that the message came2 that the ,good ,shepherd--the ,shepherd and ,bishop of ,souls--was born4 ,no comment can brighten or increase the solemn beauty of those simple words in which this story is told3-- ,and there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field1 keeping watch over their flock by night4 ,and1 lo1 the angel of the ,lord came upon them1 and the glory of the ,lord shone round about them2 and they were afraid4 ,and the angel said unto them1 ,fear not3 for1 behold1 ,i bring you good tidings of joy1 which shall be to all people4 ,for unto you is born this day in the city of ,david a ,saviour1 which is ,christ the ,lord4 ,and this shall be a sign unto you3 ,ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling-clothes1 lying in a manger4 ,and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising ,god1 and saying1 ,glory to ,god in the highest1 and on earth ,peace1 ,good-will toward men4 ,and it came to pass1 as the angels were gone away from them into heaven1 the shepherds said one to another1 ,let us now go even unto ,bethlehem1 and see this thing which is come to pass1 which the ,lord hath made known unto us4 ,and they came with haste1 and found ,mary and ,joseph1 and the babe lying in a manger4 ,and when they had seen it1 they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child4 ,and all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds4 ,but ,mary kept all these things1 and pondered them in her heart4 ,and the shepherds returned1 glorifying and praising ,god for all the things that they had heard and seen1 as it was told unto them4 ,they received the reward of faith2 having heard the heavenly message1 they believed and acted upon it4 ,they did not stop to question or reason about it4 ,they did not say1 ,how can this be8 but ,let us go even unto ,bethlehem and see this thing which is come to pass4 ,and so it was that they were rewarded by seeing and hearing the wonders as it was told unto them4 ,the visit of these simple1 confiding souls doubtless cheered the patient hearts of the humble outcasts1 and strengthened their faith4 ,if now it be asked1 ,why was all this so8 we have only to answer that heaven is a very different world from our earth1 and that heavenly ways of viewing people and things are wholly above those of earth4 ,the apostle says that the foolishness of ,god is wiser than man1 and the weakness of ,god is stronger than man2 that the things that are highly esteemed among men are abominations in the sight of ,god4 ,when a new king and a new kingdom were to be set up on earth1 no pomp of man1 no palace made with hands1 was held worthy of him2 few were the human hearts deemed worthy of the message1 and these were people that the world knew not of--simple-minded1 sincere1 loving1 prayerful people4 ,the priests and scribes were full of national pride and bitterness1 burning for revenge on the ,romans1 longing for conquest and power4 ,they were impatiently waiting for the ,leader whose foot should be on the necks of their enemies4 ,they had no sense of sin1 no longing for holiness1 no aspirations for a ,spiritual ,deliverer2 and therefore no message was sent to them4 ,but to the simple-minded ,joseph the angel said1 ,thou shalt call his name ,jesus 7,saviour7 for he shall save his people from their sins4 ,not from the ,romans but from their sins he came to save1 and the message of his coming was to humble souls1 who wanted this kind of salvation4 ,but there was a fitness furthermore in these circumstances4 ,up to this time the poor and the unfortunate had been the despised of the earth4 ,it had been predicted again and again that the ,messiah should be the especial ,friend of the poor3-- ,he shall deliver the needy when he crieth1 ,the poor and him that hath no helper4 ,he shall spare the soul of the needy1 ,and precious shall their blood be in his sight4 ,as a mother when seeking a lost and helpless child1 outcast in some den of misery1 would pass by palaces and refuse the shelter of luxurious roofs1 to share the poverty of her beloved1 so the poor man's ,friend and ,lord chose to come in the hut and the stable rather than in the palace1 that he might be known forever as the ,god of the poor1 the ,patron of the neglected1 and the ,shepherd of the lost4 ,,iv ,,the ,,blessed ,,woman ,there was one woman whom the voice of a divine ,messenger1 straight from heaven1 pronounced highly favored4 ,in what did this favor consist8 ,of noble birth1 of even royal lineage1 she had fallen into poverty and obscurity4 ,the great1 brilliant1 living world of her day knew her as the rushing equipages and palatial mansions of our great cities know the daughters of poor mechanics in rural towns4 ,there was plenty of splendor1 and rank1 and fashion in ,jerusalem then4 ,herod the ,great was a man of cultivation and letters1 and beautified the temple with all sorts of architectural embellishments2 and there were ,high ,priests1 and ,levites1 and a great religious aristocracy circling about its precincts1 all of whom1 if they thought of any woman as highly favored of heaven1 would have been likely to think of somebody quite other than the simple country girl of ,nazareth4 ,such an one as she was not in all their thoughts4 ,yet she was the highly favored woman of the world2 the crowned queen of women2 the ,one whose lot--above that of all that have lived woman's life1 before or since--was blessed4 ,the views adopted in the ,roman ,church with respect to this one ,woman of women have tended to deprive the rest of the world of a great source of comfort and edification by reason of the opposite extreme to which ,protestant reaction has naturally gone4 ,john ,knox was once taken on board a ship manned1 as he says1 by ,popish sailors1 who gave into his hand an image of the ,virgin ,mary and wanted to compel him to kiss it4 ,stout ,john tossed it overboard1 saying1 ,let our ,lady now save herself2 she is light enough1 let her learn to swim4 ,to have honored the ,virgin ,mary1 even in thought1 was shrunk from by the ,protestants of those times as an approach to idolatry4 ,an image or a picture of her in a ,puritan house would have been considered an approach to the sin of ,achan4 ,truth has always had the fate of the shuttlecock between the conflicting battledoors of controversy4 ,this is no goddess crowned with stars1 but something nobler1 purer1 fairer1 more appreciable--the ,one highly favored and blessed among ,women4 ,the happiness of ,mary's lot was peculiar to womanhood4 ,it lay mostly in the sphere of family affection4 ,mary had in this respect a lot whose blessedness was above every other mother4 ,she had as her child the loveliest character that ever unfolded through childhood and youth to manhood4 ,he was entirely her own4 ,she had a security in possessing him such as is not accorded to other mothers4 ,she knew that the child she adored was not to die till he had reached man's estate--she had no fear that accident1 or sickness1 or any of those threatening causes which give sad hours to so many other mothers1 would come between him and her4 ,neither was she called to separate from him4 ,the record shows that he was with his parents until their journey to ,jerusalem1 when he was twelve years old2 and then1 after his brief absence of three days when he was left behind1 and found in the temple disputing with the doctors1 we are told that he went down to ,nazareth and was subject unto them4 ,these words are all that cover eighteen years of the purest happiness ever given to mortal woman4 ,to love1 to adore1 to possess the beloved object in perfect security1 guarded by a divine promise--this blessedness was given to but one woman of all the human race4 ,that peaceful home in ,nazareth1 overlooked by all the great1 gay world1 how many happy hours it had6 ,day succeeded day1 weeks went to months1 and months into years1 and this is all the record3 ,jesus increased in wisdom and in stature1 and in favor with ,god and man4 ,looking at ,jesus as a mere human being1 a historical character1 as some do1 the one great peculiarity of him is the intensity of the personal affection he has been able to inspire4 ,the ,apostles give him one title which was his above all the other children of men1 ,,the ,,beloved4 ,christ has been and now is beloved1 as no other human being ever was4 ,others have been good men1--true men1 benefactors of their race1--but when they died their personality faded from the earth4 ,tell a ,hottentot or a ,zulu the story of ,socrates1 and it excites no very deep emotion2 but1 for eighteen hundred years1 ,hottentots1 ,zulus1 ,south ,sea ,islanders and savages1 ,greenlanders1--men1 women1 and children in every land1 with every variety of constitutional habit1--have conceived such an ardent1 passionate1 personal love to ,jesus of ,nazareth that they have been ready to face torture and death for his sake4 ,it is not for me to covet things visible or invisible1 said ,polycarp1 on his way to martyrdom1 if only ,i may obtain ,jesus ,christ4 ,the fire1 the cross1 the rush of wild beasts1 the tearing asunder of bones1 the fracture of limbs1 and the grinding to powder of the whole body1 let these1 the devil's torments1 come upon me1 provided only that ,i obtain ,jesus ,christ4 ,so felt the ,christians of the first ages1 and time does not cool the ardor4 ,there are at this present hour hundreds of thousands of obscure men and women1 humble artisans1 ignorant negroes1 to whom ,christ is dearer than life1 and who would be capable of just this grand devotion4 ,it is not many years since that in the ,island of ,madagascar ,christian converts were persecuted1 and there were those who met death for ,christ's sake with all the triumphant fervor of primitive ages4 ,jesus has been the one man of whom it has been possible to say to people of all nations1 ages1 and languages1 ,whom having not seen ye love1 and in whom1 though now ye see him not1 yet believing1 ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory4 ,if we should embody our idea of the ,son with whom ,mary lived in secure intimacy for thirty years1 we should call him ,love1 itself4 ,he was not merely lovely1 but he was love4 ,he had a warming1 creative power as to love4 ,he gave birth to new conceptions of love2 to a fervor1 a devotion1 a tenderness1 of which before the human soul scarcely knew its own capacity4 ,napoleon asserted the divinity of ,jesus from the sole fact of his wonderful power of producing love4 ,i know men1 he said1 and ,i know ,jesus was not a man2--eighteen hundred years ago he died defeated1 reviled1 and yet at this hour there are thousands all over the world who would die for him4 ,i am defeated and overthrown1 and who cares for me now8 ,who fights1 who conquers for me8 ,what an abyss between my misery and the triumph of ,jesus6 ,the blessedness of ,mary was that she was the one human being who had the right of ownership and intimate oneness with the ,beloved4 ,for thirty years ,jesus had only the task of living an average1 quiet1 ordinary human life4 ,he was a humble artisan1 peacefully working daily for the support of his mother4 ,he was called from her by no public duty2 he was hers alone4 ,when he began his public career he transcended these limits4 ,then he declared that every soul that heard the will of ,god1 and did it1 should be to him as his mother--a declaration at which every ,christian should veil his face in awe and gratitude4 ,we may imagine the peace1 the joy1 the serenity of that household of which ,jesus was the centre4 ,he read and explained the ,scriptures1 and he prayed with them1 in such blessed words as those that are recorded in ,st4 ,john's ,gospel4 ,in this life of simplicity and poverty he taught them that sweet and sacred secret of a peaceful daily looking to ,god for food and raiment that can be learned only by the poor and dependent4 ,he made labor holy by choosing it as his lot4 ,many little incidents in ,christ's life show the man of careful domestic habits4 ,he was in all things methodical and frugal4 ,the miraculous power he possessed never was used to surround him with any profusion4 ,he would have the fragments of the feast picked up and stored in the baskets1 that nothing should be lost4 ,his illustrations show the habits of a frugal home4 ,his parable of the kingdom of heaven1 likened to the leaven hidden in three measures of meal1 gives us to believe that doubtless he had often watched his mother in the homely process of bread-making4 ,the woman1 who1 losing one piece of money from her little store1 lights a candle and searches diligently1 brings to our mind the dwelling of the poor where every penny has its value4 ,his illustrations from husbandry--ploughing1 sowing1 growing1 the lost sheep1 the ox fallen into the pit1 the hen and her chickens--all show a familiarity and a kind sympathy with the daily habits and life interests of the poor4 ,many little touches indicate1 also1 the personal refinement and delicacy of his habits1 the order and purity that extended to all his ways4 ,while he repressed self-indulgence and the profusion of extravagant luxury1 he felt keenly and justified bravely that profusion of the heart that delights in costliness as an expression of love4 ,there seems to be reason to think that the retirement and stillness of the peasant life in ,nazareth1 its deeply hidden character1 was peculiarly suited to the constitutional taste both of ,jesus and his mother4 ,mary seems1 from the little we see of her1 to have been one of those silent1 brooding women who seek solitude and meditation1 whose thoughts are expressed only confidentially to congenial natures4 ,there is every evidence that our ,lord's individual and human nature was in this respect peculiarly sympathetic with that of his mother4 ,the prophecy of ,isaiah predicts this trait of his character3 ,he shall not cry1 nor lift up1 nor cause his voice to be heard in the street4 ,in the commencement of his ministry we find the same avoidance of publicity4 ,he hushed the zeal of his disciples4 ,he wrought miracles with injunctions of secrecy--,see thou tell no man4 ,the rush of sensational popularity seemed especially distasteful to him1 and we find him after a little retiring from it4 ,come ye with me into a desert place and rest awhile1 he says to his disciples1 for there were so many coming and going that they found no leisure so much as to eat4 ,thus1 the retirement of the ,garden of ,gethsemane--where it is said ,jesus ofttimes resorted with his disciples--and the quietude of the family of ,mary1 ,martha1 and ,lazarus at ,bethany1 seemed to be especially attractive to him4 ,indeed1 so great a desire had he for quiet and peace1 and for the calm of that congenial thought and communion that can be had with but a few1 that his public life must be regarded as a constant act of self-abnegation4 ,it was as foreign to him to be out in the hot glare and dust of publicity1 and to battle in the crowded ways of life1 as to the most gentle woman4 ,divine ,love was ever1 in this bustling1 noisy1 vulgar1 outward life1 lonely1 and a stranger4 ,he was in the world1 says ,st4 ,john1 and the world was made by him1 but the world knew him not4 ,there was one woman of all women to whom it was given to know him perfectly1 entirely1 intimately--to whom his nature was knit in the closest possible union and identity4 ,he was bone of her bone and flesh of her flesh--his life grew out of her immortal nature4 ,we are led to see in our ,lord a peculiarity as to the manner of his birth which made him more purely sympathetic with his mother than any other son of woman4 ,he had no mortal father4 ,all that was human in him was her nature2 it was the union of the divine nature with the nature of a pure woman4 ,hence there was in ,jesus more of the pure feminine element than in any other man4 ,it was the feminine element exalted and taken in union with divinity4 ,robertson has a very interesting sermon on this point1 showing how the existence of this feminine element in the character of ,jesus supplies all that want in the human heart to which it has been said the worship of the ,virgin ,mother was adapted4 ,christ1 through his intimate relationship with this one highly favored among women1 had the knowledge of all that the heart of man or woman can seek for its needs4 ,there is in the sacred narrative a reticence in regard to the mother of ,jesus which would seem to bear very significantly upon any theories of their mutual relations1 and especially upon their present connection in spiritual matters--the idea that ,mary1 as ,mother of ,god1 retains in heaven authority over her son1 and that he can deny her nothing4 ,st4 ,john takes care to state specifically the scene in ,cana of ,galilee where ,jesus informs his mother that1 in his divine relations and duties1 her motherly relation has no place4 ,woman1 what have ,i to do with thee8 mine hour is not yet come4 ,the address1 though not in the connection wanting in respect1 or so abrupt as it appears in the translation1 was still very decided1 and was undoubtedly one of those declarations meant not only for her but for mankind4 ,in the same spirit are his words where1 in his public ministration1 word was brought to him that his mother and his brethren stood without1 desiring to see him3-- ,who is my mother1 and who are my brethren8 ,and he looked around on them that sat about him1 and said1 ,behold my mother and my brethren4 ,for whosoever shall do the will of ,god1 the same is my brother and sister and mother4 ,from that noble utterance1 the ,song of ,mary1--retained by the church as a ,magnificat1--there is evidence of a soul not only exalted by genius and enthusiasm1 but steeped in the traditions of ancient prophecy4 ,it is so like the ,psalms of ,david that a verse of it1 if read out casually1 might seem to be taken from them4 ,there is no doubt that a soul like this1 when possessed of the great secret of prophecy1 devoted itself with ardor to all in the ,hebrew ,scriptures which foreshadowed her son's career4 ,she was the first teacher of the child ,jesus in the ,law and the ,prophets4 ,one of ,raphael's most beautiful conceptions of her represents her sitting thoughtfully1 holding the hand of the infant ,jesus1 while the roll of the prophecies lies in her lap1 and her eyes are fixed on the distance as in deep thought4 ,there is a similar picture of her by ,palma ,vecchio4 ,the communings of ,christ and his mother on these subjects must have been so long and so intimate that she more calmly and clearly knew exactly whither his life was tending than did his disciples4 ,she had been forewarned in ,daniel of the time when the ,messiah was to be cut off1 but not for himself2 she understood1 doubtless1 the deep1 hidden meaning of the ,psalm that describes the last agonies1 the utter abandonment of her son4 ,there is in her whole character a singular poise and calmness4 ,when the ,angel of the ,annunciation appeared to her she was not overcome by the presence of a spiritual being as ,daniel was1 who records that he fell on his face and there was no strength in him4 ,mary1 in calm and firm simplicity1 looks the angel in the face1 and ponders what the wonderful announcement may mean4 ,when she finds that it really does mean that she1 a poor lonely maiden1 is the chosen woman of all the human race--the gainer of the crown of which every ,jewish woman had dreamed for ages--she is still calm4 ,she does not sink under the honor1 she is not confused or overcome1 but answers with gentle submission1 ,behold the handmaid of the ,lord1 be it unto me according to his word4 ,yet the words of the ,magnificat show a keen sense of the honor and favor done her4 ,she exults in it with an innocent heartiness of simplicity4 ,he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaid1 for from henceforth all nations shall call me blessed4 ,it is remarkable that ,mary was never in any one instance associated in public work with ,jesus4 ,she was not among the women who are mentioned as following and ministering unto him4 ,she was1 it seems1 in ,jerusalem at the last ,passover of our ,lord1 but it was not with her1 or at her table1 that he prepared to eat the ,passover4 ,he did that as master in his own house1 with a family of little children of his own choosing4 ,mary was not at the first ,eucharistic feast4 ,undoubtedly there was foreknowledge and divine design in all this1 and doubtless ,jesus and ,mary were so completely one in will and purpose that she was of perfect accord with him in all these arrangements4 ,there are souls so perfectly attuned to each other1 with such an exact understanding and sympathy1 that personal presence no longer becomes a necessity4 ,they are always with each other in spirit1 however outwardly separated4 ,but we find her with him once more1 openly and visibly1 in the hour when all others forsook him4 ,the delicacy of woman may cause her to shrink from the bustle of public triumph1 but when truth and holiness are brought to public scorn she is there to defend1 to suffer1 to die4 ,can we conceive what this mob was1 that led ,jesus forth to death8 ,mobs in our day are brutal1 but what were they then8 ,consider what the times must have been when scourging was an ordinary punishment for criminals1 and crucifixion an ordinary mode of execution2 what were the sights1 the sounds1 the exhibitions of brutality among which ,mary and the women friends of ,jesus followed him to the cross6 ,and ,mary did not faint--did not sink4 ,she did not fall to the earth when an angel predicted her glory2 she did not fall now1 when the sword had gone through her heart4 ,it is all told in one word1 ,now there stood by the cross of ,jesus his mother4 ,the last word that ,jesus spoke to any mortal ear was to commend her to his dearest friend4 ,after the resurrection ,mary appears once more among the disciples1 waiting and praying for a descent of the ,holy ,ghost--and then in the sacred record we hear of her no more4 ,but enough is recorded of her to make her forever dear to all ,christian hearts4 ,that ,mary is now with ,jesus1 that there is an intimacy and sympathy between her soul and his such as belong to no other created being1 seems certain4 ,nor should we suffer anything to prevent that just love and veneration which will enable us to call her ,blessed1 and to look forward to meeting her in heaven as one of the brightest joys of that glorious world4 ,v ,,the ,,holy ,,childhood ,in the first recorded public prayer of the ,apostles after the resurrection of our ,lord he is called ,,thy ,,holy ,,child ,,jesus4 ,the expression is a very beautiful one if we couple it with the ,master's declaration that the greatest in the kingdom of heaven is the most like a little child1 and that to become as a little child is the first step toward fitness for the knowledge of spiritual things4 ,there has been in this world one rare flower of ,paradise1--a holy childhood growing up gradually into a holy manhood1 and always retaining in mature life the precious1 unstained memories of perfect innocence4 ,the family at ,nazareth was evidently a secluded one4 ,persons of such an elevated style of thought as ,joseph and ,mary1 conscious of so solemn a destiny and guarding with awe the treasure and hope of a world1 must have been so altogether different from the ordinary peasants of ,nazareth that there could have been little more than an external acquaintance between them4 ,they were undoubtedly loving1 gentle1 and tender to every one1 full of sympathy for trouble and of kind offices in sickness1 but they carried within their hearts a treasury of thoughts1 emotions1 and hopes1 which could not be perceived by those whose spiritual eyes had never been opened4 ,it is quite evident from the surprise that the ,nazarenes manifested when ,christ delivered his first sermon among them that they had never seen anything unusual in the family1 and that ,christ himself had been living among them only as the carpenter's son4 ,this case is not peculiar4 ,the great artist or poet often grows to manhood without one of his townspeople suspecting who he is1 and what world he lives in4 ,milton or ,raphael might so have grown up unknown in a town of obscure fishermen4 ,the apocryphal gospels have busied themselves in inventing legends of this child-life of ,jesus4 ,nothing so much shows the difference between the false and the true as these apocryphal gospels compared with the real4 ,jesus is represented there as a miraculous child1 using supernatural power for display among his schoolmates and for the gratification of childish piques and resentments4 ,the true gospel gives but one incident of the child-life of ,jesus1 and that just at the time when childhood is verging into youth2 for the rest1 we are left to conjecture4 ,we are told that his infancy was passed in the land of ,egypt4 ,jesus was the flower of his nation1--he was the blossom of its history1--and therefore it seemed befitting that his cradle should be where was the cradle of his great forerunner1 ,moses1 on the banks of the ,nile4 ,the shadows of the ,pyramids1 built by the labors of his ancestors1 were across the land of his childhood1 and the great story of their oppression and deliverance must have filled the thoughts and words of his parents4 ,so imbued was the ,jewish mind with the habit of seeing in everything in their history the prophecy and type of the great ,fulfiller1 that ,st4 ,matthew speaks of this exile in ,egypt as having occurred that the type might find completeness1 and that ,israel1 in the person of its ,head and ,representative1 might a second time be called out of ,egypt3-- ,that it might be fulfilled that was spoken of the ,lord by the prophet1 ,out of ,egypt have ,i called my son4 ,we do not know with any definiteness the length of this sojourn in ,egypt1 nor how much impression the weird and solemn scenery and architecture of ,egypt may have made upon the susceptible mind of the child2 but to the parents it must have powerfully and vividly recalled all that ancient and prophetic literature which in every step pointed to their wonderful son4 ,the earliest instructions of ,jesus must have been in this history and literature of his own nation--a literature unique1 poetic1 and sublime4 ,but we have no tidings of him till that time in his history when1 according to the customs of his people1 he was of age to go up to the great national festival at ,jerusalem4 ,the young ,jewish boy was instructed all the earlier years of his life in view of this great decisive step1 which1 like confirmation in the ,christian ,church1 ranked him as a fully admitted member of the house of ,israel4 ,it was customary to travel to ,jerusalem in large companies or caravans1 beguiling the way with hymns of rejoicing as they drew nigh to the holy city4 ,jesus1 probably1 was one of many boys who for the first time were going up to their great national festival4 ,one incident only of this journey is given1 but that a very striking one4 ,after the feast was over1 when the caravan was returning1 they passed a day's journey on their way without perceiving that the child was not among the travelers4 ,this--in a large company of kinsfolk and acquaintance1 and where ,jesus might have been1 as he always afterward seemed to be1 a great personal favorite--was quite possible4 ,his parents1 trusting him wholly1 and feeling that he was happy among friends1 gave themselves no care till the time of the evening encampment4 ,then1 discovering their loss1 they immediately retraced their steps the next day to ,jerusalem1 inquiring for him vainly among their acquaintances4 ,they at last turned their steps toward the outer courts of the temple1 where was the school of the learned ,rabbins who explained the law of ,god4 ,there1 seated at their feet1 eager and earnest1 asking them questions and hearing their answers1 the child ,jesus had awakened to a new and deeper life1 and become so absorbed as to forget time1 place1 friends1 and everything else in the desire to understand the ,holy ,word4 ,it is a blot upon this beautiful story to speak of ,jesus as disputing with the teachers of his nation1 or setting himself up to instruct them4 ,his position was that of a learner2 we are not told that he asserted anything1 but that he listened and asked questions4 ,the questions of a pure child are often the most searching that can be asked2 the questions of the holy child ,jesus must have penetrated to the very deepest of divine mysteries4 ,those masterly discussions of the sayings of the ,rabbins1 which years after appeared in the ,sermon on the ,mount1 may have sprung from seeds thus dropped into the childish mind4 ,but1 while he is thus absorbed and eager1 his soul burning with newly kindled enthusiasm1 suddenly his parents1 agitated and distressed1 lay hold on him with tender reproach3 ,son1 why hast thou thus dealt with us8 ,behold1 thy father and ,i have sought thee sorrowing4 ,jesus answers1 as he so often did in after life1 as speaking almost unconsciously out of some higher sphere1 and in higher language than that of earth3 ,how is it that ye sought me8 ,did ye not know that ,i must be about my ,father's business8 ,it seemed to say1 ,why be alarmed8 is not this my ,father's house2 is not this study of his law my proper work2 and where should ,i be but here8 ,but immediately it is added1 ,he went down to ,nazareth and was subject to them4 ,even ,christ pleased not himself2 the holiest fire1 the divinest passion1 was made subject to the heavenly order1 and immediately he yielded to the father and mother whom ,god had made his guides an implicit obedience4 ,we have here one glimpse of a consuming ardor1 a burning enthusiasm1 which lay repressed and hidden for eighteen years more1 till the ,father called him to speak4 ,that simple1 natural utterance in the child's mouth--,my ,father--shows the secret of the holy peace which kept him happy in waiting4 ,the ,father was a serene presence1 an intimate and inward joy4 ,in the beautiful solitudes about ,nazareth the divine benediction came down upon him3-- ,i will be as the dew to ,israel3 ,he shall grow as the lily1 ,and cast forth his roots as ,lebanon4 ,these two natural symbols seem fittest to portray the elements of that holy childhood which grew to holiest manhood4 ,they give us1 as its marked characteristics1 the shining purity of the lily and the grand strength and stability of the cedars of ,lebanon4 ,,vi ,,gentile ,,prophecies ,,of ,,christ ,now when ,jesus was born in ,bethlehem of ,juda1 in the days of ,herod the king1 behold there came wise men to ,jerusalem1 saying1 ,where is he that is born ,king of the ,jews8 for we have seen his star in the east1 and are come to worship him4 ,was the ,messiah to be the ,king of the ,jews alone8 ,no2 he was for the world2 he was the ,good ,shepherd of nations1 and declared that he had other sheep1 not of this fold4 ,it seems to be most striking that1 in the poetical and beautiful account of the birth of ,jesus1 there is record of two distinct classes who come to pay him homage--not only the simple-minded and devout laboring people of the ,jews1 but also the learned sages of the ,gentiles4 ,there are constant intimations throughout the ,old ,testament that ,god's choice of the ,jews was no favoritism2 that he had not forgotten other races1 but was still the ,god and ,father of mankind2 and that he chose ,israel not to aggrandize one people1 but to make that people his gift-bearers to the whole world4 ,there are distinct evidences in the ,old ,testament that the coming ,saviour was caring for others beside the ,jewish race4 ,witness his gracious promise to the slave ,hagar that he would bless her descendants4 ,in the very family line from which ,messiah was to be born a loving and lovely ,moabite woman was suffered to be introduced as the near ancestress of ,king ,david1 and the name of the ,gentile ,ruth stands in the genealogy of ,jesus as a sort of intimation that he belonged not to a race but to the world4 ,in a remarkable passage of ,isaiah 7xliv4 #bh1 xlv4 #a1 #d1 #e7 ,jehovah1 proclaiming his supreme power1 declares himself to be ,he ,that saith of ,cyrus-- ,he is my shepherd1 ,he shall perform all my pleasure4 ,even saying to ,jerusalem1 ,thou shalt be built2 ,and to the ,temple1 ,thy foundations shall be laid4 ,thus saith the ,lord to his anointed1 ,to ,cyrus1 whose right hand ,i have holden4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 ,for ,jacob my servant's sake1 ,for ,israel mine elect1 ,i have called thee by my name3 ,i have surnamed thee1 though thou hast not known me4 ,i am the ,lord1 and there is none else1 there is no ,god beside me3 ,i girded thee1 though thou hast not known me4 ,the ,babylonian captivity answered other purposes beside the punishment and restoration of the ,jewish nation to the worship of the true ,god4 ,it was a sort of prophetic ,epiphany1 in which the ,messianic aspirations of the ,jews fell outside of their own nation1 like sparks of fire on those longings which were common to the human race4 ,even the ,jewish prophet spoke of the ,messiah as ,the ,desire of all ,nations4 ,and this desire and the hope of its fulfillment were burning fervently in the souls of all the best of the ,gentile nations2 for not among the ,jews alone1 but among all the main races and peoples of antiquity1 have there been prophecies and traditions more or less clear of a ,being who should redeem the race of man from the power of evil and bring in an era of peace and love4 ,the yearning1 suffering heart of humanity formed to itself such a conception out of its own sense of need4 ,poor helpless man felt himself an abandoned child1 without a ,father1 in a scene of warring and contending forces4 ,the mighty1 mysterious1 terrible ,god of nature was a being that he could not understand1 felt unable to question4 ,job in his hour of anguish expressed the universal longing3-- ,oh that ,i knew where ,i might find him6 ,i would come even to his seat1 ,i would order my cause before him1 ,i would fill my mouth with arguments4 ,would he plead against me with his great power8 ,nay1 but he would put strength in me4 ,and again3-- ,he is not a man as ,i am that ,i should answer him1 and that we should come together in judgment4 ,neither is there any daysman that might lay his hand on both of us4 ,it was for this ,mediator1 both divine and human1 who should interpret the silence of ,god to man1 who should be his ,word to his creatures1 that all humanity was sighing4 ,therefore it was that the first vague promise was a seed of hope1 not only in the ,jewish race1 but in all other nations of the earth4 ,one of the earliest and most beautiful prophecies of the coming ,messiah is from the heathen astrologer1 ,balaam3-- ,balaam the son of ,beor saith1 ,the man whose eyes are open1 saith1 ,he which heard the word of ,god ,and knew the knowledge of the ,most ,high1 ,which saw the vision of the ,almighty1 ,falling into a trance and having his eyes open3 ,i shall see ,,him1 but not now4 ,i shall behold ,,him1 but not nigh4 ,there shall come a ,,star out of ,jacob1 ,a sceptre shall rise out of ,israel4 ,out of ,jacob shall come ,,he that shall have dominion6 ,of late there has been discovered in ,nineveh a large work on the system of magic of the ,chaldee soothsayers1 written on tiles of baked clay1 in the arrow-head characters4 ,here we have a minute account1 of the ,chaldeans--the astrologers and the sorcerers spoken of in ,daniel--with specimens of their liturgic forms and invocations4 ,m4 ,lenormant1 who has issued a minute account of this work with translations of many parts of it1 gives an interesting account of the religious ideas of the ,chaldees in the very earliest period of antiquity1 as old or older than that of the soothsayer ,balaam4 ,he says the supreme divinity1 whom they called ,,ea1 was regarded as too remote and too vast to be approached by human prayer1 and that he was to be known only through the medium of another divinity1 his first-begotten ,son1 to whom is given a name signifying the ,benefactor of ,man4 ,the prayers and ascriptions to this divinity remind us of the ,old ,testament addresses to the ,messiah4 ,the ,hebrew poet says3-- ,of old hast thou laid the foundations of the earth1 ,and the heavens are the work of thy hands4 ,the ancient invocation upon the tiles of ,nineveh addressed to the ,mediator runs thus3-- ,great ,lord of earth6 ,king of all lands1 ,first-begotten ,son of ,ea1 ,director of heaven and earth1 ,most merciful among the gods1 ,thou who restorest the dead to life4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 ,we see here the reflection of a ,being such as the contemporaries of ,abraham in the land of the ,chaldees must have looked forward to--an image of that diffused and general faith which pervaded the world in the days when the patriarch was called to be the ,father of a peculiar people4 ,in the ,zendavesta--begun about the age of ,daniel--also are traces of the same ,being1 with prophecies of his future appearance on earth to restore the human race to peace and goodness4 ,in one of the ,zend books we have a passage strikingly like some of the prophetic parts of ,daniel4 ,as ,nebuchadnezzar saw the future history of the world under the form of an image1 made of four precious metals1 so ,zoroaster was made to see the same under the image of a tree in which four trunks proceed from a common root4 ,the first was a golden1 the second a silver1 the third a steel1 and the fourth an iron one4 ,in the same manner as in ,daniel1 these trees are interpreted as successive monarchies of the earth4 ,the last1 the iron one1 was to be the dominion of demons and dark powers of evil1 and after it was to come the ,,saviour1 or ,,sosiosch 7a ,zend word71 who was to bring in the restitution of all things from the power of evil1 and the resurrection of the dead4#d #d ,these passages are quoted and commented on by ,hilgenfeld on the ,apocalyptic ,literature of the ,hebrews1 and ,lcke on the ,apocalypse of ,st4 ,john4 ,the same ideas were expressed in the ,sibylline oracles4 ,the story of the ,sibyl who offered her books to ,tarquin1 in the early days of ,rome1 is known to every child who studies ,roman history4 ,from the remains of these writings1 still extant1 they appear to contain predictions of the world's future1 much resembling those of ,daniel and ,isaiah4 ,they predict the coming of a ,great ,deliverer of the human race1 a millennium of righteousness1 a resurrection of the dead1 and a ,day of ,judgment4 ,about forty years before the birth of ,christ1 ,virgil wrote his beautiful ,eclogue of ,pollio4 ,the birthplace of ,virgil was near the town of ,cum1 where lived the ,cuman ,sibyl1 and her traditionary history and her writings must have deeply impressed his mind4 ,possibly he only thought of them as a poet thinks of a fine theme for the display of poetic imagery2 and possibly he may have meant to make of this eclogue a complimentary prophecy of some patron among the powerful of his times4 ,but when we remember that it was published only about forty years before the birth of ,christ1 and that no other historical character corresponding to this prediction ever appeared1 it becomes1 to say the least1 a remarkable coincidence4 ,bishop ,lowth says that the mystery of this eclogue has never been solved1 and intimates that he would scarcely dare to express some of the suppositions which it has inspired4 ,may not ,virgil1 like ,balaam1 have been carried beyond himself in the trance of poetic inspiration1 and seen afar the ,star that should arise out of ,israel8 ,he too might have exclaimed3-- ,i shall see him1 but not now4 ,i shall behold him1 but not nigh4 ,the words of ,virgil have a fire and fervor such as he seems to have had in no other composition1 as he sings3-- ,the last age of the ,cuman song is come4 ,the great cycle of ages hastens to a new beginning4 ,now1 too1 returns the reign of ,justice4 ,the golden age of ,saturn now returns4 ,while thou1 ,pollio1 art consul1 ,this glory of our age shall make his appearance4 ,the great months begin to roll4 ,he shall partake of the life of the gods1 ,and rule the peaceful world with his father's virtues4 ,then follow a profusion of images of peace and plenty that should come to the world in the reign of this hero4 ,all poisonous and hurtful things shall die2 all rare and beautiful ones shall grow and abound2 there shall be no more toil1 no more trouble4 ,then1 with a fine burst of imagery1 the poet represents the ,fates themselves as singing1 to the whirring music of their spindles1 a song of welcome3-- ,ye ages1 hasten6 ,dear offspring of the gods1 set forward on thy way to highest honors2 ,the time is at hand4 ,see1 the world with its round weight bows to thee4 ,to thee bow the earth1 the regions of the sea and heaven sublime4 ,see how all things rejoice at the approach of this age6 ,o that my life might last to see and sing thy deeds6 ,the close of this eclogue has a mysterious tenderness4 ,the poet predicts that this sublime personage1 for whom the world is waiting1 should be born amidst the afflictions of his parents and under a cloud of poverty and neglect3-- ,come1 little boy1 and know thy mother with a smile4 ,come1 little boy1 on whom thy parents smile not1 ,whom no god honors with a table1 ,no goddess with a cradle4 ,it would seem as if the sensitive soul of ,virgil1 in the ecstasy of poetic inspiration1 acquired a vague clairvoyance of that scene at ,bethlehem when there was no room for ,joseph and ,mary at the inn1 and the ,heir of all things lay in a manger1 outcast and neglected4 ,not in ,virgil alone1 but scattered also here and there through all antiquity1 do we find vague1 half-prophetic aspirations after the divine ,teacher who should interpret ,god to man1 console under the sorrows of life1 and charm away the fears of death4 ,in the ,phdo1 when ,socrates is comforting his sorrowful disciples in view of his approaching death1 and setting before them the probabilities of a continued life beyond the grave1 one of them tells him that they believe while they hear him1 but when he is gone their doubts will all return1 and says1 ,where shall we find a charmer then to disperse our fears8 ,socrates answers that such a ,charmer will yet arise1 and bids his disciples seek him in all lands of the earth4 ,greece1 he says1 is wide1 and there are many foreign lands and even barbarous countries in which they should travel searching for ,him1 for there is nothing for which they could more reasonably spend time and money4 ,and in the discourse of ,socrates with ,alcibiades1 as given by ,plato1 the great philosopher is represented as saying1 ,we must wait till ,one shall teach us our duty towards gods and men4 ,alcibiades asks1 ,when1 ,o ,socrates1 shall that time come1 and who will be the ,teacher8 ,most happy should ,i be to see this man1 whoever he is4 ,the ,sage replies1 ,he is ,one who is concerned for thee4 ,he feels for thee an admirable regard4 ,when one reads these outreachings for an unknown ,saviour in the noblest minds of antiquity1 it gives pathos and suggestive power to that emotion which our ,lord manifested only a few days before his death1 when word was brought him that there were certain ,greeks desiring to see him4 ,when the message was brought to him he answered with a burst of exultation1 ,the hour is come that the ,son of man should be glorified6 ,except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die1 it abideth alone1 but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit1 and ,i1 if ,i be lifted up1 will draw all men unto me6 ,he was indeed the ,teacher who had been concerned for ,alcibiades1 who had cared for ,socrates4 ,he was the ,charmer whom ,socrates bade his disciples seek above all things4 ,he was the unknown bringer of good for whom ,virgil longed4 ,he was the ,star of ,balaam1 the ,benefactor of the ,chaldee astrologers1 the ,saviour predicted by the ,persian ,zoroaster4 ,he was1 it is true1 the ,shepherd of ,israel1 but he had a heart for the other sheep not of this fold1 who were scattered through all nations of the earth4 ,he belonged not to any nation1 but to the world1 and hence aptly and sublimely did the last prophecy proclaim1 ,the desire of all nations shall come6 ,,vii ,,the ,,hidden ,,years ,,of ,,christ ,one great argument for the divine origin of the mission of ,jesus is its utter unlikeness to the wisdom and ways of this world4 ,from beginning to end1 it ignored and went contrary to all that human schemes for power would have advised4 ,it was first announced1 not to the great or wise1 but to the poor and unlettered4 ,and when the holy child1 predicted by such splendid prophecies1 came and had been adored by the shepherds and magi1 had been presented in the temple and blessed by ,simeon and ,anna--what then8 ,suddenly he disappears from view4 ,he is gone1 no one knows whither--hid in a distant land4 ,in time the parents return and settle in an obscure village4 ,nobody knows them1 nobody cares for them1 and the child grows up as the prophet predicted1 ,as a tender plant1 a root out of dry ground2 the lonely lily of ,nazareth4 ,and then there were thirty years of silence1 when nobody thought of him and nobody expected anything from him4 ,there was time for ,zacharias and ,elisabeth and ,simeon and ,anna to die2 for the shepherds to cease talking of the visions2 for the wise ones of the earth to say1 ,oh1 as to that child1 it was nothing at all6 ,he is gone4 ,nobody knows where he is4 ,you see it has all passed by--a mere superstitious excitement of a few credulous people4 ,and during these hidden years what was ,jesus doing8 ,we have no record4 ,it was said by the ,apostle that in all respects it behooved him to be made like his brethren4 ,before the full splendor of his divine gifts and powers descended upon him1 it was necessary that he should first live an average life1 such as the great body of human beings live4 ,for1 of ,christ as he was during the three years of his public life1 it could not be said that he was in all respects in our situation or experiencing our trials4 ,he had unlimited supernatural power2 he could heal the sick1 raise the dead1 hush the stormy waters1 summon at his will legions of angels4 ,a being of such power could not be said to understand exactly the feelings of our limitations and weaknesses4 ,but those years of power were only three in the life of our ,lord2 for thirty years he chose to live the life of an obscure human being4 ,jesus prepared for his work among men by passing through the quiet experience of a workingman in the lower orders4 ,the tradition of the church is that ,joseph1 being much older than ,mary1 died while ,jesus was yet young1 and thus the support of his mother devolved upon him4 ,overbeck has a very touching picture in which he represents ,joseph as breathing his last on the bosom of ,jesus2 it is a sketch full of tenderness and feeling4 ,what balance of mind1 what reticence and self-control1 what peace resulting from deep and settled faith1 is there in this history1 and what a cooling power it must have to the hot and fevered human heart that burns in view of the much that is to be done to bring the world right6 ,nothing was ever so strange1 so visionary1 to all human view so utterly and ridiculously hopeless of success1 as the task that ,jesus meditated during the thirty years when he was quietly busy over his carpenter's bench in ,nazareth4 ,hundreds of years before1 the prophet ,daniel saw1 in a dream1 a stone cut out of the mountain without hands1 growing till it filled the earth4 ,thus the ideal kingdom of ,jesus grew in the silence and solitude of his own soul till it became a power and a force before which all other forces of the world have given way4 ,the ,christian religion was the greatest and most unprecedented reform ever introduced4 ,in the present age of the world1 the whole movement and uneasiness and convulsion of what is called progress comes from the effort to adjust existing society to the principles laid down by ,jesus4 ,the ,sermon on the ,mount was1 and still is1 the most disturbing and revolutionary document in the world4 ,this being the case1 what impresses us most in the character of ,jesus1 as a reformer1 is the atmosphere of peacefulness that surrounded him1 and in which he seemed to live and move and have his being4 ,human beings as reformers are generally agitated1 hurried1 impatient4 ,scarcely are the spirits of the prophets subject to the prophets4 ,they are liable to run before the proper time and season1 to tear open the bud that ought to unfold2 they become nervous1 irascible1 and lose mental and physical health3 and1 if the reform on which they have set their heart fails1 they are overwhelmed with discouragement and tempted to doubt divine ,providence4 ,let us now look at ,jesus4 ,how terrible was the state of the world at the time when he began to reflect upon it in his unfolding youth6 ,how much was there to be done6 ,what darkness1 cruelty1 oppression1 confusion6 ,yet he1 knowing that that was the work of reorganizing1 showed no haste4 ,thirty years was by ,jewish law the appointed time at which a religious teacher should commence his career4 ,jesus apparently felt no impulse to antedate this period2 one incident alone1 in his childhood1 shows him carried away beyond himself by the divine ardor which filled his soul4 ,even then1 his answers to his mother showed the consciousness of a divine and wonderful mission such as belonged only to one of the human race1 and it is immediately added1 ,and he went down to ,nazareth and was subject to them4 ,eighteen years now passed away and nothing was known of the enthusiastic spirit4 ,when he appears in the synagogue at ,nazareth1 he is spoken of simply as the carpenter4 ,how knoweth this man letters8 was the cry of his townsmen4 ,nothing shows more strongly the veiled and hidden and perfectly quiet life that ,jesus had been leading among them4 ,he had been a carpenter1 not a teacher4 ,the humble1 calm1 unobtrusive life of a good mechanic1 who does every day's duty in its time and place1 is not a thing that calls out any attention in a community4 ,there are many followers of ,jesus in this world who are living the same silent1 quiet life1 who would not be missed in the great world if they were gone1 who1 being always in place and time1 and working without friction or jar1 come to be as much disregarded as the daily perfect work of nature4 ,the life of ,jesus must also have been a silent one4 ,of all the things that he must have been capable of saying we find not one recorded4 ,and the wonder of his townsmen at his capacity of speech shows that there had been no words spoken by him before to accustom them to it4 ,in our ,saviour's public career we are surprised at nothing so much as his calmness4 ,he was never in haste4 ,his words have all the weight of deliberation1 and the occasions when he refrains from speech are fully as remarkable as the things he says4 ,there seems to be about him none of the wearying anxiety as to immediate results1 none of the alternations of hope and discouragement that mark our course4 ,he had faith in ,god1 whose great plan he was working1 whose message he came to deliver1 and whose times and seasons he strictly regarded4 ,so1 too1 did he regard the mental and spiritual condition of the imperfect ones by whom he was surrounded4 ,i have many things to say to you1 but ye cannot bear them now1 he said even to his disciples4 ,when their zeal transcended his1 and they longed to get hold of the thunderbolts and call down fire from heaven1 his grave and steady rebuke recalled them3 ,ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of4 ,we see his disciples excited1 ardent1--now coming back with triumph to tell how even the devils were subject to them1 now forbidding one to cast out devils because he followed not them1 now contending who should be greatest2 and among them sits the ,master1 lowly1 thoughtful1 tranquil1 with the little child on his knee1 or bending to wash the feet of a disciple1 the calmest1 sweetest1 least assuming of them all4 ,this should be the model of all ,christian reformers4 ,he that believeth shall not make haste is the true motto of ,christian reform4 ,and these great multitudes1 to whose hands no special1 individual power is given--they are only minute workers in a narrower sphere4 ,daily toils1 small economies1 the ordering of the material cares of life1 are all their lot4 ,before them in their way they can see the footsteps of ,jesus4 ,we can conceive that in the lowly path of his life all his works were perfect1 that never was a nail driven or a line laid carelessly1 and that the toil of that carpenter's bench was as sacred to him as his teachings in the temple1 because it was duty4 ,sometimes there is a sadness and discontent1 a repressed eagerness for some higher sphere1 that invades the minds of humble workers4 ,let them look unto ,jesus1 and be content4 ,all they have to do is to be faithful over a few things1 and in his own time he will make them ruler over many things4 ,,viii ,,the ,,prayer-,,life ,,of ,,jesus ,the ,bible presents us with the personality of a magnificent ,being--the only-begotten ,son of ,god--who1 being in the form of ,god and without robbery equal with ,god1 emptied himself of his glory and took upon him the form of a servant2 and1 being found in fashion as a man1 humbled himself and became obedient to death--even the death of the cross4 ,this great ,being1 we are told1 entered the race of mortality1 divested of those advantages which came from his divine origin1 and assuming all those disadvantages of limitation and dependence which belong to human beings4 ,the ,apostle says1 ,it behooved him in all respects to be made like unto his brethren4 ,his lot was obedience--dependence upon the ,father--and he gained victories by just the means which are left to us--faith and prayer4 ,now1 there are many good people whose feeling about prayer is something like this3 ,i pray because ,i am commanded to1 not because ,i feel a special need or find a special advantage in it4 ,in my view we are to use our intellect and our will in discovering duties and overcoming temptations1 quite sure that ,god will1 of course1 aid those who aid themselves4 ,this class of persons look upon all protracted seasons of prayer and periods spent in devotion as so much time taken from the active duties of life4 ,a week devoted to prayer1 a convention of ,christians meeting to spend eight or ten days in exercises purely devotional1 would strike them as something excessive and unnecessary1 and tending to fanaticism4 ,if ever there was a human being who could be supposed able to meet the trials of life and overcome its temptations in his own strength1 it must have been ,jesus ,christ4 ,but his example stands out among all others1 and he is shown to us as peculiarly a man of prayer4 ,the wonderful quietude and reticence of spirit in which he awaited the call of his ,father to begin his great work has already been noticed4 ,he waited patiently1 living for thirty years the life of a common human being of the lower grades of society1 and not making a single movement to display either what may be called his natural gifts1 of teaching1 etc41 or those divine powers which were his birthright4 ,having taken the place of a servant1 as a servant he waited the divine call4 ,when that call came he consecrated himself to his great work by submitting to the ordinance of baptism4 ,we are told that as he went up from the waters of baptism1 praying1 the heavens were opened and the ,holy ,ghost descended upon him1 and a voice from heaven said1 ,thou art my beloved ,son1 in thee ,i am well pleased4 ,might we not think that now the man ,jesus ,christ would feel fully prepared to begin at once the work to which ,god so visibly called him8 ,but no4 ,the divine ,spirit within him led to a still farther delay4 ,more than a month's retreat from all the world's scenes and ways1 a period of unbroken solitude1 was devoted to meditation and prayer4 ,if ,jesus ,christ deemed so much time spent in prayer needful to his work1 what shall we say of ourselves8 ,feeble and earthly1 with hearts always prone to go astray1 living in a world where everything presses us downward to the lower regions of the senses and passions1 how can we afford to neglect that higher communion1 those seasons of divine solitude1 which were thought necessary by our ,master8 ,it was in those many days devoted entirely to communion with ,god that he gained strength to resist the temptations of ,satan1 before which we so often fall4 ,whatever we may think of the mode and manner of that mysterious account of the temptations of ,christ1 it is evident that they were met and overcome by the spiritual force gained by prayer and the study of ,god's word4 ,but it was not merely in this retirement of forty days that our ,lord set us the example of the use of seasons of religious seclusion4 ,there is frequent mention made in the ,gospels of his retiring for purposes of secret prayer4 ,in the midst of the popularity and success that attended his first beneficent miracles1 we are told by ,st4 ,mark that1 rising up a great while before day1 he went out into a solitary place and there prayed4 ,his disciples went to look for him1 and found him in his retirement1 and brought him back with the message1 ,all men are seeking for thee4 ,in ,luke v4 #af1 it is said3 ,he withdrew himself into the wilderness and prayed2 and on another occasion 7,luke iv4 #db71 he says3 ,and when it was day1 he departed and went into a desert place4 ,again1 when preparing to take the most important step in his ministry1 the choice of his twelve ,apostles1 we read in ,luke vi4 #ab3 ,and it came to pass in those days that he went out into a mountain to pray1 and continued all night in prayer to ,god2 and when it was day1 he called unto him his disciples2 and of them he chose twelve1 whom also he named apostles4 ,it was when his disciples found him engaged in prayer1 and listened for a little while to his devotions1 that they addressed to him the petition1 ,lord1 teach us to pray4 ,might we not all1 in view of his example1 address to him the same prayer8 ,surely if there is anything in which ,christ's professed disciples need to learn of him it is in prayer4 ,not only in example but in teaching did he exhort to prayer4 ,watch and pray were words so often upon his lips that they may seem to be indeed the watchwords of our faith4 ,he bids us retire to our closets and with closed door pray to our ,father in secret4 ,he says that men ought always to pray and not to faint1 though the answer be delayed4 ,he reasons from what all men feel of parental longings in granting the requests of their little children1 and says1 ,if ye1 being evil1 are so ready to hear your children1 how much more ready will your ,father in heaven be to give good things to them that ask him4 ,nay1 he uses a remarkable boldness in urging us to be importunate in presenting our requests1 again and again1 in the face of apparent delay and denial4 ,he shows instances where even indifferent or unjust people are overcome by sheer importunity1 and intimates how much greater must be the power of importunity--urgent1 pressing solicitation--on a ,being always predisposed to benevolence4 ,by all these methods and illustrations our ,lord incites us to follow his prayerful example1 and to overcome1 as he overcame1 by prayer4 ,the ,christian ,church felt so greatly the need of definite seasons devoted to religious retirement that there grew up among them the custom now so extensively observed in ,christendom1 of devoting forty days in every year to a special retreat from the things of earth1 and a special devotion to the work of private and public prayer4 ,like all customs1 even those originating in deep spiritual influences1 this is too apt to degenerate into a mere form4 ,many associate no ideas with fasting except a change in articles of food4 ,the true spiritual fasting1 which consists in turning our eyes and hearts from the engrossing cares and pleasures of earth and fixing them on things divine1 is lost sight of4 ,our forty days are not like our ,lord's1 given to prayer and the study of ,god's ,word4 ,nothing could make the period of ,lent so much of a reality as to employ it in a systematic effort to fix the mind on ,jesus4 ,the history in the ,gospels is so well worn that it often slips through the head without affecting the heart4 ,but if1 retiring into solitude for a portion of each day1 we should select some one scene or trait or incident in the life of ,jesus1 and with all the helps we can get seek to understand it fully1 tracing it in the other evangelists1 comparing it with other passages of ,scripture1 etc41 we should find ourselves insensibly interested1 and might hope that in this effort of our souls to understand him1 ,jesus himself would draw near1 as he did of old to the disciples on the way to ,emmaus4 ,this looking unto ,jesus and thinking about him is a better way to meet and overcome sin than any physical austerities or spiritual self-reproaches4 ,it is by looking at him1 the ,apostle says1 as in a glass1 that we are changed into the same image1 as from glory to glory4 ,,ix ,,the ,,temptations ,,of ,,jesus ,intimately connected with the forty days of solitude and fasting is the mysterious story of the ,temptation4 ,we are told in the ,epistle to the ,hebrews that our ,lord was exposed to a peculiar severity of trial in order that he might understand the sufferings and wants of us feeble human beings4 ,for in that he himself hath suffered1 being tempted1 he is able to succor those who are tempted4 ,we are to understand1 then1 that however divine was our ,lord's nature in his prexistent state1 he chose to assume our weakness and our limitations1 and to meet and overcome the temptations of ,satan by just such means as are left to us--by faith and prayer and the study of ,god's ,word4 ,there are many theories respecting this remarkable history of the temptation4 ,some suppose the ,evil ,spirit to have assumed a visible form1 and to have been appreciably present4 ,but if we accept the statement we have quoted from the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 that our ,lord was tempted in all respects as we are1 it must have been an invisible and spiritual presence with which he contended4 ,the temptations must have presented themselves to him1 as to us1 by thoughts injected into his mind4 ,it seems probable that1 of many forms of temptation which he passed through1 the three of which we are told are selected as specimens1 and if we notice we shall see that they represent certain great radical sources of trial to the whole human race4 ,first comes the temptation from the cravings of animal appetite4 ,perhaps hunger--the want of food and the weakness and faintness resulting from it--brings more temptation to sin than any other one cause4 ,to supply animal cravings men are driven to theft and murder1 and women to prostitution4 ,the more fortunate of us1 who are brought up in competence and shielded from want1 cannot know the fierceness of this temptation--its driving1 maddening power4 ,but he who came to estimate our trials1 and to help the race of man in their temptations1 chose to know what the full force of the pangs of hunger were1 and to know it in the conscious possession of miraculous power which could at any moment have supplied them4 ,to have used this power for the supply of his wants would have been at once to abandon that very condition of trial and dependence which he came to share with us4 ,it was a sacred trust1 not given for himself but for the world4 ,it was the very work he undertook1 to bear the trials which his brethren bore as they were called to bear them1 with only such helps as it might please the ,father to give him in his own time and way4 ,so when the invisible tempter suggested that he might at once relieve this pain and gratify this craving1 he answered simply that there was a higher life than the animal1 and that man could be upborne by faith in ,god even under the pressure of utmost want4 ,man shall not live by bread alone1 but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of ,god4 ,how many poor1 suffering followers of ,christ1 called to forsake the means of livelihood for conscience' sake1 have been obliged to live as ,christ did on the simple promise of ,god1 and to wait4 ,such sufferers may feel that they are not called to this trial by one ignorant of its nature or unsympathetic with their weakness4 ,and the same consolation applies to all who struggle with the lower wants of our nature in any form4 ,christ's pity and sympathy are for them4 ,all who struggle with animal desires in any form1 which duty forbids them to gratify1 may remember that ,god has given them an ,almighty ,saviour1 who1 having suffered1 is able to succor those that are tempted4 ,the second trial was no less universal4 ,it was the temptation to use his sacred and solemn gifts from ,god for purposes of personal ostentation and display4 ,why not1 suggests the tempter1 descend from the pinnacle of the temple upborne by angels8 ,how striking a manifestation of the power of the ,son of ,god6 ,to this came the grave answer1 ,thou shalt not tempt the ,lord thy ,god1--by needlessly incurring a danger which would make miraculous deliverance necessary4 ,is no one in our day put to this test8 ,is not the young minister at ,god's altar1 to whom is given eloquence and power over the souls of men1 in danger of this temptation to theatric exhibitions--ostentatious display of self--this seeking for what is dramatic and striking1 rather than what is for ,god's service and glory8 ,whoever is intrusted with power of any kind or in any degree is tempted to use it selfishly rather than divinely4 ,to all such the ,lord's temptation and resistance of it gives assurance of help if help be sought4 ,but finally came the last1 the most insidious temptation1 and its substance seemed to be this3 ,why not use these miraculous gifts to make a worldly party8 ,why not flatter the national vanity of the ,jews1 excite their martial spirit1 lead them to a course of successful revolt against their masters1 and then of brilliant conquest1 and seize upon all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them8 ,to be sure1 this will require making concession here and there to the evil passions of men1 but when the supreme power is once gained all shall go right4 ,why this long1 slow path of patience and self-denial8 ,why this conflict with the world8 ,why the cross and the grave8 ,why not the direct road of power1 using the worldly forces first1 and afterwards the spiritual8 ,this seems to be a free version of all that is included in the proposition3 ,all this power will ,i give thee1 and the glory of it2 for that is delivered unto me and to whomsoever ,i will ,i give it4 ,if1 therefore1 thou wilt worship me all shall be thine4 ,the indignant answer of ,jesus shows with what living energy he repelled every thought of the least concession to evil1 the least advantage to be gained by following or allowing the corrupt courses of this world4 ,he would not flatter the rich and influential4 ,he would not conceal offensive truth4 ,he would seek the society of the poor and despised4 ,he taught love of enemies in the face of a nation hating their enemies and longing for revenge4 ,he taught forgiveness and prayer1 while they were longing for battle and conquest4 ,he blessed the meek1 the sorrowful1 the merciful1 the persecuted for righteousness1 instead of the powerful and successful4 ,if he had been willing to have been such a king as the ,scribes and ,pharisees wanted they would have adored him and fought for him4 ,but because his kingdom was not of this world they cried3 ,not this man1 but ,barabbas6 ,it is said that after this temptation the ,devil departed from him for a season4 ,but all through his life1 in one form or another1 that temptation must have been suggested to him4 ,when he told his ,apostles that he was going up to ,jerusalem to suffer and to die1 ,peter1 it is said1 rebuked him with earnestness3 ,that be far from thee1 ,lord2 such things shall not happen to thee4 ,jesus instantly replies1 not to ,peter1 but to the ,invisible ,enemy who through ,peter's affection and ambition is urging the worldly and self-seeking course upon him3 ,get thee behind me1 ,satan1 thou art an offence unto me4 ,thou savorest not the things that be of ,god but of man4 ,we are told that the temptation of ,christ was so real that he suffered1 being tempted4 ,he knew that he must disappoint the expectations of all his friends who had set their hearts on the temporal kingdom1 that he was leading them on step by step to a season of unutterable darkness and sorrow4 ,the cross was bitter to him1 in prospect as in reality1 but never for a moment did he allow himself to swerve from it4 ,as the time drew near1 he said1 ,now is my soul troubled1 and what shall ,i say8 ,father1 save me from this hour8 ,but1 for this cause came ,i unto this hour2--,father1 glorify thy name6 ,is not this lifelong temptation which ,christ overcame one that meets us all every day and hour8 ,to live an unworldly life2 never to seek place or power or wealth by making the least sacrifice of conscience or principle2 is it easy8 is it common8 ,yet he who chose rather to die on the cross than to yield in the slightest degree his high spiritual mission can feel for our temptations and succor us even here4 ,the ,apostle speaks of life as a race set before us1 which we are to win by laying aside every impediment and looking steadfastly unto ,jesus1 who1 for the joy that was set before him1 endured the cross4 ,our victories over self are to be gained not so much by self-reproaches and self-conflicts as by the enthusiasm of looking away from ourselves to ,him who has overcome for us4 ,our ,christ is not dead1 but alive forevermore6 ,a living presence1 ever near to the soul that seeks salvation from sin4 ,and to the struggling and the tempted he still says1 ,look unto ,,me1 and be ye saved4 ,x ,,our ,,lord',s ,,bible ,the life of ,jesus1 regarded from a mere human point of view1 presents an astonishing problem4 ,an obscure man in an obscure province has revolutionized the world4 ,every letter and public document of the most cultured nations dates from his birth1 as a new era4 ,how was this man educated8 ,we find he had no access to the ,greek and ,roman literature4 ,jesus was emphatically a man of one book4 ,that book was the ,hebrew ,scriptures1 which we call the ,old ,testament4 ,the ,old ,testament was his ,bible1 and this single consideration must invest it with undying interest for us4 ,we read the ,bible which our parents read4 ,we see1 perhaps1 pencil-marks here and there1 which show what they loved and what helped and comforted them in the days of their life-struggle1 and the ,bible is dearer to us on that account4 ,then1 going backward along the bright pathway of the sainted and blessed who lived in former ages1 the ,bible becomes diviner to us for their sake4 ,the ,bible of the ,martyrs1 the ,bible of the ,waldenses1 the ,bible of ,luther and ,calvin1 of our ,pilgrim ,fathers1 has a double value4 ,i have in my possession a very ancient black-letter edition of the ,bible printed in #aebb1 more than three hundred years ago4 ,in this edition many of the ,psalms have been read and re-read1 till the paper is almost worn away4 ,some human heart1 some suffering soul1 has taken deep comfort here4 ,if to have been the favorite1 intimate friend of the greatest number of hearts be an ambition worthy of a poet1 ,david has gained a loftier place than any poet who ever wrote4 ,he has lived next to the heart of men1 and women1 and children1 of all ages1 in all climes1 in all times and seasons1 all over the earth4 ,they have rejoiced and wept1 prayed and struggled1 lived and died1 with ,david's words in their mouths4 ,his heart has become the universal ,christian heart1 and will ever be1 till earth's sorrows1 and earth itself1 are a vanished dream4 ,it is too much the fashion of this day to speak slightingly of the ,old ,testament4 ,apart from its grandeur1 its purity1 its tenderness and majesty1 the ,old ,testament has this peculiar interest to the ,christian1--it was the ,bible of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,as a man1 ,jesus had a human life to live1 a human experience to undergo4 ,for thirty silent years he was known among men only as a carpenter in ,nazareth1 and the ,scriptures of the ,old ,testament were his daily companions4 ,when he emerges into public life1 we find him thoroughly versed in the ,scriptures4 ,allusions to them are constant1 through all his discourses2 he continually refers to them as writings that reflect his own image4 ,search the ,scriptures1 he says1 for they are they that testify of me4 ,the ,psalms of ,david were to ,jesus all and more than they can be to any other son of man4 ,in certain of them he saw himself and his future life1 his trials1 conflicts1 sufferings1 resurrection1 and final triumph foreshadowed4 ,he quoted them to confound his enemies4 ,when they sought to puzzle him with perplexing questions he met them with others equally difficult1 drawn from the ,scriptures4 ,he asks them3-- ,what think ye of the ,messiah8 whose son is he8 ,they say unto him1 the ,son of ,david4 ,he saith unto them1 ,how then doth ,david in spirit call him ,lord1 saying1 ,the ,lord said unto my ,lord1 ,sit thou on my right hand till ,i make thine enemies thy footstool8 ,if ,david then call him ,lord1 how is he his son8 ,so1 when they ask the question1 ,which is the greatest commandment of all8 he answers by placing together two passages in the ,old ,testament1 the one commanding supreme love to ,god and the other impartial love to man's neighbor4 ,the greatest commandment of all nowhere stands in the ,old ,testament exactly as ,jesus quotes it1 the first part being found in ,deuteronomy vi4 #e1 and the second in ,leviticus xix4 #ah4 ,this is a specimen of the exhaustive manner in which he studied and used the ,scriptures4 ,our ,saviour quotes often also from the prophets4 ,in his first public appearance in his native village he goes into the synagogue and reads from ,isaiah4 ,when they question and disbelieve1 he answers them by pointed allusions to the stories of ,naaman the ,syrian and the widow of ,sarepta4 ,when the ,sadducees raise the question of a future life1 he replies by quoting from the ,pentateuch that ,god calls himself the ,god of ,abraham1 ,isaac1 and ,jacob1 and ,god is not the ,god of the dead1 but the ,god of the living1 for all are alive to him4 ,he cites the history of ,jonah as a symbol of his own death and resurrection2 and at the last moment of his trial before the ,high ,priest1 when adjured to say whether he be the ,christ or not1 he replies in words that recall the sublime predictions in the ,book of ,daniel of the coming of ,messiah to judgment4 ,the prophet says3-- ,i saw in my vision1 and1 behold1 ,one like the ,son of man came with the clouds of heaven1 and came to the ,ancient of days2 and there was given unto him dominion and glory and a kingdom1 that all people and nations and languages should serve him4 ,his dominion is an everlasting dominion1 that shall not pass away or be destroyed4 ,when the ,high ,priest of the ,jews said to ,jesus1 ,i adjure thee by the living ,god that thou tell us whether thou be ,messiah or not1 he answered1 ,i am2 and hereafter ye shall see the ,son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven4 ,so much was the character of our ,lord's teaching colored and impregnated by the writings of the ,old ,testament that it is impossible fully to comprehend ,jesus without an intimate knowledge of them4 ,to study the life of ,christ without the ,hebrew ,scriptures is to study a flower without studying the plant from which it sprung1 the root and leaves which nourished it4 ,he continually spoke of himself as a ,being destined to fulfill what had gone before4 ,think not1 he said1 that ,i am come to destroy the ,law and the ,prophets4 ,i am not come to destroy but to fulfill4 ,he frequently spoke of himself as of the order and race of ,jewish prophets2 like them he performed symbolic acts which were visible prophecies1 as when he knew his nation had finally rejected him he signified their doom by the awful sign of the blasted fig-tree4 ,through all the last days of ,jesus1 as his death approaches1 we find continual references to the ,old ,testament prophecies1 and quotations from them4 ,and after his resurrection1 when he appears to his disciples1 he opens to them the ,scriptures2 that talk on the way to ,emmaus was an explanation of the prophecies1 by our ,lord himself4 ,would that it had been recorded6 ,would not our hearts too have burned within us6 ,now1 a book that was in life and in death so dear to our ,lord1 a book which he interpreted as from first to last a preparation for and prophecy of himself1 cannot but be full of interest to us ,christians4 ,when we read the ,old ,testament ,scriptures we go along a track that we know ,jesus and his mother must often have trod together4 ,the great resemblance in style between the ,song of ,mary and the ,psalms of ,david is one of the few indications given in ,holy ,writ of the veiled and holy mystery of his mother's life4 ,she was a poetess1 a prophetess1 one whose mind was capable of the highest ecstasy of inspiration4 ,let us read the ,psalms again1 with the thought in our mind that they were the comforters1 the counselors of ,jesus and ,mary4 ,what was so much to them cannot be indifferent to us4 ,nor did the disciples and ,apostles in the glow of the unfolding dispensation cease to reverence and value those writings so closely studied by their ,lord4 ,they did not speak of them as a worn-out thing1 that had had its day1 but they alluded to them with the affectionate veneration due to divine oracles4 ,the prophecy came not of old times by the will of man1 but holy men of old spake as they were moved by the ,holy ,ghost4 ,st4 ,paul congratulates ,timothy that from a child thou hast known the ,holy ,scriptures1 which are able to make thee wise unto salvation1 and adds3 all ,scripture is given by inspiration of ,god1 and is profitable for doctrine1 for reproof1 for correction1 for instruction in righteousness1 that the man of ,god may be perfect1 thoroughly furnished unto all good works4 ,even while the ,new ,testament was being formed1 its writers gave this complete testimony to the ,old1 as being able to make men wise unto salvation1 and to complete a man's spiritual education4 ,this book1 then1 so dear to ,christ and his ,apostles1 is something that should be dear to all ,christians4 ,its study will enrich the soul4 ,it is wonderful1 mysterious1 unique--there is no sacred book like it in the world2 and in reading it we come nearer to ,him who was foretold by it1 and who when he came upon the earth found in it nourishment for his soul1 instruction and spiritual refreshment by the wayside1 comfort even in the extreme agonies of a dreadful death4 ,however dear to us may be the story of his life in the ,gospels and his teachings through his ,apostles and their ,epistles1 let us in following his steps forget not the ,scriptures which he bade us search1 but diligently read and love the ,bible of our ,lord4 ,,xi ,,christ',s ,,first ,,sermon ,the first public sermon of the long-desired ,messiah--his first declaration of his mission and message to the world--what was it8 ,it was delivered in his own city of ,nazareth1 where he had been brought up2 it was on the ,sabbath day2 it was in the synagogue where he had always worshiped2 and it was in manner and form exactly in accordance with the customs of his national religion4 ,it had always been customary among the ,jews to call upon any member of the synagogue to read a passage from the book of the prophets2 and the young man ,jesus1 concerning whom certain rumors had vaguely gone forth1 was on the day in question called to take his part in the service4 ,it was a holy and solemn moment1 when the long silence of years was to be broken4 ,jesus was surrounded by faces familiar from infancy4 ,his mother1 his brothers1 his sisters1 were all there2 every eye was fixed upon him4 ,the historian says3-- ,and there was delivered unto him the book 7or roll7 of the prophet ,isaiah1 and when he had unrolled the book he found the place where it is written 7,isaiah lxi473-- ,the spirit of the ,lord is upon me4 ,he hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor2 ,he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted2 ,to preach deliverance to the captives2 ,the recovering of sight to the blind2 ,to set at liberty them that are bruised2 ,to preach the acceptable year of the ,lord4 ,we may imagine the sweetness1 the tenderness1 the enthusiasm with which this beautiful announcement of his mission was uttered2 and when1 closing the book1 he looked round on the faces of his townsmen and acquaintances1 and said1 ,this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears1--it was an appeal of ,heavenly love yearning to heal and to save those nearest and longest known4 ,it would seem that the sweet voice1 the graceful manner1 at first charmed the rough audience2 there was a thrilling1 vibrating power1 that struck upon every heart4 ,but those hearts were cold and hard4 ,a ,saviour from sin1 a ,comforter of sorrow1 was not what they were looking for in their ,messiah4 ,they felt themselves good enough spiritually1 in their observance of the forms of their law and ritual2 they were stupidly content with themselves and wanted no comforter4 ,what they did want was a brilliant military leader4 ,they wanted a miracle-working1 supernatural ,lord and ,commander that should revenge their national wrongs1 conquer the ,romans1 and set the ,jewish people at the head of the world4 ,having heard of the miracles of ,christ in ,cana and ,capernaum1 they had thought that perhaps he might prove this ,leader1 and if so1 what a glory for ,nazareth6 ,but they were in a critical1 exacting mood2 they were in their hearts calling for some brilliant and striking performance that should illuminate and draw attention to their town4 ,although the congregation were at first impressed and charmed with the gracious words and manner of the speaker1 the hard1 vulgar spirit of envy and carping criticism soon overshadowed their faces4 ,who is this ,jesus--is he not the carpenter8 ,what sign does he show8 ,let him work some miracles forthwith1 and we will see if we will believe4 ,it was this disposition which our ,lord felt in the atmosphere around him2 the language of souls uttered itself to him unspoken4 ,he answered as he so often did to the feeling he saw in the hearts rather than the words of those around him4 ,he said1 ,ye will say to me1 ,physician1 heal thyself4 ,do here in thy native place the marvels we have heard of in ,capernaum4 ,i tell you a truth2 no prophet is accepted in his own country4 ,there were many widows in ,israel in the time of the prophet ,elijah1 but he was sent only to a widow of ,sarepta1 a city of ,sidon4 ,there were many lepers in ,israel in the time of ,elisha1 yet none of them was healed but ,naaman the ,syrian4 ,it would seem as if our ,lord was preparing to show them that he had a mission of love and mercy that could not be bounded by one village1 or even by the chosen race of ,israel1 but was for the world4 ,but the moment he spoke of favors and blessings given to the ,gentiles the fierce national spirit flamed up2 the speech was cut short by a tumultuous uprising of the whole synagogue4 ,they laid violent hands on ,jesus and hurried him to the brow of the precipice on which their city was built1 to cast him down headlong4 ,but before the murder was consummated the calm majesty of ,jesus had awed his persecutors4 ,their slackened hands dropped2 they looked one on another irresolute3 and he1 passing silently through the midst of them1 went his way4 ,he had offered himself to them as their ,saviour from sin and from sorrow in the very fullness of his heart4 ,heavenly tenderness and sweetness had stretched out its arms to embrace them1 and been repulsed by sneering coldness and hard1 worldly unbelief4 ,nazareth did not want ,him2 and he left it4 ,it was the first of those many rejections which ,he at last summed up when he said1 ,how often would ,i have gathered thy children1 and ye would not4 ,but1 though he thus came to his own and his own received him not1 yet the lovely and gracious proclamation which he made then and there still stands unfading and beautiful as a rainbow of hope over this dark earth4 ,the one ,being sent into the world to represent the ,invisible ,father1 and to show us the hidden heart and purposes of ,god in this mysterious life of ours1 there declared that his mission was one of pity1 of help1 of consolation2 that the poor1 the bruised1 the desolate1 the prisoner1 might forever find a ,friend in him4 ,there are times when the miseries and sorrows of the suffering race of man1 the groaning and travailing of this mysterious life of ours1 oppress us1 and our faith in ,god's love grows faint4 ,then let us turn our thoughts to this divine ,personality1 ,jesus1 the anointed ,son of ,god1 and hear him saying now1 as he said at ,nazareth3-- ,the spirit of the ,lord is upon ,,me4 ,he hath sent me to preach good tidings to the poor2 ,he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted1 ,to preach deliverance to the captives1 ,the recovering of sight to the blind1 ,to set at liberty them that are bruised6 ,it is said of him in the prophets3 ,he shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set judgment in the earth4 ,the isles shall wait for his law4 ,our ,redeemer is mighty2 the ,lord of ,hosts is his name--our ,saviour1 the ,holy ,one of ,israel6 ,,xii ,,the ,,friendships ,,of ,,jesus ,in turning our thoughts toward various scenes of our ,lord's life1 we are peculiarly affected with the human warmth and tenderness of his personal friendships4 ,the little association of his own peculiar friends makes a picture that we need to study to understand him4 ,st4 ,john touchingly says3 ,now when the time was come that ,jesus should depart out of the world unto the ,father1 having loved his own which were in the world he loved them unto the end4 ,when we think that all that we know of our ,lord comes through these friends of his--the witnesses and recorders of his life and death--we shall feel more than ever what he has made them to us4 ,without them we should have had no ,jesus4 ,our ,lord1 with all that he is to us1 is represented to us through the loving hearts and affectionate records of these his chosen ones4 ,it is amazing to think of1 that our ,lord never left to his church one line written by his own hand1 and that all his words come to us transfused through the memories of his friends4 ,how much to us1 then1 were these friendships of ,jesus--how dear to us1 for all eternity1 these friends6 ,we are told that immediately after the resurrection there was an associated church of one hundred and twenty1 who are characterized by ,peter as men that have companied with us all the time that the ,lord ,jesus went in and out among us4 ,the account of how these friends were gathered to him becomes deeply interesting4 ,st4 ,john relates how1 one day1 ,john the ,baptist saw ,jesus walking by the ,jordan in silent contemplation1 and pointed him out to his disciples3 ,behold the ,lamb of ,god4 ,and the two disciples heard him speak and followed ,jesus4 ,then ,jesus turned and said1 ,what seek ye8 ,they said1 ,master1 where dwellest thou8 ,he answered1 ,come and see4 ,they came and saw where he dwelt1 and abode with him that day4 ,we learn from this that some of the disciples were those whose spiritual nature had been awakened by ,john the ,baptist1 and who1 under his teaching1 were devoting themselves to a religious life4 ,we see the power of personal attraction possessed by our ,lord1 which drew these simple1 honest natures to himself4 ,one of these men was ,andrew1 the brother of ,simon ,peter1 and he immediately carried the glad tidings to his brother1 ,we have found the ,messiah2 and he brought him to ,jesus4 ,thus1 by a sort of divine attraction1 one brother and friend bringing another1 the little band increased4 ,some were more distinctly called by the ,master4 ,matthew1 the tax-gatherer1 sitting in his place of business1 heard the words1 ,follow me1 and immediately rose up1 and left all and followed him4 ,james and ,john forsook their nets1 in the midst of their day's labor1 to follow him4 ,in time1 a little band of twelve left all worldly callings and home ties1 to form a traveling mission family of which ,jesus was the head and father4 ,others1 both men and women1 at times traveled with them and assisted their labors2 but these twelve were the central figures4 ,these twelve men ,jesus took to nurture and educate as the expounders of the ,christian religion and the organizers of the church4 ,st4 ,john1 in poetic vision1 sees the church as a golden city descending from ,god out of heaven1 having twelve foundations1 and in them the names of these twelve ,apostles of the ,lamb4 ,this plan of choosing honest1 simple-hearted1 devout men1 and revealing himself to the world through their human nature and divinely educated conceptions1 had in it something peculiar and original4 ,when we look at the selection made by ,christ of these own ones1 we see something widely different from all the usual methods of earthly wisdom4 ,they were neither the most cultured nor the most influential of their times4 ,the majority of them appear to have been plain workingmen1 from the same humble class in which our ,lord was born4 ,but the ,judan peasant1 under the system of religious training and teaching given by ,moses1 was no stolid or vulgar character4 ,he inherited lofty and inspiring traditions1 a ritual stimulating to the spiritual and poetic nature1 a system of ethical morality and of tenderness to humanity in advance of the whole ancient world4 ,a good ,jew was frequently a man of spiritualized and elevated devotion4 ,supreme love to ,god and habitual love and charity to man were the essentials of his religious ideal4 ,the whole system of divine training and discipline to which the ,jewish race had been subjected for hundreds of years had prepared a higher moral average to be chosen from than could have been found in any other nation4 ,when ,jesus began to preach1 it was the best and purest men that most deeply sympathized and were most attracted1 and from them he chose his intimate circle of followers--to train them as the future ,apostles of his religion4 ,the new dispensation that ,jesus came to introduce was something as yet uncomprehended on earth4 ,it was a heavenly ideal1 and these men--simple1 pure-hearted1 and devout as they were--had no more conception of it than a deaf person has of music4 ,it was a new manner of life1 a new style of manhood1 that was to constitute this kingdom of ,heaven4 ,it was no outward organization--no earthly glory4 ,man was to learn to live1 not by force1 not by ambition1 not by pleasure1 but by ,,love4 ,man was to become perfect in love as ,god is1 so that loving and serving and suffering for others should become a fashion and habit in this world1 where ruling and domineering and making others suffer had been the law4 ,and ,jesus took into his family twelve men to prepare them to be the ,apostles of this idea4 ,his mode was more that of a mother than a father4 ,he strove to infuse ,himself into them by an embracing1 tender1 brooding love2 ardent1 self-forgetful1 delicate1 refined4 ,as we read the ,new ,testament narrative of the walks and talks of ,jesus with these chosen ones1 their restings by the wayside1 their family conversations at evening1 when he sat with some little child on his knee1 when he listened to their sayings1 reproved their failings1 settled their difficulties with one another1 we can see no image by which to represent the ,master but one of those loving1 saintly mothers1 who1 in leading along their little flock1 follow nearest in the footsteps of ,jesus4 ,jesus trusted more to personal love1 in forming his church1 than to any other force4 ,the power of love in developing the intellect and exciting the faculties is marked1 even on the inferior animals4 ,the dog is changed by tender treatment and affectionate care2 he becomes half human1 and seems to struggle to rise out of the brute nature toward a beloved master4 ,rude human natures are correspondingly changed1 and he who has great power of loving and exciting love may almost create anew whom he will4 ,jesus1 that guest from brighter worlds1 brought to this earth the nobler ideas of love1 the tenderness1 the truth1 the magnanimity1 that are infinite in the ,all-,loving4 ,what of ,god could be expressed and understood by man ,he was1 and ,st4 ,john says of his ethereal gentleness and sweetness of nature3 ,the light shined in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not4 ,the varieties of natural character in this family of ,jesus were such as to give most of the usual differences of human beings4 ,the ,master's object was to unite them to each other by such a love that they should move by a single impulse1 as one human being1 and that what was lacking in one might be made up by what was abundant in another4 ,as ,he expressed it in his last prayer3 ,that they all may be one1 as ,thou1 ,father1 art in me and ,i in ,thee1 that they also may be one in us3 that the world may believe that ,thou hast sent me4 ,how diverse were the elements6 ,simon ,peter1 self-confident1 enthusiastic1 prompt to speak and to decide4 ,thomas1 slow and easily disheartened2 always deficient in hope1 and inclined to look upon the dark side1 yet constant unto death in his affections4 ,james and ,john1 young men of the better class1 belonging to a rich family1 on terms of intimate acquaintance with the ,high ,priest4 ,of these brothers1 ,john is the idealist and the poet of the little band1 but far from being the weak and effeminate character painters and poets have generally conceived4 ,james and ,john were surnamed ,boanerges--sons of thunder4 ,they were the ones who wanted to call down fire on the village that refused to receive their ,lord4 ,it was they who joined in the petition preferred by their mother for the seat of honor in the future kingdom4 ,young1 ardent1 impetuous1 full of fire and of that susceptibility to ambition which belongs to high-strung and vivid organizations1 their ardor was like a flame1 that might scorch and burn as well as vivify4 ,then there was ,matthew1 the prosaic1 the exact matter-of-fact man1 whose call it was to write what critics have called the bodily gospel of our ,lord's life1 as it was that of ,john to present the inner heart of ,jesus4 ,these few salient instances show the strong and marked diversities of temperament and character which ,jesus proposed to unite into one whole1 by an intense personal love which should melt down all angles1 and soften asperities1 and weld and blend the most discordant elements4 ,it is the more remarkable that he undertook this task with men in mature life1 and who had already been settled in several callings1 and felt the strain of all those causes which excite the individual self-love of man4 ,in guiding all these1 we can but admire the perfect tolerance of the ,master toward the wants of each varying nature4 ,tolerance for individual character is about the last ,christian grace that comes to flower in family or church4 ,much of the raspings1 and gratings1 and complaints in family and church are from the habit of expecting and exacting that people should be what they never were made to be4 ,our ,lord did not reprove ,thomas for being a despondent doubter1 beset by caution even when he most longed to believe4 ,he graciously granted the extremest test which his hopeless nature required--he suffered him to put his finger in the print of the nails and to examine the wounded side2 and there is but a tender shadow of a reproof in what he said--,thomas1 because thou hast seen me1 thou hast believed2 blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed4 ,in our day there are many disciples of ,thomas1 loving doubters1 who would give their hearts' blood to fully believe in this risen ,jesus2 they would willingly put their hands in the print of the nails2 and for them the ,master has a spiritual presence and a convincing nearness1 if they will but seek it4 ,so1 again1 we notice the tender indulgence with which the self-confident ,peter is listened to as he always interposes his opinion4 ,we think we can see the ,master listening with a grave smile1 as a mother to her eldest and most self-confident boy4 ,sometimes he warmly commends1 and sometimes he bears down on him with a sharpness of rebuke which would have annihilated a softer nature4 ,when ,peter officiously counsels worldly expediency1 and the avoidance of the sufferings for which ,jesus came1 the reply is sharp as lightning3 ,get thee behind me1 ,satan2 thou art an offence unto me2 for thou savorest not the things of ,god1 but those that be of man4 ,yet we can see that the ,master knows his man1 and knows just how hard to strike4 ,that eager1 combative1 self-confident nature not only can bear sharp treatment1 but must have it at times1 or never come to anything4 ,we see ,peter's self-asserting nature spring up after it1 cheerful as ever4 ,he yields to the reproof2 but he is ,peter still1 prompt with his opinion at the next turn of affairs1 and the ,master would not for the world have him anybody else but ,peter4 ,we see also that it was a manner of the ,master to deal with the conscience of his children1 and rebuke their faults without exposing them to the censure of others4 ,when he saw that the sin of covetousness was growing upon ,judas1 leading to dishonesty1 he combated it by the most searching and stringent teaching4 ,beware of covetousness1 for a man's life consisteth not in the things that he possesseth2 this and other passages1 which will be more fully considered in another chapter1 would seem to have been all warnings to ,judas1 if he would but have listened4 ,so1 too1 his tenderness for ,john1 whom tradition reports to have been the youngest of the disciples1 marked a delicate sense of character4 ,to lean on his bosom was not sought by ,matthew or ,thomas1 though both loved him supremely2 it fell to the lot of ,john1--as in a family flock1 where one1 the youngest and tenderest1 is always found silently near the mother2 the others smile to see him always there1 and think it well4 ,there are in ,st4 ,john's narrative touches of that silent accord between him and ,jesus1 that comprehension without words1 which comes between natures strung alike to sympathy4 ,to him ,jesus commended his mother1 as the nearest earthly substitute for himself4 ,yet1 after all1 when for this one so dear1 so accordant with his own personal feelings1 a request was made for station and honor in the heavenly kingdom1 he promptly refused4 ,his personal affection for his friends was to have no undue influence in that realm of things which belonged to the purely divine disposal4 ,the kingdom of heaven is within you1 he taught2 and ,john's place in the spiritual domain must depend upon ,john's own spirit4 ,there is one trait in the character of these chosen disciples of ,christ which is worth a special thought4 ,they were not1 as we have seen1 in any sense remarkable men intellectually1 but they had one preparation for the work for which ,jesus chose them which has not been a common one1 either then or since4 ,they were wholly consecrated to ,god4 ,it is not often we meet with men capable of an entire self-surrender2 these men were4 ,they were so entirely devoted to ,god that1 when ,jesus called on them to give up their worldly callings and forsake all they had1 to follow him1 they obeyed without a question or a hesitating moment4 ,how many men should we find in the church now that would do the same8 ,christ proposed this test to one young ruler1--amiable1 reverent1 moral1 and religious1--and he went away sad4 ,he could do a great deal for ,god1 but he could not give up ,,all4 ,christ's disciples gave ,,all to him1 and therefore he gave ,,all to them4 ,therefore he gave them to share his throne and his glory4 ,the ,apocalyptic vision showed graven on the foundations of the golden city the names of the twelve ,apostles of the ,lamb1 those true-hearted men who were not only to be the founders of his church on earth1 but were1 while he was yet in the flesh1 his daily companions1 his friends1 his own4 ,,xiii ,,christ',s ,,unworldly ,,methods ,we are struck1 in the history of our ,lord1 with the unworldliness of his manner of living his daily life and fulfilling his great commission4 ,it is emphatically true1 in the history of ,jesus1 that his ways are not as our ways1 and his thoughts as our thoughts4 ,he did not choose the disciples of his first ministry as worldly wisdom would have chosen them4 ,though men of good and honest hearts1 they were neither the most cultured nor the most influential of his nation4 ,we should have said that men of the standing of ,joseph of ,arimathea or ,nicodemus were preferable1 other things being equal1 to ,peter the fisherman or ,matthew the tax-gatherer2 but ,jesus thought otherwise4 ,and1 furthermore1 he sometimes selected those apparently most unlikely to further his ends4 ,thus1 when he had a mission of mercy in view for ,samaria1 he called to the work a woman2 not such as we should suppose a divine teacher would choose1--not a preminently intellectual or a very good woman1--but1 on the contrary1 one of a careless life1 and loose morals1 and little culture4 ,the history of this person1 of the way in which he sought her acquaintance1 arrested her attention1 gained access to her heart1 and made of her a missionary to draw the attention of her people to him1 is wonderfully given by ,st4 ,john4 ,we have the image of a woman--such as many are1 social1 good-humored1 talkative1 and utterly without any high moral sense--approaching the well1 where she sees this weary ,jew reclining to rest himself4 ,he introduces himself to her acquaintance by asking a favor1--the readiest way to open the heart of a woman of that class4 ,she is evidently surprised that he will speak to her1 being a ,jew1 and she a daughter of a despised and hated race4 ,how is it1 she says1 that thou1 a ,jew1 askest drink of me1 a woman of ,samaria8 ,jesus now answers her in that symbolic and poetic strain which was familiar with him3 ,if thou knewest the gift of ,god1 and who this is that asketh drink of thee1 thou wouldst ask of him1 and he would give thee living water4 ,the woman sees in this only the occasion for a lively rejoinder3 ,sir1 thou hast nothing to draw with1 and the well is deep2 from whence then hast thou that living water8 ,with that same mysterious air1 as if speaking unconsciously from out some higher sphere1 he answers1 ,whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again2 but whosoever shall drink of the water that ,i shall give shall never thirst4 ,the water that ,i shall give shall be a well in him springing up to everlasting life4 ,impressed strangely by the words of the stranger1 she answers confusedly1 ,sir1 give me this water1 that ,i thirst not1 neither come hither to draw4 ,there is a feeble attempt at a jest struggling with the awe which is growing upon her4 ,jesus now touches the vital spot in her life4 ,go1 call thy husband and come hither4 ,she said1 ,i have no husband4 ,he answers1 ,well hast thou said ,i have no husband2 thou hast had five husbands1 and he thou now hast is not thy husband2 in that saidst thou truly4 ,the stern1 grave chastity of the ,jew1 his reverence for marriage1 strike coldly on the light-minded woman accustomed to the easy tolerance of a low state of society4 ,she is abashed1 and hastily seeks to change the subject3 ,sir1 ,i see thou art a prophet2 and then she introduces the controverted point of the two liturgies and temples of ,samaria and ,jerusalem1--not the first nor the last was she of those who seek relief from conscience by discussing doctrinal dogmas4 ,then1 to our astonishment1 ,jesus proceeds to declare to this woman of light mind and loose morality the sublime doctrines of spiritual worship1 to predict the new era which is dawning on the world3 ,woman1 believe me1 the hour cometh when neither in this mountain nor yet in ,jerusalem shall ye worship the ,father4 ,the hour cometh and now is when the true worshipper shall worship the ,father in spirit and in truth1 for the ,father seeketh such to worship him4 ,god is a ,spirit1 and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth4 ,then1 in a sort of confused awe at his earnestness1 the woman said1 ,i know that ,messiah shall come1 and when he is come he will tell us all things4 ,jesus saith unto her1 ,i that speak unto thee am he4 ,at this moment the disciples returned4 ,with their national prejudices1 it was very astonishing1 as they drew nigh1 to see that their ,master was in close and earnest conversation with a ,samaritan woman4 ,nevertheless1 when the higher and godlike in ,jesus was fully enkindled1 the light and fire were such as to awe them4 ,they saw that he was in an exalted mood1 which they dared not question4 ,all the infinite love of the ,saviour1 the shepherd of souls1 was awaking within him2 the soul whom he has inspired with a new and holy calling is leaving him on a mission that is to bring crowds to his love4 ,the disciples pray him to eat1 but he is no longer hungry1 no longer thirsty1 no longer weary2 he exults in the gifts that he is ready to give1 and the hearts that are opening to receive4 ,the disciples pray him1 ,master1 eat4 ,he said1 ,i have meat to eat that ye know not of4 ,they question in an undertone1 ,hath any one brought him aught to eat8 ,he answers1 ,my meat and my drink is to do the will of ,him that sent me1 and to finish his work4 ,then1 pointing towards the city1 he speaks impassioned words of a harvest which is at hand2 and they wonder4 ,but meanwhile the woman1 with the eagerness and bright1 social readiness which characterize her1 is calling to her townsmen1 ,come1 see a man that told me all that ever ,i did4 ,is not this the ,christ8 ,what followed on this8 ,a crowd press out to see the wonder4 ,jesus is invited as an honored guest2 he spends two days in the city1 and gathers a band of disciples4 ,after the resurrection of ,jesus1 we find further fruits of the harvest sown by a chance interview of ,jesus with this woman4 ,in the eighth of ,acts we read of the ingathering of a church in a city of ,samaria1 where it is said that the people1 with one accord1 gave heed to the things spoken by ,philip1 and there was great joy in that city4 ,one thing in this story impresses us strongly1--the power which ,jesus had to touch the divinest capabilities in the unlikeliest subjects4 ,he struck at once and directly for what was highest and noblest in souls where it lay most hidden4 ,as physician of souls he appealed directly to the vital moral force1 and it acted under his touch4 ,he saw the higher nature in this woman1 and as one might draw a magnet over a heap of rubbish and bring out pure metal1 so he from this careless1 light-minded1 good-natured1 unprincipled creature brought out the suppressed and hidden yearning for a better and higher life4 ,she had no prejudices to keep1 no station to preserve2 she was even to her own low moral sense consciously a sinner1 and she was ready at the kind and powerful appeal to leave all and follow him4 ,we have no further history of her4 ,she is living now somewhere2 but wherever she may be1 we may be quite sure she never has forgotten the conversation at the well in ,samaria1 and the man who told her all that ever she did4 ,,xiv ,,christ ,,and ,,the ,,fallen ,,woman ,the absolute divinity of ,jesus1 the height at which he stood above all men1 is nowhere so shown as in what he dared and did for woman1 and the godlike consciousness of authority with which he did it4 ,it was at a critical period in his ministry1 when all eyes were fixed on him in keen inquiry1 when many of the respectable classes were yet trembling in the balance whether to accept his claims or not1 that ,jesus in the calmest and most majestic manner took the ground that the sins of a fallen woman were like any other sins1 and that repentant love entitled to equal forgiveness4 ,the story so wonderful can be told only in the words of the sacred narrative3-- ,and one of the ,pharisees desired him that he would eat with him1 and he went into the ,pharisee's house and sat down to meat4 ,and behold a woman in that city which was a sinner1 when she knew that ,jesus sat at meat in the ,pharisee's house1 brought an alabaster box of ointment1 and stood at his feet behind him1 weeping1 and began to wash his feet with tears1 and did wipe them with the hairs of her head1 and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment4 ,now when the ,pharisee which had bidden him saw it1 he spake within himself1 saying1 ,this man1 if he were a prophet1 would have known who and what manner of woman this is1 for she is a sinner4 ,and ,jesus answering said unto him1 ,simon1 ,i have somewhat to say unto thee4 ,he said unto him1 ,master1 say on4 ,there was a certain creditor had two debtors2 the one owed him five hundred pence and the other fifty1 and when they had nothing to pay he frankly forgave them both4 ,tell me1 therefore1 which will love him most4 ,simon answered and said1 ,i suppose he to whom he forgave most4 ,and he said unto him1 ,thou hast rightly judged4 ,and he turned to the woman and said unto ,simon1 ,seest thou this woman8 ,i entered into thy house and thou gavest me no water for my feet1 but she hath washed my feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head4 ,thou gavest me no kiss1 but this woman1 since the time ,i came in1 hath not ceased to kiss my feet4 ,my head with oil thou didst not anoint1 but she hath anointed my feet with ointment4 ,wherefore1 ,i say unto you1 her sins1 which are many1 are forgiven her1 for she loved much2 but to whom little is forgiven the same loveth little4 ,and he said unto her1 ,thy sins are forgiven4 ,and they that sat at meat began to say within themselves1 ,who is this that forgiveth sins also8 ,and he said to the woman1 ,thy faith hath saved thee2 go in peace4 ,nothing can be added to the pathos and solemn dignity of this story1 in which our ,lord assumed with tranquil majesty the rights to supreme love possessed by the ,creator1 and his sovereign power to forgive sins and dispense favors4 ,the repentant ,magdalene became henceforth one of the characteristic figures in the history of the ,christian ,church4 ,mary ,magdalene became eventually a prominent character in the mythic legends of the medival mythology4 ,a long history of missionary labors and enthusiastic preaching of the gospel in distant regions of the earth is ascribed to her4 ,churches arose that bore her name1 hymns were addressed to her4 ,even the reforming ,savonarola addresses one of his spiritual canticles to ,st4 ,mary ,magdalene4 ,the various pictures of her which occur in every part of ,europe are a proof of the interest which these legends inspired4 ,the most of them are wild and poetic1 and exhibit a striking contrast to the concise brevity and simplicity of the ,new ,testament story4 ,the mythic legends make up a romance in which ,mary the sister of ,martha and ,mary ,magdalene the sinner are oddly considered as the same person4 ,it is sufficient to read the chapter in ,st4 ,john which gives an account of the raising of ,lazarus1 to perceive that such a confusion is absurd4 ,mary and ,martha there appear as belonging to a family in good standing to which many flocked with expressions of condolence and respect in time of affliction4 ,and afterwards1 in that grateful feast made for the restoration of their brother1 we read that so many flocked to the house that the jealousy of the chief priests was excited4 ,all these incidents1 representing a family of respectability1 are entirely inconsistent with any such supposition4 ,but while we repudiate this extravagance of the tradition1 there does seem ground for identifying the ,mary ,magdalene who was one of the most devoted followers of our ,lord with the forgiven sinner of this narrative4 ,we read of a company of women who followed ,jesus and ministered to him4 ,in the eighth chapter of ,luke he is said to be accompanied by certain women which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities1 among whom is mentioned ,mary called ,magdalene1 as having been a victim of demoniacal possession4 ,some women of rank and fortune also are mentioned as members of the same company3 ,joanna the wife of ,chusa1 ,herod's steward1 and ,susanna1 and many others who ministered to him of their substance4 ,a modern commentator thinks it improbable that ,mary ,magdalene could be identified with the sinner spoken of by ,st4 ,luke1 because women of standing like ,joanna and ,susanna would not have received one of her class to their company4 ,we ask why not8 ,if ,jesus had received her1 had forgiven and saved her2 if he acknowledged previously her grateful ministrations1--is it likely that they would reject her8 ,it was the very peculiarity and glory of the new kingdom that it had a better future for sinners1 and for sinful woman as well as sinful man4 ,jesus did not hesitate to say to the proud and prejudiced religious aristocracy of his day1 ,the publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of heaven before you4 ,we cannot doubt that the loving ,christian women who ministered to ,jesus received this penitent sister as a soul absolved and purified by the sovereign word of their ,lord1 and henceforth there was for her a full scope for that ardent1 self-devoting power of her nature which had been her ruin1 and was now to become her salvation4 ,some commentators seem to think that the dreadful demoniacal possession which was spoken of in ,mary ,magdalene proves her not to have been identical with the woman of ,st4 ,luke4 ,but1 on the contrary1 it would seem exactly to account for actions of a strange and unaccountable wickedness1 for a notoriety in crime that went far to lead the ,pharisees to feel that her very touch was pollution4 ,the story is symbolic of what is too often seen in the fall of woman4 ,a noble and beautiful nature wrecked through inconsiderate prodigality of love1 deceived1 betrayed1 ruined1 often drifts like a shipwrecked bark into the power of evil spirits4 ,rage1 despair1 revenge1 cruelty1 take possession of the crushed ruin that should have been the home of the sweetest affections4 ,we are not told when or where the healing word was spoken that drove the cruel fiends from ,mary's soul4 ,perhaps before she entered the halls of the ,pharisee1 while listening to the preaching of ,jesus1 the madness and despair had left her4 ,we can believe that in his higher moods virtue went from him1 and there was around him a holy and cleansing atmosphere from which all evil fled away1--a serene and healing purity which calmed the throbbing fever of passion and gave the soul once more the image of its better self4 ,we see in the manner in which ,mary found her way to the feet of ,jesus the directness and vehemence1 the uncalculating self-sacrifice and self-abandon1 of one of those natures which1 when they move1 move with a rush of undivided impulse2 which1 when they love1 trust all1 believe all1 and are ready to sacrifice all4 ,as once she had lost herself in this self-abandonment1 so now at the feet of her ,god she gains all by the same power of self-surrender4 ,we do not meet ,mary ,magdalene again till we find her at the foot of the cross1 sharing the last anguish of our ,lord and his mother4 ,we find her watching the sepulchre1 preparing sweet spices for embalming4 ,in the dim gray of the resurrection morning she is there again1 only to find the sepulchre open and the beloved form gone4 ,everything in this last scene is in consistency with the idea of the passionate self-devotion of a nature whose sole life is in its love4 ,the disciples1 when they found not the body1 went away2 but ,mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping1 and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre4 ,the angel said to her1 ,woman1 why weepest thou8 ,she answered1 ,because they have taken away my ,lord1 and ,i know not where they have laid him4 ,she then turns and sees through her tears dimly the form of a man standing there4 ,jesus saith unto her1 ,woman1 why weepest thou8 whom seekest thou8 ,she1 supposing him to be the gardener1 saith unto him1 ,sir1 if thou have borne him hence1 tell me where thou hast laid him1 and ,i will go and take him away4 ,jesus saith unto her1 ,mary6 ,she turned herself and said unto him1 ,rabboni1--,master6 ,in all this we see the characteristic devotion and energy of her who loved much because she was forgiven much4 ,it was the peculiarity of ,jesus that he saw the precious capability of every nature1 even in the very dust of defilement4 ,the power of devoted love is the crown jewel of the soul1 and ,jesus had the eye to see where it lay trampled in the mire1 and the strong hand to bring it forth purified and brightened4 ,it is the deepest malignity of ,satan to degrade and ruin souls through love4 ,it is the glory of ,christ1 through love1 to redeem and restore4 ,in the history of ,christ as a teacher1 it is remarkable that1 while he was an object of enthusiastic devotion to so many women1 while a band of them followed his preaching and ministered to his wants and those of his disciples1 yet there was about him something so entirely unworldly1 so sacredly high and pure1 that even the very suggestion of scandal in this regard is not to be found in the bitterest vituperations of his enemies of the first two centuries4 ,if we compare ,jesus with ,socrates1 the moral teacher most frequently spoken of as approaching him1 we shall see a wonderful contrast4 ,socrates associated with courtesans1 without passion and without reproof1 in a spirit of half-sarcastic1 philosophic tolerance4 ,no quickening of the soul of woman1 no call to a higher life1 came from him4 ,jesus is stern and grave in his teachings of personal purity1 severe in his requirements4 ,he was as intolerant to sin as he was merciful to penitence4 ,he did not extenuate the sins he forgave4 ,he declared the sins of ,mary to be many in the same breath that he pronounced her pardon4 ,he said to the adulterous woman whom he protected1 ,go1 sin no more4 ,the penitents who joined the company of his disciples were so raised above their former selves1 that1 instead of being the shame1 they were the glory of the new kingdom4 ,st4 ,paul says to the first ,christians1 speaking of the adulterous and impure1 ,such were some of you1 but ye are washed1 but ye are sanctified1 but ye are justified in the name of the ,lord ,jesus1 and by the ,spirit of ,god4 ,the tradition of the church that ,mary ,magdalene was an enthusiastic preacher of ,jesus seems in keeping with all we know of the strength and fervor of her character4 ,such love must find expression1 and we are told that when the first persecution scattered the little church at ,jerusalem1 they that were scattered went everywhere1 preaching the word4 ,some of the most effective preaching of ,christ is that of those who testify in their own person of a great salvation4 ,he can save to the uttermost1 for he has saved me1 is a testimony that often goes more straight to the heart than all the arguments of learning4 ,christianity had this peculiarity over all other systems1 that it not only forgave the past1 but made of its bitter experiences a healing medicine2 so that those who had sinned deepest might have therefrom a greater redeeming power4 ,when thou art converted1 strengthen thy brethren1 was the watchword of the penitent4 ,the wonderful mind of ,goethe has seized upon and embodied this peculiarity of ,christianity in his great poem of ,faust4 ,the first part shows the ,devil making of the sweetest and noblest affection of the confiding ,margaret a cruel poison to corrupt both body and soul4 ,we see her driven to crime1 remorse1 shame1 despair1 all human forms and forces of society united to condemn her1 when with a last cry she stretches her poor hands to heaven and says1 ,judgment of ,god1 ,i commend myself to you2 and then falls a voice from heaven1 ,she is judged2 she is saved4 ,in the second part we see the world-worn1 weary ,faust passing through the classic mythology1 vainly seeking rest and finding none2 he seeks rest in a life of benevolence to man1 but fiends of darkness conflict with his best aspirations1 and dog his steps through life1 and in his dying hour gather round to seize his soul and carry it to perdition4 ,but around him is a shining band4 ,mary the mother of ,jesus with a company of purified penitents encircle him1 and his soul passes1 in infantine weakness1 to the guardian arms of ,margaret1--once a lost and ruined woman1 now a strong and pitiful angel1--who1 like a tender mother1 leads the new-born soul to look upon the glories of heaven1 while angel voices sing to the victory of good over evil3-- ,all that is transient ,is but a parable2 ,the unattainable ,here is made real4 ,the indescribable ,here is accomplished2 ,the eternal womanly ,draws us upward and onward4 ,,xv ,,the ,,revealer ,,of ,,god',s ,,sympathy ,the interest inspired by the wonderful character of ,jesus rests especially on those incidents which are most purely human1 his private1 personal friendships1 his keen sympathy with the suffering and the afflicted4 ,among these incidents the story and characters of the two sisters1 ,martha and ,mary1 have been set before us with a fine individualism of dramatic representation that seems to make them real to us1 even at this distance of time4 ,the two sisters of ,bethany have had for ages a name and a living power in the church4 ,thousands of hearts have throbbed with theirs2 thousands have wept sympathetic tears in their sorrows and rejoiced in their joy4 ,by a few simple touches in the narrative they are so delicately and justly discriminated that they stand for the representatives of two distinct classes4 ,some of the ancient ,christian writers considered them as types of the active and the contemplative aspects of religion4 ,martha is viewed as the secular ,christian1 serving ,god in and through the channels of worldly business1 and ,mary as the more peculiarly religious person1 devoted to a life of holy meditation and the researches of heavenly truth4 ,the two were equally the friends of ,jesus4 ,apparently1 the two sisters with one brother were an orphan family1 united by the strongest mutual affection1 and affording a circle peculiarly congenial to the ,master4 ,they inhabited a rural home just outside of ,jerusalem2 and it seems that here1 after the labors of a day spent in teaching in the city1 our ,lord found at evening a homelike retreat where he could enjoy perfect quiet and perfect love4 ,it would seem1 from many touches in the ,gospel narrative1 as if ,jesus1 amid the labors and applauses and successes of a public life1 yearned for privacy and domesticity1--for that home love which he persistently renounced to give himself wholly to mankind4 ,there is a shade of pathos in his answer to one who proposed to be his disciple and dwell with him3 ,foxes have holes2 the birds of the air have nests2 but the ,son of man hath not where to lay his head4 ,this little orphan circle1 with their quiet home1 were thus especially dear to him1 and it appears that this was his refuge during that last week of his life1 when he knew that every day was bringing him nearer to the final anguish4 ,it is wonderful how sharply and truly1 in a narrative so brief1 the characters of ,martha and ,mary are individualized4 ,martha1 in her ,judan dress and surroundings1 is1 after all1 exactly such a good woman as is often seen in our modern life1--a woman primarily endowed with the faculties necessary for getting on in the world1 yet sincerely religious4 ,she is energetic1 businesslike1 matter-of-fact1 strictly orthodox1 and always ready for every emergency4 ,she lives in the present life strongly and intensely1 and her religion exhibits itself through regular forms and agencies4 ,she believes in the future life orthodoxly1 and is always prompt to confess its superior importance as a matter of doctrine1 though prone to make material things the first in practice4 ,many such women there are in the high places of the ,christian ,church1 and much good they do4 ,they manage fairs1 they dress churches1 they get up religious festivals1 their names are on committees1 they are known at celebrations4 ,they rule their own homes with activity and diligence1 and they are justly honored by all who know them4 ,now1 nothing is more remarkable in the history of ,jesus than the catholicity of his appreciation of character4 ,he never found fault with natural organization1 or expected all people to be of one pattern4 ,he did not break with ,thomas for being naturally a cautious doubter1 or ,peter for being a precipitate believer2 and it is specially recorded in the history of this family that ,jesus loved ,martha4 ,he understood her1 he appreciated her worth1 and he loved her4 ,in ,mary we see the type of those deeper and more sensitive natures who ever aspire above and beyond the material and temporal to the eternal and divine2 souls that are seeking and inquiring with a restlessness that no earthly thing can satisfy1 who can find no peace until they find it in union with ,god4 ,in ,st4 ,luke we have a record of the manner in which the first acquaintance with this family was formed4 ,this historian says3 ,a woman named ,martha received him at her house4 ,evidently the decisive and salient power of her nature caused her to be regarded as mistress of the family4 ,there was a grown-up brother in the family2 but this house is not called the house of ,lazarus1 but the house of ,martha--a form of speaking the more remarkable from the great superiority or leadership which ancient customs awarded to the male sex4 ,but ,martha was one of those natural leaders whom everybody instinctively thinks of as the head of any house they may happen to belong to4 ,her tone toward ,mary is authoritative4 ,the ,mary-nature is a nature apt to appear to disadvantage in physical things4 ,it is often puzzled1 and unskilled1 and unready in the details and emergencies of a life like ours1 which so little meets its deepest feelings and most importunate wants4 ,it acquires skill in earthly things only as a matter of discipline and conscience1 but is always yearning above them to something higher and divine4 ,a delicacy of moral nature suggests to such a person a thousand scruples of conscientious inquiry in every turn of life1 which embarrass directness of action4 ,to the ,martha-nature1 practical1 direct1 and prosaic1 all these doubts1 scruples1 hesitations1 and unreadinesses appear only as pitiable weaknesses4 ,again1 ,martha's nature attaches a vast importance to many things which1 in the view of ,mary1 are so fleeting and perishable1 and have so little to do with the deeper immortal wants of the soul1 that it is difficult for her even to remember and keep them in sight4 ,the requirements of etiquette1 the changes and details of fashion1 the thousand particulars which pertain to keeping up a certain footing in society and a certain position in the world--all these ,martha has at her fingers' ends4 ,they are the breath of her nostrils1 while ,mary is always forgetting1 overlooking1 and transgressing them4 ,many a ,mary has escaped into a convent1 or joined a sisterhood1 or worn the plain dress of the ,quaker in order that she might escape from the exaction of the ,marthas of her day1 careful or1 more literally1 full of care and troubled about many things4 ,it appears that in her way ,martha was a religious woman1 a sincere member of the ,jewish ,church1 and an intense believer4 ,the preaching of ,christ was the great religious phenomenon of the times1 and ,martha1 ,mary1 and ,lazarus joined the crowd who witnessed his miracles and listened to his words4 ,both women accepted his message and believed his ,messiahship--,martha1 from the witness of his splendid miracles2 ,mary1 from the deep accord of her heart with the wonderful words he had uttered4 ,to ,martha he was the ,king that should reign in splendor at ,jerusalem1 and raise their nation to an untold height of glory2 to ,mary he was the answer to the eternal question--the ,way1 the ,truth1 the ,life1 for which she had been always longing4 ,among many who urge and press hospitality1 ,martha's invitation prevails4 ,a proud home is that1 when ,jesus follows her--her prize1 her captive4 ,the woman in our day who has captured in her net of hospitalities the orator1 the poet1 the warrior--the star of all eyes1 the central point of all curiosity1 desire1 and regard--can best appreciate ,martha's joy4 ,she will make an entertainment that will do credit to the occasion4 ,she revolves prodigies of hospitality4 ,she invites guests to whom her ,acquisition shall be duly exhibited1 and all is hurry1 bustle1 and commotion4 ,but ,mary follows him1 silent1 with a fluttering heart4 ,his teaching has aroused the divine longing1 the immortal pain1 to a throbbing intensity2 a sweet presentiment fills her soul1 that she is near ,one through whom the way into the ,holiest is open1 and now is the hour4 ,she neither hears nor sees the bustle of preparation2 but apart1 where the ,master has seated himself1 she sits down at his feet1 and her eyes1 more than her voice1 address to him that question and that prayer which are the question and the one great reality of all this fleeting1 mortal life4 ,the question is answered2 the prayer is granted4 ,at his feet she becomes spiritually clairvoyant4 ,the way to ,god becomes clear and open4 ,her soul springs toward the light2 is embraced by the peace of ,god that passeth understanding4 ,it is a soul-crisis1 and the ,master sees that in that hour his breath has unfolded into blossom buds that had been struggling in darkness4 ,mary has received in her bosom the white stone with the new name1 which no man knoweth save him that receiveth it1 and of which ,jesus only is the giver4 ,as ,master and disciple sit in that calm and sweet accord1 in which giver and receiver are alike blessed1 suddenly ,martha appears and breaks into the interview1 in a characteristically imperative sentence3 ,lord1 dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone8 ,bid her1 therefore1 that she help me4 ,nothing could more energetically indicate ,martha's character than this sentence4 ,it shows her blunt sincerity1 her conscientious1 matter-of-fact worldliness1 and her dictatorial positiveness4 ,evidently1 here is a person accustomed to having her own way and bearing down all about her2 a person who believes in herself without a doubt1 and is so positive that her way is the only right one that she cannot but be amazed that the ,master has not at once seen as she does4 ,to be sure1 this is in her view the ,christ1 the ,son of ,god1 the ,king of ,israel1 the human being whom in her deepest heart she reverences2 but no matter1 she is so positive that she is right that she does not hesitate to say her say1 and make her complaint of him as well as of her sister4 ,people like ,martha often arraign and question the very providence of ,god itself when it stands in the way of their own plans4 ,martha is sure of her ground4 ,here is the ,messiah1 the ,king of ,israel1 at her house1 and she is getting up an entertainment worthy of him1 slaving herself to death for him1 and he takes no notice1 and most inconsiderately allows her dreamy sister to sit listening to him1 instead of joining in the preparation4 ,the reply of ,jesus went1 as his replies were wont to do1 to the very root-fault of ,martha's life1 the fault of all such natures3 ,martha1 ,martha6 thou art careful and troubled about many things1 but one thing is needful1 and ,mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken from her4 ,the ,master's words evidently recognize that in that critical hour ,mary had passed a boundary in her soul history1 and made an attainment of priceless value4 ,she had gained something that could never be taken from her2 and she had gained it by that single-hearted devotion to spiritual things which made her prompt to know and seize the hour of opportunity4 ,the brief narrative there intermits2 we are not told how ,martha replied1 or what are the results of this plain1 tender faithfulness of reproof4 ,the ,saviour1 be it observed1 did not blame ,martha for her nature4 ,he did not blame her for not being ,mary2 but he did blame her for not restraining and governing her own nature and keeping it in due subjection to higher considerations4 ,a being of brighter worlds1 he stood looking on ,martha's life1--on her activities and bustle and care2 and to him how sorrowfully worthless the greater part of them appeared6 ,to him they were mere toys and playthings1 such as a child is allowed to play with in the earlier1 undeveloped hours of existence2 not to be harshly condemned1 but still utterly fleeting and worthless in the face of the tremendous eternal realities1 the glories and the dangers of the eternal state4 ,it must be said here that all we know of our ,lord leads us to feel that he was not encouraging and defending in ,mary a selfish1 sentimental indulgence in her own cherished emotions and affections1 leaving the burden of necessary care on a sister who would have been equally glad to sit at ,jesus' feet4 ,that was not his reading of the situation4 ,it was that ,martha1 engrossed in a thousand cares1 burdened herself with a weight of perplexities of which there was no need1 and found no time and had no heart to come to him and speak of the only1 the one thing that endures beyond the present world4 ,to how many hearts does this reproof apply8 ,how many who call themselves ,christians are weary1 wasted1 worn1 drained of life1 injured in health1 fretted in temper1 by a class of anxieties so purely worldly that they can never bring them to ,christ1 or if they do1 would meet first and foremost his tender reproof1 ,thou art careful and troubled about many things2 there is but one thing really needful4 ,seek that good part which shall never be taken away4 ,what fruit this rebuke bore will appear as we further pursue the history of the sister4 ,the subsequent story shows that ,martha was a brave1 sincere1 good woman1 capable of yielding to reproof and acknowledging a fault4 ,there is precious material in such1 if only their powers be turned to the highest and best things4 ,it is an interesting thought that the human affection of ,jesus for one family has been made the means of leaving on record the most consoling experience for the sorrows of bereavement that sacred literature affords4 ,viewed merely on the natural side1 the intensity of human affections and the frightful possibilities of suffering involved in their very sweetness present a fearful prospect when compared with that stony inflexibility of natural law1 which goes forth crushing1 bruising1 lacerating1 without the least apparent feeling for human agony4 ,the ,god of nature appears silent1 unalterable1 unsympathetic1 pursuing general good without a throb of pity for individual suffering2 and that suffering is so unspeakable1 so terrible6 ,close shadowing every bridal1 every cradle1 is this awful possibility of death that may come at any moment1 unannounced and inevitable4 ,the joy of this hour may become the bitterness of the next2 the ring1 the curl of hair1 the locket1 the picture1 that to-day are a treasure of hope and happiness1 to-morrow may be only weapons of bitterness that stab at every view4 ,the silent inflexibility of ,god in upholding laws that work out such terrible agonies and suffering is something against which the human heart moans and chafes through all ancient literature4 ,the gods envy the happy1 was the construction put upon the problem of life as the old sages viewed it4 ,but in this second scene of the story of the sisters of ,bethany we have that view of ,god which is the only one powerful enough to soothe and control the despair of the stricken heart4 ,it says to us that behind this seeming inflexibility1 this mighty and most needful unholding of law1 is a throbbing1 sympathizing heart1--bearing with us the sorrow of this struggling period of existence1 and pointing to a perfect fulfillment in the future4 ,the story opens most remarkably4 ,in the absence of the ,master1 the brother is stricken down with deadly disease4 ,forthwith a hasty messenger is dispatched to ,jesus4 ,lord1 he whom thou lovest is sick4 ,here is no prayer expressed2 but human language could not be more full of all the elements of the best kind of prayer4 ,it is the prayer of perfect trust--the prayer of love that has no shadow of doubt4 ,if only we let ,jesus know we are in trouble1 we are helped4 ,we need not ask1 we need only say1 ,he whom thou lovest is sick1 and he will understand1 and the work will be done4 ,we are safe with him4 ,then comes the seeming contradiction--the trial of faith--that gives this story such a value3 ,now ,jesus loved ,martha and her sister and ,lazarus4 ,when1 therefore1 he heard that he was sick1 he abode two days in the same place where he was4 ,because he loved them1 he delayed2 because he loved them1 he resisted that most touching appeal that heart can make1--the appeal of utter trust4 ,we can imagine the wonder1 the anguish1 the conflict of spirit1 when death at last shut the door in the face of their prayers4 ,had ,god forgotten to be gracious8 ,had he in anger shut up his tender mercy8 ,did not ,jesus love them8 ,had he not power to heal8 ,why then had he suffered this8 ,ah6 this is exactly the strait in which thousands of ,christ's own beloved ones must stand in the future2 and ,mary and ,martha1 unconsciously to themselves1 were suffering with ,christ in the great work of human consolation4 ,their distress and anguish and sorrow were necessary to work out a great experience of ,god's love1 where multitudes of anguished hearts have laid themselves down as on a pillow of repose1 and have been comforted4 ,something of this is shadowed in the ,master's words3 ,this sickness is not unto death1 but for the glory of ,god1--that the ,son of ,god might be glorified thereby4 ,what was that glory of ,god8 ,not most his natural power1 but his sympathetic tenderness1 his loving heart4 ,what is the glory of the ,son of ,god8 ,not the mere display of power1 but power used to console1 in manifesting to the world that this cruel death--the shadow that haunts all human life1 that appalls and terrifies1 that scatters anguish and despair--is not death1 but the gateway of a brighter life1 in which ,jesus shall restore love to love1 in eternal reunion4 ,in the scene with the sisters before the ,saviour arrives1 we are struck with the consideration in which the family is held4 ,this house is thronged with sympathizing friends1 and1 as appears from some incidents afterwards1 friends among the higher classes of the nation4 ,martha hears of the approach of ,jesus1 and goes forth to meet him4 ,in all the scene which follows we are impressed with the dignity and worth of ,martha's character4 ,we see in the scene of sorrow that ,martha has been the strong1 practical woman1 on whom all rely in the hour of sickness1 and whose energy is equal to any emergency4 ,we see her unsubdued by emotion1 ready to go forth to receive ,jesus1 and prompt to meet the issues of the moment4 ,we see1 too1 that the appreciation of the worth of her character1 which had led him to admonish her against the materialistic tendencies of such a nature1 was justified by the fruits of that rebuke4 ,martha had grown more spiritual by intercourse with the ,master1 and as she falls at ,jesus' feet the half-complaint which her sorrow wrings from her is here merged in the expression of her faith3 ,lord1 if thou hadst been here my brother had not died2 but ,i know that even now1 whatsoever thou wilt ask of ,god1 ,god will give it to thee4 ,jesus saith unto her1 ,thy brother shall rise again4 ,like every well-trained religious ,jew of her day1 ,martha was versed in the doctrine of the general resurrection4 ,that this belief was a more actively operating motive with the ancient ,jewish than with the modern ,christian ,church of our day is attested by the affecting history of the martyrdom of the mother and her seven sons1 in the ,book of ,maccabees4 ,martha therefore makes prompt answer1 ,i know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day4 ,jesus answered her in words which no mere mortal could have uttered--words of a divine fullness of meaning--,i am the ,resurrection and the ,life3 he that believeth in me1 though dead1 shall live1 and whosoever believeth in me is immortal4 ,in these words he claims to be the great source of ,life1--the absolute ,lord and ,controller of all that relates to life1 death1 and eternity2 and he makes the appeal to ,martha's faith3 ,believest thou this8 ,yea1 ,lord1 she responds1 ,i believe thou art the ,christ of ,god that should come into the world4 ,and then she runs and calls her sister secretly1 saying1 ,the ,master is come and calleth for thee4 ,as a majestic symphony modulates into a tender and pathetic minor passage1 so the tone of the narrative here changes to the most exquisite pathos4 ,mary1 attended by her weeping friends1 comes and falls at ,jesus' feet1 and sobs out3 ,lord1 if thou hadst been here my brother had not died6 ,it indicates the delicate sense of character which ever marked the intercourse of our ,lord1 that to this helpless1 heart-broken child prostrate at his feet he addresses no appeal to reason or faith4 ,he felt within himself the overwhelming power of that tide of emotion which for the time bore down both reason and faith in helpless anguish4 ,with such sorrow there was no arguing1 and ,jesus did not attempt argument2 for the story goes on3 ,when ,jesus saw her weeping1 and the ,jews also weeping that came with her1 he groaned in spirit and was troubled2 and he said1 ,where have ye laid him8 ,and they said1 ,lord1 come and see4 ,jesus wept4 ,those tears interpreted for all time ,god's silence and apparent indifference to human suffering2 and wherever ,christ is worshiped as the brightness of the ,father's glory and the express image of his person1 they bear witness that the ,god who upholds the laws that wound and divide human affections still feels with us the sorrow which he permits4 ,in all our afflictions he is afflicted4 ,and now came the sublime and solemn scene when he who had claimed to be the ,resurrection and the ,life made good his claim4 ,standing by the grave he called1 as he shall one day call to all the dead1 ,lazarus1 come forth6 ,and here the curtain drops over the scene of restoration4 ,we do not see this family circle again till just before the final scene of the great tragedy of ,christ's life4 ,the hour was at hand1 of suffering1 betrayal1 rejection1 denial1 shame1 agony1 and death2 and with the shadow of this awful cloud over his mind1 ,jesus comes for the last time to ,jerusalem4 ,to the eye of the thoughtless1 ,jesus was never so popular1 so beloved1 as at the moment when he entered the last week of his life at ,jerusalem4 ,palm branches and flowers strewed his way1 hosannas greeted him on every side1 and the chief priests and ,scribes said1 ,perceive ye how ye prevail nothing8 ,behold the world is gone after him6 ,but the mind of ,jesus was wrapped in that awful shade of the events that were so soon to follow4 ,he passes out1 after his first day in ,jerusalem1 to ,bethany1 and takes refuge in this dear circle4 ,there they make him a feast1 and ,martha serves1 but ,lazarus1 as a restored treasure1 sits at the table4 ,then took ,mary a pound of ointment1 very precious1 and anointed the head of ,jesus1 and anointed his feet with the ointment1 and wiped them with her hair4 ,there is something in the action that marks the poetic and sensitive nature of ,mary4 ,her heart was overburdened with gratitude and love4 ,she longed to give something1 and how little was there that she could give6 ,she buys the most rare1 the most costly of perfumes1 breaks the vase1 and sheds it upon his head4 ,could she have put her whole life1 her whole existence1 into that fleeting perfume and poured it out for him1 she gladly would have done it4 ,that was what the action said1 and what ,jesus understood4 ,forthwith comes the criticism of ,judas3 ,what a waste6 ,it were better to give the money to the poor than to expend it in mere sentimentalism4 ,jesus defended her with all the warmth of his nature1 in words tinged with the presentiment of his approaching doom3 ,let her alone2 she is come aforehand to anoint my body for the burial4 ,then1 as if deeply touched with the reality of that love which thus devoted itself to him1 he adds1 ,wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the world1 there shall what this woman hath done be had in remembrance4 ,the value set upon pure love1 upon that unconsidering devotion which gives its best and utmost freely and wholly1 is expressed in these words4 ,a loving ,god seeks love2 and he who thus spoke is he who afterward1 when he appeared in glory1 declared his abhorrence of lukewarmness in his followers3 ,i would thou wert cold or hot2 because thou art lukewarm ,i will spue thee out of my mouth4 ,it is significant of the change which had passed upon ,martha that no criticism of ,mary's action in this case came from her4 ,there might have been a time when this inconsiderate devotion of a poetic nature would have annoyed her and called out remonstrance4 ,in her silence we feel a sympathetic acquiescence4 ,after this scene we meet the family no more4 ,doubtless the three were among the early watchers upon the resurrection morning2 doubtless they were of the number among whom ,jesus stood after the resurrection1 saying1 ,peace be unto you2 doubtless they were of those who went out with him to the ,mount of ,olives when he was taken up into heaven2 and doubtless they are now with him in glory3 for it is an affecting thought that no human personality is ever lost or to be lost4 ,in the future ages it may be our happiness to see and know those whose history has touched our hearts so deeply4 ,one lesson from this history we pray may be taken into every mourning heart4 ,the ,apostle says that ,jesus upholds all things by the word of his power4 ,the laws by which accident1 sickness1 loss1 and death are constantly bringing despair and sorrow to sensitive hearts are upheld by that same ,jesus who wept at the grave of ,lazarus1 and who is declared to be ,jesus ,christ1 the same yesterday and forever4 ,when we see the exceeding preciousness of human love in his eyes1 and realize his sympathetic nature1 and then remember that he is ,,resurrection ,,and ,,life1 can we not trust him with our best beloved1 and look to him for that hour of reunion which he has promised8 ,the doctrine of the resurrection of the body is a precious concession to human weakness and human love4 ,how dear the outward form of our child1--how distressing to think we shall never see it again6 ,but ,christ promises we shall4 ,here is a mystery4 ,st4 ,paul says1 that as the seed buried in the earth is to the new plant or flower1 so is our present mortal body to the new immortal one that shall spring from it4 ,it shall be our friend1 our child1 familiar to us with all that mysterious charm of personal identity1 yet clothed with the life and beauty of the skies2 and then the ,lord ,god will wipe away all tears from all faces4 ,,xvi ,,the ,,attractiveness ,,of ,,jesus ,there was one great characteristic in the life of ,jesus which his followers succeed in imitating less than any other1 and that is a singular sweetness and attractiveness which drew toward him even the sinful and fallen4 ,there are the most obvious indications in all the narrative that ,christ's virtue was not of the repellent kind that drove sinners away from him1 but that there was around him a peculiar charm and graciousness of manner which affected the most uncongenial characters4 ,we are all familiar with a style of goodness quite the reverse of this--a goodness that is terrible to evil-doers--a goodness that is instinctively felt to have no sympathy with the sinner4 ,such was the virtue of ,christ's great forerunner1 ,john the ,baptist4 ,he commanded1 but did not charm2 the attraction that drew men toward him was that of mingled fear and curiosity1 but there was no tenderness in it4 ,when the ,scribes and ,pharisees flocked to his baptism1 he met them with a thunderbolt3 ,o generation of vipers6 who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come8 ,he declined all social joys2 he would not eat or drink at men's tables2 he dwelt alone in the deserts1 appearing as a ,voice--a voice of warning and terror6 ,his disciples were few2 he took no pains to make them more4 ,but even this stern and rugged nature felt the charm and sweetness of ,jesus1 as something different from himself4 ,it is very touching to read how the peculiar demeanor of ,jesus impressed this hardy old warrior3 ,and looking on ,jesus as he walked1 he said1 ,behold the ,lamb of ,god1 that taketh away the sin of the world4 ,the words seem as if they might have been said with tears in the eyes4 ,immediately two of his few disciples left him and followed ,jesus2 and he was content4 ,he must increase and ,i must decrease1 he said humbly4 ,he that is from ,heaven is above all4 ,we find that ,jesus loved social life and the fellowship of men4 ,though he spent the first forty days after his mission began in the solitude of the desert1 yet he returned from it the same warm-hearted and social being as before4 ,the first appearance that he made was at a wedding-feast1 and his very first miracle was wrought to enhance its joy4 ,a wedding-feast in those lands meant more than with us4 ,it was not merely an hour given to festivity1 but lasted from three to seven days4 ,there were large gatherings of relations and friends from afar2 there were dances and songs1 and every form of rejoicing2 and at this particular feast in ,cana it seems ,jesus and his mother were present as honored and beloved guests4 ,his gentleness and affability led his mother to feel that she might perhaps gain from him an aid to the inadequate provision made for the hospitality of the occasion4 ,his reply to her has been deemed abrupt and severe4 ,that it was not so understood by his mother herself is evident from the fact that she did not accept it as a refusal1 but expected a compliance1 and gave orders to prepare for it4 ,it was necessary when among relatives in his family circle to express with great decision the idea that his miraculous powers were not to be considered as in any way under the control of his private and human affections1 and that he must use them only as a ,higher ,power should direct4 ,his presence at this wedding was significant of that divine love which ever watches over the family1 and the wine that he gave symbolized that cheer and support which ,god's ever-present love and sympathy pours through all the life of the household4 ,we gather incidentally from many seemingly casual statements that ,jesus was often invited to feasts in the houses of both rich and poor1 and cheerfully accepted these invitations even on the ,sabbath day4 ,he seems to have been also especially attractive to little children2 he loved them and noticed them2 and it would seem from some parts of the ,gospel narrative as if the little ones watched for his coming and ran to his arms instinctively4 ,their artless1 loving smiles1 their clear1 candid eyes1 reminded him of that world of love where he had dwelt before he came to our earth1 and he said1 ,of such is the kingdom of heaven4 ,it was the sense that he loved little ones that led mothers to force their way with their infants through reproving and unsympathetic disciples2 there was that about ,jesus which made every mother sure that he would love her child1 and that the very touch of his hands would bring a blessing upon it2 and when his disciples treated the effort as an intrusion it is said ,jesus was much displeased4 ,he did not merely accept or tolerate the movement1 but entered into it with warmth and enthusiasm2 he did not coldly lay the tips of his sacred fingers on them1 but took them up in his arms and laid his hands on them and blessed them2 he embraced them and held them to his heart as something that he would make peculiarly his own4 ,it is no wonder1 therefore1 that ,jesus was the children's favorite1 and that on his last triumphal entrance into ,jerusalem the hosannas of the children in the temple should have been so loud and so persistent as to excite the anger of the priests and ,scribes4 ,they called on him to silence the little voices1 as if they felt sure that he could control them by a word2 but that word ,jesus refused to speak4 ,the voices of these young birds of paradise were dear to him1 and he said indignantly1 ,if these were forbidden to speak the very stones would cry out4 ,but still more remarkable is the fact that ,jesus was attractive to a class who as a general thing hate and flee from religious teachers4 ,the publicans and sinners1 the disreputable and godless classes1 felt themselves strangely drawn to him4 ,if we remember how intensely bitter was the ,jewish sense of degradation in being under ,roman taxation1 and how hardly and cruelly the office of collecting that tribute was often exercised1 we may well think that only ,jews who cared little for the opinions of their countrymen1 and had little character to lose1 would undertake it4 ,we know there are in all our cities desperate and perishing classes inhabiting regions where it would be hardly safe for a reputable person to walk4 ,yet in regions like these the pure apparition of ,jesus of ,nazareth walked serene1 and all hearts were drawn to him4 ,what was the charm about him1 that he whose rule of morality was stricter than that of ,scribes or ,pharisees yet attracted and drew after him the most abandoned classes8 ,they saw that he loved them4 ,yes1 he really loved them4 ,the infinite love of ,god looked through his eyes1 breathed in his voice1 and shed a persuasive charm through all his words4 ,to the intellectual and cultured men of the better classes his word was1 ,ye must be born again2 but to these poor wanderers he said1 ,ye may be born again4 ,all is not lost4 ,purity1 love1 a higher life1 are all for you1--and he said it with such energy1 such vital warmth of sympathy1 that they believed him4 ,they crowded round him and he welcomed them2 they invited him to their houses and he went2 he sat with them at table2 he held their little ones in his arms2 he gave himself to them4 ,when the ,scribes and ,pharisees murmured at this intimacy1 he answered1 ,the whole need not the ,physician1 but those that are sick2 ,i came not to call the righteous1 but sinners4 ,his most beautiful parables1 of the lost sheep1 the lost coin1 and the ,prodigal ,son1 were all poured out of the fullness of his heart for them--and what a heart6 ,what news indeed1 to these lost ones1 to be told that their ,father cared for them the more because they were lost2 that he went after them because they wandered2 and that all around the pure throne of ,god were pitying eyes watching for their return1 and strong hands of welcome stretched out to aid them back4 ,no wonder that the poor lost woman of the street had such a courage and hope awakened in her that she pressed through the sneering throng1 and under the very eyes of ,scribe and ,pharisee found her refuge and rest at the gracious feet of such a ,master4 ,no wonder that ,matthew the publican rose up at once from the receipt of custom and left all to follow that ,jesus1 who had taught him that he too might be a son of ,god4 ,and we read of one ,zaccheus1 a poor worldly little man1 who had lived a hard1 sharp1 extortionate life1 and perhaps was supposed to have nothing good in him2 but even he felt a singular internal stir and longing for something higher1 awakened by this preacher1 and when he heard that ,jesus of ,nazareth was passing he ran and climbed a tree that he might look on him as he passed4 ,but the gracious ,stranger paused under the tree1 and a sweet1 cheerful voice said1 ,zaccheus1 make haste and come down1 for to-day ,i must dine at thy house4 ,trembling1 scarce able to believe his good fortune1 we are told he came down and received ,jesus joyfully4 ,immediately1 as flowers burst out under spring sunshine1 awoke the virtues in that heart3 ,lord1 half my goods ,i give to the poor1 and if ,i have taken anything by false accusation ,i restore fourfold4 ,this shows that the influence of ,jesus was no mere sentimental attraction1 but a vital1 spiritual force1 corresponding to what was said of him3 ,as many as received him to them gave he power to become sons of ,god4 ,it is a mistake to suppose that wicked people are happy in wickedness4 ,wrong-doing is often a sorrowful chain and burden1 and those who bear it are often despairingly conscious of their degradation4 ,jesus carried with him the power not only to heal the body but to cure the soul1 to give the vigor of a new spiritual life1 the joy of a sense of recovered purity4 ,he was not merely able to say1 ,thy sins be forgiven thee1 but also1 ,go in peace2 and the peace was real and permanent4 ,another reason for the attractiveness of ,jesus was the value he set on human affections4 ,the great ones of the earth often carry an atmosphere about them that withers the heart with a sense of insignificance4 ,every soul longs to be something to the object of its regard1 and the thought1 ,my love is nothing to him1 is a chilling one4 ,but ,christ asked for love--valued it4 ,no matter how poor1 how lowly1 how sinful in time past1 the love of a repentant soul he accepted as a priceless treasure4 ,he set the loving sinner above the cold-hearted ,pharisee4 ,he asked not only for love1 but for intimacy--he asked for the whole heart2 and there are many desolate ones in this cheerless earth to whom it is a new life to know that a godlike ,being cares for their love4 ,the great external sufferings of ,christ and the prophetic prediction that he should be a man of sorrows have been dwelt upon so much that we sometimes forget the many passages in the ,new ,testament which show that the spiritual atmosphere of ,christ was one of joy4 ,he brought to those that received him a sense of rest and peace and joy4 ,st4 ,john speaks of him as ,,light4 ,he answered those who asked why his disciples did not fast like those of ,john1 by an image which showed that his very presence made life a season of festivity3 ,can the children of the bride-chamber mourn while the bridegroom is with them8 ,what a beautiful picture of a possible life is given in his teaching4 ,god he speaks of as your ,father4 ,all the prophets and teachers that came before spoke of him as the ,lord4 ,christ called him simply ,,the ,,father1 as if to intimate that ,fatherhood was the highest and most perfect expression of the great ,invisible4 ,he said1 therefore1 to the toiling race of man3 ,be not anxious1 your ,father in ,heaven will take care of you4 ,he forgets not even a little sparrow1 and he certainly will not forget you4 ,go to him with all your wants4 ,you would not forget your children's prayers2 and your ,father in ,heaven is better than you4 ,be loving1 be kind1 be generous and sweet-hearted2 if men hate you1 love and pray for them2 and you will be your ,father's children4 ,see how the man ,jesus1 who was to his disciples the ,master1 ,christ1 had power to comfort them in distress1 and how not only his own followers1 but also those of his great forerunner1 ,john1 were naturally drawn to confide their troubles to him4 ,these disciples who took up the ,baptist's disfigured body after spite and contempt and hate had done their worst on it1 who paid their last tribute of reverence and respect amid the scoffs of a jeering world1 were men--men of deep emotions and keen feelings2 and probably at that moment every capability of feeling they had was fully aroused4 ,it appears from the first chapter of ,john1 that he and others were originally the disciples of the ,baptist during the days of his first powerful ministry1 and had been by him pointed to ,jesus4 ,we see in other places that the ,apostle ,john had an intense power of indignation1 and was of that nature that longed to grasp the thunderbolts when he saw injustice4 ,it was ,john that wanted to bring down fire from heaven on the village that refused to shelter ,christ1 and can we doubt that his whole soul was moved with the most fiery indignation at wrong and cruelty like this8 ,for ,christ himself had said of the martyr thus sacrificed3 ,among those that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than ,john the ,baptist4 ,he had done a great work2 he had swayed the hearts of all his countrymen2 he had been the instrument of the most powerful revival of religion known in his times4 ,there had been a time when his name was in every mouth2 when all ,jerusalem and ,juda1 and beyond ,jordan1 thronged to his ministry--even the ,scribes and ,pharisees joining the multitude4 ,and now what an end of so noble a man6 ,seized and imprisoned at the behest of an adulterous woman whose sin he had rebuked1 shut up in prison1 his ministry ended1 all his power for good taken away1 and finally finishing his life under circumstances which mark more than any other could the contempt and indifference which the great gay world of his day had for goodness and greatness6 ,the head of a national benefactor1 of a man who had lived for ,god and man wholly and devotedly from his birth1 was used as a football1 made the subject of a court jest between the courtesan and the prince4 ,oh that it had pleased ,god to give us the particulars of that interview when the disciples1 burning1 struggling under pressure of that cruel indignity1 came and told ,jesus6 ,can we imagine with what burning words ,john told of the scorn1 the contempt1 the barbarity with which the greatest man of his time had been hurried to a bloody grave8 ,were there not doubts--wonderings8 ,why did ,god permit it8 ,why was not a miracle wrought1 if need were1 to save him8 ,and what did ,jesus say to them8 ,oh that we knew6 ,we would lay it up in our hearts1 to be used when in our lesser sphere we see things going in the course of this world as if ,god were not heeding4 ,of one thing we may be sure4 ,jesus made them quiet2 he calmed and rested them4 ,and all that ,jesus taught1 he was4 ,this life of sweet repose1 of unruffled peace1 of loving rest in an ever-present ,father1 he carried with him as he went1 everywhere warming1 melting1 cheering2 inspiring joy in the sorrowful and hope in the despairing2 giving peace to the perplexed2 and1 last and best of all1 in his last hours1 when he sought to cheer his sorrowful disciples in view of his death and one of them said1 ,lord1 show us the ,father and it will suffice1 he answered1 ,he that hath seen me hath seen the ,father4 ,the ,invisible ,jehovah1 the vast1 strange1 mysterious ,will that moves all worlds and controls all destinies1 reveals himself to us in the ,man ,jesus--the ,christ4 ,we are told of an ,old ,testament prophet that sought to approach ,god4 ,first there was a mighty tempest2 but the ,lord was not in the tempest4 ,there was a devouring fire2 but the ,lord was not in the fire4 ,there was an earthquake2 but the ,lord was not in the earthquake4 ,then there came at last a still1 small voice3 and when the prophet heard that he wrapped his face in his mantle and bowed himself to the earth4 ,the tempest1 the earthquake1 the fire1 are the ,unknown ,god of ,nature2 the still1 small voice is that of ,jesus6 ,it is to this ,teacher so lovable1 this ,guide so patient and so gracious1 that our ,heavenly ,father has committed the care and guidance of us through this dark1 uncertain life of ours4 ,he came to love us1 to teach us1 to save us2 and not merely to save us1 but to save us in the kindest and gentlest way4 ,he gives himself wholly to us1 for all that he can be to us1 and in return asks us to give ourselves wholly to him4 ,shall we not do it8 ,,xvii ,,the ,,tolerance ,,of ,,jesus ,we saw one casting out devils1 and he followed not us2 and we forbade him4 ,and ,jesus said1 ,forbid him not4 ,there is nothing in which our ,lord so far exceeds all his followers as in that spirit of forbearance and tolerance which he showed toward every effort1 however imperfect1 which was dictated by a sincere spirit4 ,human virtue as it grows intense is liable to grow narrow and stringent2 but divine love has an infinite wideness of allowance4 ,we are told of the first triumphant zeal of the twelve ,apostles when1 endued with miraculous power1 they went forth healing the sick1 casting out devils1 and preaching the good news of the kingdom to the poor4 ,they came back to ,jesus exulting in their new success1 and we are told they said unto him1 ,lord1 we saw one casting out devils in thy name1 and we forbade him1 because he followed not us4 ,jesus said unto them1 ,forbid him not1 for there is no man that will do a miracle in my name that will lightly speak evil of me4 ,for he that is not against us is on our side4 ,here our ,lord recognizes the principle that those who seek what he is seeking1 and are striving to do what he is doing1 are in fact on his side1 even although they may not see their way clear to follow the banner of his commissioned ,apostles and work in their company4 ,christ's mission as he defined it was a mission of healing and saving1 a mission of consolation and the relief of human misery2 and this man who was trying to cast out the devils in his name was doing his work and moving in his line1 although not among his professed disciples4 ,jesus always recognized the many sheep not of this fold which he had in this world--people who were his followers by unity of intention with what he intended1 though they might never have known him personally4 ,he tells the ,jews1 who believed in a narrow and peculiar church1 that many shall come from the ,east and the ,west1 and shall sit down with ,abraham and ,isaac and ,jacob in the kingdom of heaven1 and in his pictures of the last ,judgment he makes the final award turn on the simple unity of spirit and purpose with ,him in his great work of mercy for mankind4 ,we see intimated that the accepted ones are amazed to find themselves recognized as having shown personal regard to ,christ1 and say1 ,lord1 when saw we thee hungry or athirst or in prison and ministered to thee8 ,and the reply is1 ,inasmuch as ye did it to one of the least of these my brethren1 ye did it unto me4 ,a more solemn declaration cannot be given1 that our ,lord accepts the spirit which is in unison with his great work of mercy for mankind1 as the best offering of love to himself2 and in this sense it is true that no man who would seek to do miracles of mercy in ,his spirit could lightly speak evil of him4 ,in this case our ,lord might have seen that the arrogant1 dictatorial temper which had come upon his followers in the flush of their first success might have disgusted and repelled a sincere man who was really trying to help on the good work in which ,christ was engaged2 and perhaps he may now see1 as he looks down among our churches here and there1 some good man in his own peculiar way seeking to do the work of the ,lord1 yet repelled from following in the train of his professed disciples4 ,instead of forbidding such because they follow not us1 he would have us draw them towards us by sympathy in the good they are doing1 trusting in our ,lord to enlighten them wherever they may need more distinct light4 ,the ,protestant must not forbid the ,romanist mission whose plain object seems to be to call sinners to repentance1 and to lead professing ,christians to a higher and holier life2 nor must the ,romanist in the pride of ancient authority forbid the ,protestant evangelist that is seeking to make known the love of ,jesus4 ,and there are men in our times1 of pure natures and of real love for mankind1 whose faith in divine revelation is shaken1 who no longer dare to say they believe with the orthodox1 but who yet are faithfully striving to do good to man1 to heal the sick and cast out the devils that afflict society4 ,sad-hearted men are they often1 working without the cheer that inspires the undoubting believer1 often under a sense of the ban of the professed followers of ,christ2 yet the infinite tolerance of our ,lord is leading them as well as those who more formally bear his name4 ,it was ,cyrus1 the ,persian king1 who worshiped the ,zoroastrian gods1 that is called in the prophecy ,god's shepherd2 to whom ,god says1 ,cyrus1 whose right hand ,i have holden1 ,i girded thee1 though thou hast not known me4 ,let us hope that there are many whose right hand ,christ is holding1 though they as yet know him not2 for ,he it is who says3-- ,i will bring the blind by a way they know not4 ,i will make darkness light before them1 and crooked things straight3 these things will ,i do unto them and not forsake them4 ,it pleased our ,lord to number among the twelve ,apostles one of those natures which are constitutionally cautious and skeptical4 ,thomas had a doubting head but a loving heart2 he clung to ,christ by affinity of spirit and personal love1 with a slow and doubting intellect4 ,whether ,jesus were the ,messiah1 the ,king of ,israel1 destined to reign and conquer1 ,thomas1 though sometimes hoping1 was somewhat prone to doubt4 ,he was all the while foreboding that ,christ would be vanquished1 while yet determined to stand by him to the last4 ,when ,christ announced his purpose to go again into ,juda1 where his life had been threatened1 ,thomas says1--and there seems to be a despairing sigh in the very words1--,let us also go1 that we may die with him4 ,the words seemed to say1 this man may be mistaken1 after all2 but1 living or dying1 ,i must love him1 and if he dies1 ,i die too4 ,well1 the true-hearted doubter lived to see his ,lord die1 and he it was1 of all the disciples1 who refused to believe the glad news of the resurrection4 ,no messenger1 no testimony1 nothing that anybody else had seen could convince him4 ,he must put his own hand into the print of the nails or he will not believe4 ,the gracious ,master did not refuse the test4 ,reach hither thy finger and behold my hand1 and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side1 and be not faithless but believing1 he said1 and the doubter fell at his feet and cried1 ,my ,lord and my ,god6 ,there was but a gentle word of reproof3 ,thomas1 because thou hast seen me thou hast believed2 blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed4 ,it is this divine wideness of spirit1 this tolerance of love1 that is the most characteristic element in the stages which mark the higher ,christian life4 ,such spirits as ,fnelon1 ,francis de ,sales1 ,john ,woolman1 and the apostle ,eliot1 seem to have risen to the calm regions of clear-sighted love4 ,hence the maxim of ,fnelon3 ,only perfection can tolerate the imperfect4 ,but we1 in our way to those regions1 must lay down our harsh judgments of others2 we must widen our charity2 and1 as we bless our good ,shepherd for his patience with our wanderings and failures1 must learn to have patience with those of our neighbors4 ,,xviii ,,the ,,silence ,,of ,,jesus ,in the history of our ,lord's life nothing meets us more frequently than his power of reticence4 ,it has been justly observed that the things that he did not say and do are as just a subject of admiration as the things that he said and did4 ,there is no more certain indication of inward strength than the power of silence4 ,hence the proverb that speech is silver and silence is golden4 ,the ,church of the middle ages had her treatises on ,the ,grace of ,silence4 ,in the case of our ,lord we have to remember first the thirty years of silence that preluded his ministry2 thirty years in which he lived the life of a humble artisan in the obscure town of ,nazareth4 ,that he was during those years revolving all that higher wisdom which has since changed the whole current of human society there is little doubt4 ,that his was a spirit from earliest life ardent and eager1 possessed with the deepest enthusiasm1 we learn from the one revealing flash in the incident recorded of his childhood1 when he entered the school of the doctors in the temple and became so absorbed in hearing and asking questions that time1 place1 and kindred were all forgotten4 ,yet1 eager as he was1 he made no petulant objection to his mother's recall1 but went down to ,nazareth with his parents and was subject to them4 ,this ardent soul retreated within itself1 and gathered itself up in silence and obedience4 ,when1 at the age of thirty1 he rose in the synagogue of his native place and declared his great and beautiful mission it is quite evident that he took everybody by surprise4 ,no former utterances1 nothing in his previous life1 had prepared his townsfolk for this4 ,they said1 ,how knoweth this man letters8 ,is not this the carpenter8 ,what habitual silence and reticence is here indicated6 ,for this was the same ,jesus whose words1 when he did speak1 had that profound and penetrating power that stirred the hearts of men1 and have gone on since stirring them as no other utterances ever did4 ,but when he did speak his words were more mighty from the accumulated force of repression4 ,they fell concentrated and sparkling like diamonds that had been slowly crystallizing in those years of silence2 they were utterances for time and for eternity4 ,in like manner we see numerous indications that he withdrew from all that was popular and noisy and merely sensational with a deep and real distaste4 ,so far as possible he wrought his miracles privately4 ,he enjoined reticence and silence on his disciples4 ,he said1 ,the kingdom of ,god cometh not with observation4 ,he pointed to the grain of mustard seed and the hidden leaven as types of its power4 ,in the same way we see him sometimes receiving in silence prayers for help which he intended to answer4 ,when the ,syro-,phoenician woman cried to him to heal her daughter1 it is said he answered her never a word2 yet healing was in his heart4 ,his silence was the magnet to draw forth her desire1 to intensify her faith and reveal to his disciples what there was in her4 ,so1 too1 when word was sent from the sisters of ,bethany1 ,lord1 behold he whom thou lovest is sick1 he received it in the same silence4 ,it is said1 ,jesus loved ,martha and her sister and ,lazarus2 when he had heard1 therefore1 that he was sick1 he abode two days still in the same place where he was4 ,in those two days of apparent silent neglect1 how many weary hours to the anxious friends watching for him who could help1 and who yet did not come6 ,but the silence and the wailing ended in a deeper joy at the last4 ,the sorrow of one family was made the means of a record of the ,saviour's tenderness and sympathy and his triumphant power over death1 which is for all time and for every mourner4 ,as he gave ,lazarus back whole and uninjured from the grave1 so he then and there promised to do for every one who believes in him3 ,he that believeth on me shall never die4 ,in the family of the ,saviour was a false friend whose falseness was better known to the ,master than perhaps to himself4 ,he knew the falsity of ,judas to his trust in the management of the family purse1 yet he was silent4 ,he sought the sympathy of no friend2 he did not expose him to the others4 ,from time to time he threw out general warnings that there was one among them that was untrue--warnings addressed to his conscience alone4 ,but he changed in no degree his manner toward him2 he did not withhold the kiss at meeting and parting1 nor refuse to wash his feet with the others2 and the traitor went out from the last meeting to finish his treachery1 leaving his brethren ignorant of his intended crime4 ,this loving1 forbearing silence with an enemy--keeping him in his family1 treating him with unchanging love yet with warning faithfulness1 never uttering a word of complaint and parting at last in sorrow more than anger--was the practical comment left by ,jesus on his own words3 ,love your enemies1 that ye may be the children of your ,father which is in heaven2 for he maketh his sun to shine on the evil and on the good1 and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust4 ,this1 the last1 the highest grade in the science of love1 is one that few ,christians even come within sight of4 ,to bear an enemy near one's person1 perfectly to understand his machinations1 and yet feel only unchanging love and pity1 carefully to guard his character1 never to communicate to another the evil that we perceive1 to go on in kindness as the sunshine goes on in nature--this is an attainment so seldom made that when made it is hard to be understood4 ,if the example of ,jesus is to be the rule by which our attainments are finally to be measured1 who can stand in the judgment8 ,the silence of ,jesus in his last trial before ,herod and ,pilate is no less full of sublime suggestion4 ,we see him standing in a crowd of enemies clamorous1 excited1 eager1 with false witnesses distorting his words1 disagreeing with each other1 agreeing only in one thing3 the desire for his destruction4 ,and ,pilate says1 ,answerest thou nothing8 ,behold how many things they witness against thee4 ,it was the dead silence that more than anything else troubled and perplexed the ,roman governor4 ,after he has given up his victim to the brutalities of the soldiery1 to the scourging and the crown of thorns1 he sends for him again for a private examination4 ,whence art thou8 ,speakest thou not to me8 ,knowest thou not that ,i have power to crucify thee and power to release thee8 ,in all the brief replies of ,jesus there is no effort to clear himself1 no denial of the many things witnessed against him4 ,in fact1 from the few things that he did say on the way to the cross1 it would seem that his soul abode calmly in that higher sphere of love in which he looked down with pity on the vulgar brutality that surrounded him4 ,the poor ignorant populace shouting they knew not what1 the wretched scribes and chief priests setting the seal of doom on their nation1 the stolid ,roman soldiers trained in professional hardness and cruelty--he looked down on them all with pity4 ,daughters of ,jerusalem1 he said to the weeping women1 weep not for me1 but weep for yourselves and for your children4 ,and a few moments later1 ,father1 forgive them1 for they know not what they do4 ,we are told by the ,apostles that this ,jesus is the image of the invisible ,god4 ,the silence of ,god in presence of so much that moves human passions is one of the most awful things for humanity to contemplate4 ,but if ,jesus is his image this silence is not wrathful or contemptuous1 but full of pity and forgiveness4 ,the silence and the great darkness around the cross of ,calvary were not the silence of gathering wrath and doom4 ,god1 the forgiving1 was there1 and the way was preparing for a new and unequaled era of forgiving mercy4 ,the rejected ,jesus was exalted to the right hand of ,god1 not to fulfill a mission of wrath1 but to give repentance and remission of sins4 ,,xix ,,the ,,secret ,,of ,,peace ,peace6 ,is there in fact such a thing as an attainable habit of mind that can remain at peace1 no matter what external circumstances may be8 ,no matter what worries2 no matter what perplexities1 what thwartings1 what cares1 what dangers2 no matter what slanders1 what revilings1 what persecutions--is it possible to keep an immovable peace8 ,when our dearest friends are taken from us1 when those we love are in deadly danger from hour to hour1 is it possible still to be in peace8 ,when our plans of life are upset1 when fortune fails1 when debt and embarrassment come down1 is it possible to be at peace8 ,when suddenly called to die1 or to face sorrows that are worse than death1 is it possible still to be at peace8 ,yes1 it is4 ,this is the peculiarity of the ,christian religion--the special gift of ,christ to every soul that will receive it from him4 ,in his hour of deepest anguish1 when every earthly resort was failing him1 when he was about to be deserted1 denied1 betrayed1 tortured even unto death1 he had this great gift of peace1 and he left it as a legacy to his followers3-- ,peace ,i leave with you2 my peace ,i give unto you4 ,not as the world giveth give ,i unto you4 ,he says himself that his peace is not what the world giveth4 ,it does not come from anything in this life2 it cannot be taken away by anything in this life2 it is wholly divine4 ,as a white dove looks brighter and fairer against a black thunder-cloud1 so ,christ's peace is brightest and sweetest in darkness and adversity4 ,is not this rest of the soul1 this perfect peace1 worth having8 ,do the majority of ,christians have it8 ,would it not lengthen the days and strengthen the health of many a man and woman if they could attain it8 ,but how shall we get this gift8 ,that is an open secret4 ,st4 ,paul told it to the ,philippians in one simple direction3-- ,be not anxious about anything1 but in everything1 by prayer and supplication1 with thanksgiving1 let your requests be made known unto ,god2 and the peace of ,god that passeth understanding shall keep your heart and mind4 ,there we have it4 ,now if we look back to the history of these ,philippians1 as told in the ,book of ,acts1 we shall see that when ,paul exhorted them never to be anxious about anything1 but always with thanksgiving to let their wants be known to ,god1 he preached exactly what they had seen him practice among them4 ,for this ,philippian church was at first a little handful of people gathered to ,jesus by hearing ,paul talk in a prayer-meeting held one ,sunday morning by the riverside4 ,there ,lydia1 the seller of fine linen from ,thyatira1 first believed with her house1 and a little band of ,christians was gathered4 ,but lo6 in the very commencement of the good work a tumult was raised1 and ,paul and ,silas were swooped down upon by the jealous ,roman authorities1 ignominiously and cruelly scourged1 and then carried to prison and shut up with their feet fast in the stocks4 ,here was an opportunity to test their serenity4 ,did their talisman work1 or did it fail8 ,what did the ,apostles do8 ,we are told3 ,at midnight ,paul and ,silas prayed and sang praises to ,god1 and the prisoners heard them4 ,that prayer went up with a shout of victory--it was as ,paul directs1 prayer and supplication with thanksgiving4 ,then came the opening of prison doors1 the loosing of bonds1 and the jailer fell trembling at the feet of his captives1 saying1 ,sirs1 what must ,i do to be saved8 ,and that night the jailer and all his house were added to the church at ,philippi4 ,so1 about eleven years after1 when ,paul's letter came back from ,rome to the ,philippian church and was read out in their prayer-meeting1 we can believe that the old ,roman jailer1 now a leading brother in the church1 said1 ,ay6 ay6 he teaches just what he practised4 ,i remember how he sung and rejoiced there in that old prison at midnight4 ,nothing ever disturbs him4 ,and they remember1 too1 that this cheerful1 joyful1 courageous letter comes from one who is again a prisoner1 chained night and day to a ,roman soldier1 and it gives all the more force to his inspiring direction3 ,be anxious for nothing--in everything1 by prayer and supplication1 with thanksgiving1 let your requests be made known unto ,god4 ,if ,paul had been like us1 now1 how many excuses he might have had for being in a habitual worry6 ,how was he shut up and hindered in his work of preaching the gospel4 ,a prisoner at ,rome while churches that needed him were falling into divers temptations for want of him--how he might have striven with his lot1 how he might have wondered why ,god allowed the enemy so to triumph4 ,but it appears he was perfectly quiet4 ,i know how to be abased1 and how to abound1 he says2 everywhere1 and in all things1 ,i am instructed both to be full and to be hungry1 both to abound and suffer need4 ,i can do all things through ,christ that strengtheneth me4 ,but say some1 ,do you suppose if you go to ,god about everything that troubles you it will do any good8 ,if you do ask him for help1 will you get it8 ,if this means1 ,will ,god always give you the blessing you want1 or remove the pain you feel1 in answer to your prayer8 the answer must be1 ,certainly not4 ,paul prayed often and with intense earnestness for the removal of a trial so sharp and severe that he calls it a thorn in his flesh4 ,it was something that he felt to be unbearable1 and he prayed the ,lord to take it away1 but the ,lord did not2 he only said to him1 ,my grace is sufficient for thee4 ,my strength is made perfect in weakness4 ,the permission in all things to let our requests be made known to ,god would be a fatal one for us if it meant that ,god would always give us what we ask4 ,when we come to see the record of our life as it is written in heaven1 we shall see some of our best occasions of thankfulness under the head of prayers denied4 ,did you ever see a little child rushing home from school in hot haste1 with glowing cheeks and tearful eyes1 burning and smarting under some fancied or real injustice or injury in his school life8 ,he runs through the street2 he rushes into the house2 he puts off every one who tries to comfort him4 ,no1 no6 he doesn't want them2 he wants mother2 he's going to tell mother4 ,and when he finds her he throws himself into her arms and sobs out to her all the tumult of his feelings1 right or wrong1 reasonable or unreasonable4 ,the school is hateful2 the teacher is hard1 and the lessons are too long2 he can't learn them1 and the boys laugh at him1 and won't she say he needn't go any more8 ,now1 though the mother does not grant his foolish petitions1 she soothes him by sympathy2 she calms him2 she reasons with him2 she inspires him with courage to meet the necessary trials of school life--in short1 her grace is sufficient for her boy2 her strength perfects his weakness4 ,he comes out tranquilized1 calm1 and happy--not that he is going to get his own foolish wishes1 but that his mother has taken the matter in hand and is going to look into it1 and the right thing is going to be done4 ,this is an exact illustration of the kind of help it is for us in everything by prayer to make known our requests to ,god4 ,the very act of confidence is in itself tranquilizing1 and the divine sympathy meets and sustains it4 ,a large class of our annoyances and worries are extinguished or lessened by the very act of trying to tell them to such a person as ,jesus ,christ4 ,they are our burning injuries1 our sense of wrong and injustice done us4 ,when we go to tell ,jesus how cruelly and wickedly some other ,christian has treated us1 we immediately begin to feel as a child who is telling his mother about his brother--both equally dear4 ,our anger gradually changes to a kind of sorrow when we think of ,him as grieved by our differences4 ,after all1 we are speaking of one whom ,christ is caring for and bearing with just as he is caring for us1 and the thought takes away the edge of our indignation2 a place is found for peace4 ,then there is still another class of troubles that would be cut off and smothered altogether by the honest effort to tell them to our ,saviour4 ,all the troubles that come from envy1 from wanting to be as fine1 as distinguished1 as successful as our neighbors2 all the troubles that come from running races with our neighbors in dress1 household show1 parties1 the strife who shall be the greatest transferred to the little petty sphere of fashionable life--ah1 if those who are burdened with cares of this kind would just once honestly bring them to ,jesus and hear what he would have to say about them6 ,they might leave them at his feet and go away free and happy4 ,but whatever burden or care we take to ,jesus1 if we would get the peace promised1 we must leave it with ,him as entirely as the little child leaves his school troubles with his mother4 ,we must come away and treat it as a finality4 ,we must say1 ,christ has taken that4 ,christ will see about it4 ,and then we must stop thinking and worrying about it4 ,we must resolve to be satisfied with whatever may be his disposal of the matter1 even if it is not at all what we would have chosen4 ,paul would much sooner have chosen to be free and travel through the churches1 but ,christ decided to allow him to remain a chained prisoner at ,rome1 and there ,paul learned to rest1 and he was happy in ,christ's will4 ,christ settled it for him1 and he was at peace4 ,if1 then1 by following this one rule we can always be at rest1 how true are the lines of the hymn now so often sung3-- ,oh1 what joy we often forfeit6 ,oh1 what needless pain we bear6 ,all because we do not carry ,everything to ,god in prayer4 ,,xx ,,the ,,church ,,of ,,the ,,master ,what is the true idea of a ,christian church1 and what the temper and spirit in which its affairs should be conducted8 ,for this inquiry certainly we are not to go back to ,new ,england or ,cotton ,mather primarily1 nor yet to the earlier ,anglican authorities1 or the long line of ,roman precedent1 and the ,fathers of the ,church1 nor even to the ,apostolic churches1 but to ,jesus ,christ himself1 and to the earliest association that could be called a ,christian church4 ,there is a difference in this discussion between the ,church and a church4 ,the ,church is the great generic unity or outside organization2 a church is a society related to the whole1 as a private family to the ,state4 ,in the time of our ,lord the generic body--the ,church of ,god--was the ,jewish church4 ,jesus was a regularly initiated member of that church1 and very careful never to depart from any of its forms or requirements4 ,he announced in the ,sermon on the ,mount that1 in regard to the ,jewish law1 he was not come to destroy but to fulfill4 ,he said distinctly to his disciples3 ,the ,scribes and ,pharisees sit in ,moses' seat3 all things therefore whatsoever they bid you observe1 that observe and do2 but do ye not after their works1 for they say and do not4 ,the ,apostles never separated formally from the ,jewish church4 ,they were so careful in this regard that they on one occasion induced ,st4 ,paul1 who was reported to be a schismatic1 to go in a very marked and public manner into the ,jewish temple and conform to the ,jewish ritual2 and when he addressed a company of ,jews on one occasion he commenced with the words3 ,men and brethren1 ,i am a ,pharisee and the son of a ,pharisee4 ,he elsewhere speaks of the perfectness of this initiation into all the customs and privileges of the national church--that he was a ,hebrew of the ,hebrews4 ,the ,christian ,church arose inside the ,jewish church1 exactly as the ,methodists arose inside the ,church of ,england4 ,they were a society professing subjection and obedience to the national church in all respects where the higher law of ,god did not require them to go against earthly ordinances4 ,thus1 when the ,jewish ,sanhedrin forbade the ,apostles to preach in the name of ,jesus1 they answered1 ,whether it be right in the sight of ,god to hearken unto you more than unto ,god1 judge ye4 ,in like spirit did ,john ,wesley and his ministers answer the bishops when they tried to shut their mouths from preaching the gospel to the poor of ,england4 ,but in the mean time it is to be remembered that the ,lord ,jesus gradually formed around himself as a personal centre an organization of disciples1 both men and women4 ,this band of disciples may be looked upon as the seed form of the ,christian ,church1 and the order of their union having been administered immediately by the ,master must be studied as conveying the best example of the spirit and temper1 though not necessarily the exact form1 in which all churches should be constituted4 ,that this company of believers was regularly organized1 and perfectly recognized as an organization1 appears from a passage in ,acts1 where it is said that after the ascension of our ,lord this little church came together and abode together for several days4 ,the names of many of them are given--the eleven ,apostles1 the mother of ,jesus1 his brethren1 and several others1 called in the enumeration the women1 are mentioned1 and it is further stated that the number of them was about one hundred and twenty4 ,st4 ,paul indeed speaks of an occasion on which ,christ1 after his resurrection1 appeared to five hundred disciples at once1 of whom he says the greater part were living when he wrote4 ,this hundred and twenty were probably such a portion of the whole company of disciples as had their residence in and about ,jerusalem1 and could therefore conveniently assemble together4 ,we first see them called together to perform a corporate act in filling a vacancy among their officers4 ,the twelve by the appointment of the ,lord had occupied a peculiar position of leadership4 ,the place of one of these being vacated by the death of ,judas1 the little church is summoned to assist in the election of a successor4 ,the speech of ,peter is remarkable as showing that he considered the persons he addressed as a body competent to transact business and fill vacancies4 ,after relating the death and fate of ,judas1 he ends by saying1 ,wherefore1 from these men that have companied with us all the time that the ,lord ,jesus went in and out among us must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection4 ,here1 then1 are all the evidences of a regularly trained church already in existence when our ,lord left the world4 ,but if we look at the twentieth chapter of ,john we shall see that the little company that performed this act had been previously ordained and inspired by ,jesus1 and wisdom had been promised to guide their proceedings4 ,it is said that immediately after ,christ's resurrection--after he had appeared to ,mary ,magdalene--he suddenly appeared in an assembly of the disciples1 showed them his hands and his side1 said to them1 ,peace be unto you1 breathed on them1 and said1 ,receive ye the ,holy ,ghost3 whosesoever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them1 and whosesoever sins ye retain they are retained4 ,the disciples spoken of here were the whole company of believers who yet remained faithful--not merely the eleven1 since one of the eleven at least was absent4 ,the words of the promise are not to be superstitiously interpreted1 as they have been1 as giving an arbitrary1 irresponsible power to an aristocracy in the church1 but as expressing this great truth3 that whenever a body of ,christians are acting under the influence of the ,holy ,spirit1 under a high and heavenly state of ,christian feeling1 their decisions will be in sympathy with ,god and be ratified in heaven4 ,it is only to those who receive the ,holy ,ghost that such power pertains4 ,having shown1 then1 that ,christ left a trained1 inspired1 ordained church of believers to perpetuate his work on earth1 it now becomes interesting to go back and watch the process by which he trained them4 ,the history of the formation and gradual education of this church is interesting1 because1 although the visible presence of the ,master made it differ from any subsequent church1 yet the spirit and temper in which he guided it are certainly a model for all4 ,christ's visible presence relieved them from all responsibility as to discipline4 ,he governed personally1 and settled every question as it rose4 ,in this respect no other church can be like it4 ,but the invisible ,christ1 the ,christ in the heart of all believers1 ought to be with every church1 that it may be carried on in spirit as ,christ conducted his4 ,in the first place1 then1 ,christ carried on this his first church as a family1 of which he was the father1 and in which the law was love4 ,he said to his disciples1 ,all ye are brethren2 he addressed them habitually as children1 sometimes as little children1 and laid on them with emphasis a new commandment1 that they should love one another as he had loved them4 ,the old commandment1 given by ,moses1 was1 ,thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself2 the new commandment of ,christ was1 ,love one another as ,i have loved you--better than self4 ,st4 ,john interprets this thus3 ,hereby we perceive the love of ,god1 because he laid down his life for us4 ,we ought also to lay down our lives for the brethren4 ,this church or family of ,christ was very wide and free in its invitation to any to join1 and many did join themselves1 so that at times portions of them traveled with him as a missionary family from place to place4 ,thus1 in ,luke viii41 we read that it came to pass that he went through every city and village preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom2 and the twelve were with him1 and certain women whom he had healed of evil spirits and infirmities2 ,mary1 called ,magdalene1 and ,joanna1 the wife of ,chusa1 ,herod's steward1 and ,susanna1 and many others1 who also ministered unto him of their substance4 ,this coperation of women in the missionary church would in some countries have given an occasion of offense and scandal4 ,but the laws and institutions of ,moses had prepared a nation in which the moral and religious mission of woman was fully recognized4 ,prophetesses and holy women1 inspired by ,god1 had always held an important place in its history1 and it was in full accord with the national sense of propriety that woman should hold a conspicuous place in the new society of ,jesus4 ,it is remarkable1 too1 that the bitterest and most vituperative attacks on the character of ,jesus which appeared in early centuries never found cause of scandal in this direction4 ,these pious women exercised1 for the benefit of our ,lord and his disciples1 the peculiar gifts of their sex--they ministered to them as women best know how4 ,one of them was the wife of a man of high rank in ,herod's court4 ,several of them appear to have been possessed of property4 ,some of them1 however1 were reclaimed women of formerly sinful life1 but now redeemed4 ,the wife of ,herod's steward1 and the spotless matron1 the mother of ,james and ,john1 did not scruple to receive to their fellowship and sisterly love the redeemed ,mary ,magdalene1 out of whom went seven devils4 ,the contributions for the support of this mission church became so considerable1 and the care of providing for its material wants so onerous1 as to require the services of a steward1 and one of the twelve1 who had a peculiar turn for financial cares1 was appointed to this office4 ,judas made all the purchases for the company1 dispensed its charities1 and1 as financier1 felt at liberty to comment severely on the waste shown by the grateful ,mary4 ,it seems that ,judas was a type of that class of men who seek the church from worldly motives4 ,the treatment of this treacherous friend by ,jesus is a model that cannot be too earnestly studied by every ,christian4 ,st4 ,john says1 ,jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not1 and who should betray him4 ,but he carried himself towards him with the same unvarying and tender sweetness that he showed to all the rest4 ,he was ,love itself4 ,he could not possibly associate with another without love1 and there was something peculiarly delicate and forbearing in his treatment of ,judas 7as is more fully considered in our next chapter74 ,he might easily have exposed him before his brethren1 but he would not do it4 ,it seems from the narrative that even when ,judas left the little company to complete his crime1 the simple-hearted disciples knew not where he was going4 ,there was no calling him to account1 no exposure1 no denunciation1 no excommunication4 ,why this care1 this peculiar reticence1 on the ,master's part8 ,it was a part of his system of teaching his family what he meant when he said1 ,love your enemies4 ,it was a way of teaching that1 when they came to understand it fully1 they never would forget4 ,moreover1 during his whole life1 in all his teachings to this little church1 his main object was that they should be rooted and grounded in that kind of love which no injury1 or cruelty1 or perfidy can change1 the kind of love which he showed when he prayed for those who were piercing his hands and feet4 ,but he found them not apt scholars4 ,they were apt and ready in the science of wrath4 ,with them the way of anger and what is called righteous indignation went down hill1 but he always held them back4 ,when a village refused to receive the ,master1 it was ,james and ,john who were ready to propose to call down fire from heaven1 as ,elias did4 ,but he told them they knew not what manner of spirit they were of2 the mission of the ,son of man was to save--not to kill4 ,as a delicate musician shudders to strike a discord1 so ,jesus would not excite among his little children the tumult of wrath and indignation that would be sure to arise did they fully know the treachery of ,judas4 ,he so carried himself that the evil element departed from them without a convulsion1 by the calm expulsive force of moral influences4 ,he bore with ,judas patiently1 sweetly1 lovingly1 to the very last4 ,he kept the knowledge of his treachery in his own bosom till of his own free will the traitor departed4 ,there is something so above human nature in this--it is such unworldly sweetness1 such celestial patience1 that it is difficult for us at our usual level of life to understand it4 ,it is difficult to realize that these expressions of love which ,jesus continued to ,judas were not a policy1 but a simple reality1 that he loved and pitied the treacherous friend as a mother loves and pities the unworthy son who is whitening her hair and breaking her heart1 and that the kiss he gave was always sincere4 ,it is an example1 too1 that may with advantage be studied in conducting the discipline of a church4 ,here was the worst of criminals meditating the deepest injuries1 the worst of crimes1 in the very bosom of the infant church1 yet our ,lord so bore with him1 so ruled and guided his little family that there was no quarrel and struggle1--that the very best and most was made of his talents as long as they could be used for good1--and when he departed the church was not rent and torn as a demoniac by the passage from them of an evil spirit4 ,but there were other respects in which ,jesus trained his church1 besides that of managing a discordant element within it4 ,there were many who would become disciples from sudden impulse or sympathy1 who had not the moral stamina to go on to spiritual perfection4 ,aware of this1 the ,master1 while ever gracious1 ever ready to receive1 exacted no binding pledge or oath4 ,he displayed no eagerness to get men to commit themselves in this way1 but rather the reverse4 ,whoever came saying1 ,lord1 ,i will follow thee1 met a gracious reception4 ,yet the seeker was warned that he must take up his cross1 and that without this he could not be a disciple4 ,he was admonished to count the cost1 lest he should begin to build and not be able to finish4 ,in some cases1 as that of the young nobleman1 the tests proposed were so severe that the man went away sorrowful2 and yet1 for all this1 the heart of the ,master was freely open to all who chose to follow him4 ,but as ,jesus would take none without full warning of the stringency of his exactions1 so he would retain none a moment beyond the time when their hearts were fully in it4 ,free they were to come as ,god's love is free--free also to go1 if on trial they found the doctrine or discipline too hard for them4 ,christ gathered his spiritual army on the principles on which ,moses commanded that the army of ,israel should be gathered for battle1 when proclamation was made that any one who for any reason was not fully in good heart should go home1 ,what man is fearful or faint-hearted1 let him go and return to his house1 lest his brethren's heart faint as well as his4 ,there is a very striking passage in the sixth chapter of ,john's ,gospel1 where ,jesus1 in the most stringent and earnest manner1 spoke of the necessity of eating his flesh and drinking his blood2 or1 in other words1 of an appropriating and identifying union of soul with himself as constituting true discipleship4 ,this expos of the inner depths of real spiritual life repelled some1 as it is written3-- ,many1 therefore1 of his disciples said3 ,this is a hard saying4 ,who can hear it8 ,when ,jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured1 he said3 ,doth this offend you8444 ,but there are some of you that believe not4 ,for ,jesus knew from the beginning who they were who believed not and who should betray him4 ,from that time1 we are told1 many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him4 ,they left the church2 and we read of no effort to discipline or retain them4 ,the spiritual life of the church expelled them by the law of moral repulsion2 they felt they were not of it1 and they left1 and were suffered to leave4 ,the only comment we read of as being made by the ,lord was this3 ,then said ,jesus to the twelve3 ,will ye also go away8 ,there was the door1 freely open1 would they1 too1 go8 ,then said ,peter3 ,lord1 to whom should we go8 ,thou hast the words of eternal life1 and we believe and are sure that thou art the ,christ4 ,we can see here what was the sifting process by which our ,lord kept his little church pure4 ,it was the union of vivid spirituality with perfect freedom4 ,the doors of entrance and of exit were freely open2 and those who could not bear the intense and glowing spiritual life were at all times free to depart2 in the words subsequently used by the ,apostle1 they judged themselves unworthy of eternal life4 ,hence1 like a vigorous human body1 ,christ's little church threw out from itself the unvital members1 and kept itself healthy and strong4 ,this perfect freedom to depart at any time constituted the strength of the little order4 ,its members were held together1 not by a dead covenant1 not by a conventional necessity1 not by past vows uttered in high excitement--but by a living choice of the soul1 renewed from moment to moment4 ,even the twelve had presented to them the choice to go away1 and took anew their vow of constancy4 ,hence it was that even the astounding horrors of the sudden fall--the crucifixion of the ,master--did not break their ranks4 ,there were none left but those so vitally united to him1 so one with him that1 as he said1 they lived by him4 ,he was their life2 they followed him to the cross and to the grave2 they watched the sepulchre1 and were ready to meet him in the resurrection morning4 ,it was this tried and sifted remnant to whom he appeared when the doors were closed1 after the resurrection1 on whom he breathed peace and the ,holy ,ghost1 and whose spiritual judgments and decisions he promised should thereafter be ratified in heaven4 ,this little company were1 as nearly as human beings can be1 rooted and grounded in perfect love4 ,the lesson of their lives had been love1 taught them by precept from day to day1 as he harmonized their contentions and repressed their selfish ambitions2 and by example1 as he persistently tolerated1 loved1 bore with a treacherous friend in his own family4 ,it was necessary that they should be prepared to exercise power1 for power was about to be intrusted to them4 ,it was necessary to prepare them to be the governors of the future ,christian ,church4 ,but he was unwearied in efforts to make them understand that superiority must only be a superiority in doing and suffering for others4 ,when the mother of ,james and ,john asked the highest two offices for her two sons1 he looked at her with a pathetic sadness4 ,did she know what she was asking8 ,did she know that to be nearest to him was to suffer most8 ,he answered3 ,you know not what you ask4 ,can you drink of the cup that ,i shall drink1 and be baptized with my baptism8 ,and when they ignorantly said1 ,we are able1 he said that the place of superiority was not his to give by any personal partiality1 but was reserved for the appointment of the ,father4 ,but the ambitious spirit now roused had spread to the other disciples4 ,it is said that when the ten heard it they were indignant with ,james and ,john4 ,but ,jesus called them to him and said3-- ,ye know that they that are accounted to rule over the ,gentiles exercise lordship over them1 and their great ones exercise authority upon them4 ,but it shall not be so among you2 but whosoever shall be great among you let him be your minister1 and whosoever will be the chiefest let him be servant of all2 for even the ,son of man came not to be ministered unto1 but to minister1 and give his life a ransom for many4 ,one of the very last acts of his life1 and one of the most affecting comments on these words1 was his washing his disciples' feet as a menial servant--a last significant act1 which might almost be called a sacrament1 since by it he1 in view of his dying hour1 put this last impressive seal on his teaching of humanity and brotherly love4 ,the contest which should be the greatest1 in spite of all his efforts1 all his teachings1 all his rebukes1 had only smouldered1 not been extinguished1 and was ready at any moment to flame out again1 and all the way up to ,jerusalem when he came to die they walked behind him quarreling over this old point4 ,as a dying mother calling her children around her confirms her life-teaching by some last act of love never to be forgotten1 so this ,master and ,friend before the last supper knelt in humility at the feet of each disciple and washed and wiped them1 and then interpreted the act as a sign of the spirit in which leadership in his church should be sought3 ,if ,i1 your ,lord and ,master1 have washed your feet1 ye ought also to wash one another's feet4 ,in after years the disciples could not but remember that ,jesus knelt at the feet of ,judas and washed them as meekly as those of all the rest2 and then they saw what he meant when he said1 ,love your enemies4 ,from first to last the teaching of ,christ was one long teaching of the doctrine and discipline of perfect love4 ,when the multitudes followed him1 and he went into a mountain to give his summary of the new dispensation1 we hear of no high1 mystical doctrines4 ,we hear doctrines against censoriousness1 against the habit of judging others4 ,we hear men cautioned to look on their own faults1 not on those of others4 ,we hear love like the perfect love of ,god set up as the great doctrine of the new kingdom--love which no injury1 no unworthiness1 no selfishness can chill1 or alter1 or turn aside2 which1 like ,god's providence1 shines on the evil and unthankful1 and sends rain on the just and the unjust--this mystery of love1 deeper than the mystery of the ,trinity1 was what1 from first to last1 the ,master sought to make his little church comprehend4 ,this love to enemies1 this forgiveness1 was the hardest of hard doctrines to them4 ,lord1 how often shall my brother transgress and ,i forgive him8 says ,peter2 till seven times8 ,nay1 answers ,jesus1 till seventy times seven4 ,if thy brother trespass against thee seven times a day1 and seven times turn again saying1 ',i repent1' thou shalt forgive him4 ,the ,master taught that no religious ordinance1 no outward service1 was so important as to maintain love unbroken4 ,if a gift were brought to the altar1 and there it were discovered that a brother were grieved or offended1 the gift was to be left unoffered till a reconciliation was sought4 ,it is not merely with the brother who has given us cause of offense1 but the brother who1 however unreasonably1 deems himself hurt by us1 that we are commanded to seek reconciliation before we can approach a ,heavenly ,father4 ,a band of men and women thus trained in the school of ,jesus1 careful to look on their own faults1 refraining from judging those of others1 unselfish and lowly1 seeking only to do and to serve1 so perfected in a divine love that the most bitter and cruel personal injuries could not move to bitterness or revenge--such a church is in a fit state to administer discipline4 ,it has the ,holy ,spirit of ,jesus with it2 and it may be said1 without superstitious credulity1 of a church in that spirit that its decisions will be so in accordance with the will of ,god that whosesoever sins they remit are remitted1 and whosesoever sins they retain are retained4 ,but where have we such a church8 ,the church of the ,master was one of those beautiful ideals1 fair as the frost-crystals or the dew-drops of morning4 ,it required a present ,jesus to hold it1 and then with what constant watchfulness and care and admonition on his part was it kept6 ,we can only study at his marvelous training1 and gather some humble inspiration4 ,it was this church of ,jesus1 the ,master1 this tried1 sifted1 suffering body of faithful men and women whose prayers brought down the ,holy ,spirit on the day of ,pentecost1 and inaugurated the ,apostolic ,church4 ,,xxi ,,judas ,it is one of the mysteries in the life of our ,lord that he was led by the immediate direction of the ,father to incorporate into his little family1 and to bring into the closest personal relations with himself1 an unsympathetic and adverse element that must have been a source of continual pain to him4 ,it was after a whole night spent in prayer for the divine direction that the first twelve ,apostles were chosen2 and ,judas also was one of them4 ,the history of this man is a wonder and a warning4 ,that there could possibly be a human being who could have such advantages1 could rise to such a height of spiritual power and joy1 and yet in the end prove to be utterly without any true spiritual life seems fearful4 ,it would appear that ,judas had at first a sort of worldly enthusiasm for ,christ and his kingdom2 that he received the divine gift of miracle-working2 that he went forth preaching and healing1 and felt all the exultation and joy which the sense of spiritual power and influence gives4 ,judas was among those who returned from the first missionary tour in triumph1 saying1 ,lord1 even the devils were subject unto us6 ,the grave answer of ,jesus reminded them that it was of far more importance to be really accepted of ,god as true ,christians than to have the most brilliant gifts and powers4 ,in our ,lord's first ,sermon on the ,mount1 which may be considered as an ordaining charge to his ,apostles1 he had said to them that in the great final day of ,judgment there would be many who would say unto him1 ,lord1 have we not prophesied in thy name1 and in thy name cast out devils1 and in thy name done many wonderful works8 and then will ,i say to them1 ,i never knew you2 depart from me1 ye that work iniquity4 ,everywhere in the ,new ,testament these miraculous powers are spoken of as something of far less value than the true ,christian spirit1 and1 if we may trust the word of our ,master1 many had them whom he will never acknowledge for his own4 ,but the warning fell on the ear of ,judas unheeded4 ,perhaps he did not himself know how selfish and self-seeking was his zeal for the coming kingdom4 ,generally speaking1 the first person deceived by a man who plays a false part is himself4 ,judas appears not to have excited the suspicions of the little company of brethren4 ,his shrewdness and tact in managing financial matters led them to appoint him the treasurer of the common family purse4 ,without doubt1 what he saw of the enthusiastic love which ,jesus excited1 the ease with which he could make people willing to lay their fortunes at his feet1 opened to his view dazzling golden visions4 ,he saw himself treasurer of a kingdom unequaled in splendor and riches1 when all the kingdoms of the world should be subject to his master4 ,it was more than the reign of ,solomon1 when gold was to be as the stones of the street4 ,if we notice our ,lord's teachings delivered in the hearing of ,judas1 we must be struck with the explicit and forcible manner in which he constantly pointed out the danger of the worldly spirit which was growing upon that disciple4 ,how solemn the picture of the rich man1 absorbed in plans and calculations how to bestow his great wealth until ,god says to him1 ,thou fool6 this night shall thy soul be required of thee--then whose shall those things be that thou hast provided8 ,so1 he adds1 is every one that layeth up riches1 and is not rich towards ,god4 ,again1 he tells them that it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of ,god4 ,he asks them1 ,what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul8 ,we hear nothing of any replies that ,judas makes to these teachings4 ,he seldom is represented dramatically4 ,peter1 ,james1 ,john1 and ,thomas1 all present themselves vividly to our mind by the things that they say2 but ,judas is silent4 ,the ,master1 who knew him so well1 did not expose him to the others4 ,he did not lessen their brotherly regard or interrupt the peace of his little family by any effort at expulsion4 ,as his ,father had chosen this member to be in intimate nearness to himself1 ,jesus accepted him1 bore with him1 loved him1 and treated him to the last with the same unvarying sweetness that he showed to the more congenial natures4 ,it is affecting to remember that the very act by which ,christ was betrayed was one that showed that all the external habits of affection remained still unbroken between him and the traitor4 ,the kiss of ,jesus was sincere2 he loved this wretched man as heavenly beings love1 and followed him with love to the last4 ,it would seem that towards the last part of the life of ,jesus the moral antagonism between himself and ,judas grew more pronounced and intense4 ,as the spiritual life of ,jesus waxed brighter and stronger1 so much the more vivid became the contrast between it and the worldly aims of the traitor4 ,judas saw the kind of worldly prosperity to which he had aspired receding4 ,he saw that ,jesus1 instead of using his splendid miraculous powers to draw towards him the chiefs of his nation1 was becoming every day more in antagonism with them4 ,instead of meeting the popular desire to make him a king he had drawn back from it1 and by that very act lost many followers4 ,his extreme spiritual teachings had disgusted many of his disciples and led them to go back and walk no more with him4 ,and now the talk of ,jesus was more and more of persecutions and sufferings and death1 as lying just before him4 ,to a worldly eye all this looked like a fanatical throwing away of the very brightest opportunity for fame and fortune and dominion that ever was given to a leader4 ,judas became sullenly discontented1 not yet ready openly to throw off all hopes of what might be got by adhering to his ,master1 but yet in a critical and fault-finding spirit surveying all his actions4 ,it is an awful thought that it was possible for a man to share the daily bread of ,jesus1 to be in his family1 treated as a beloved child1 to hear all his beautiful words1 to listen to his prayers day after day1 and yet1 instead of melting1 to grow colder and harder--to grow more earthly as his ,master grew more heavenly1 and to find this want of sympathy slowly hardening into a sullen enmity which only waited its hour to declare itself openly4 ,christ said to the unbelieving ,jews1 ,ye have both seen and hated both ,me and my ,father4 ,judas was fast preparing to join that party4 ,according to the narrative of ,st4 ,matthew1 it was after this rebuke in the matter of ,mary that ,judas went into negotiations with those who were plotting the destruction of ,jesus4 ,he was a disappointed man4 ,he had joined a party which he confidently expected to lead to triumph1 success1 and wealth4 ,instead of this1 ,jesus had lost every opportunity1 lost the favorable hour of popularity1 and concentrated on himself the hatred of the most powerful men of the nation1 and now was talking only of defeat and rejection4 ,the presence of ,judas with the household was now that of a spy1 watching his occasion1 but making no outward demonstration4 ,he was in the little family circle that gathered in the upper room to eat the last passover supper4 ,his ,master bent at his feet and washed them1 as he did those of the faithful ones1 in that sacramental action when he showed them what he meant by true love4 ,it was directly after this last act of affection that ,jesus openly declared his knowledge of the meditated treachery1 for he said3 ,i speak not of you all1 ,i know whom ,i have chosen2 but the ,scripture must be fulfilled which saith1 ,he that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me4 ,then with a deep sigh he adds in plain words1 ,verily1 verily1 ,i say unto you1 one of you shall betray me4 ,it is a most lovely comment on the goodness of heart of these simple men that in so solemn a moment no one of them thought of criminating the other4 ,each one said tremblingly1 ,lord1 is it ,i8 ,john1 leaning down on his ,master's breast1 inquired privately who it was2 and ,jesus gave him a private sign that it should be he to whom he gave a sop when he had dipped it4 ,he dipped the sop1 and gave it to ,judas4 ,then ,judas1 still keeping up the show of innocence1 said1 like the rest1 ,master1 is it ,i8 ,jesus answered1 ,thou hast said it4 ,it is said that ,satan entered into him at this moment4 ,all the smouldering elements of meanness1 disgust1 dislike of ,jesus1 his teaching1 his spirit1 and his mission were quickened by the presence of that invisible enemy who comes to the heart of man only when he is called by the congenial indulgence of wicked passions4 ,judas rose hastily1 and our ,lord added1 ,that thou doest1 do quickly4 ,he flung himself out and was gone4 ,the miserable sum for which he sold his ,master1 though inconsiderable in itself1 was probably offered as first wages in a new service4 ,his new masters were the heads of ,israel3 all avenues of patronage and power were in their hands1 and the fortune that he could not make on the side of ,jesus he might hope to gather on that of his enemies4 ,he may have compounded with his conscience by believing that the miraculous power of our ,lord was such that there was no danger of a fatal termination4 ,in fact1 that his being taken might force him to declare himself and bring on the triumphant moment of victory4 ,he might possibly have said to himself that he was at any rate acting the part of a mediator in bringing matters to a crisis1 and perhaps forcing a favorable result4 ,for1 when he found that ,jesus was indeed a victim1 he was overwhelmed with remorse and despair4 ,he threw the wretched money at the feet of his tempters and departed and hanged himself1 and went1 as we are told1 to his own place4 ,he went to the place for which he had fitted himself1 who1 living in the very bosom of ,jesus1 had grown more and more unlike him every day4 ,he left ,christ--driven by no force but his own wicked will4 ,to the last the love of ,god pursued him3 his ,master knelt and washed the very feet that were so soon to hasten to betray him4 ,it was with a sorrowful spirit1 a troubled heart1 that ,jesus said1 ,woe unto that man by whom the ,son of man is betrayed3 good were it for that man if he never had been born4 ,without attempting to solve the mysteries of this deepest of all tragedies1 we may yet see some of the uses and purposes of it in regard to ourselves4 ,our ,lord was appointed to suffer in all respects as his brethren2 and the suffering of bearing with antagonistic and uncongenial natures is one that the providence of ,god often imposes on us4 ,there are often bound to us1 in the closest intimacy of social or family ties1 natures hard and ungenial1 with whom sympathy is impossible1 and whose daily presence necessitates a constant conflict with an adverse influence4 ,there are1 too1 enemies--open or secret--whose enmity we may feel yet cannot define4 ,our ,lord1 going before us in this hard way1 showed us how we should walk4 ,it will be appropriate to the solemn self-examination of the period of ,lent to ask ourselves1 ,is there any false friend or covert enemy whom we must learn to tolerate1 to forbear with1 to pity and forgive8 ,can we in silent offices of love wash their feet as our ,master washed the feet of ,judas8 ,and if we have no real enemies1 are there any bound to us in the relations of life whose habits and ways are annoying and distasteful to us8 ,can we bear with them in love8 ,can we avoid harsh judgments1 and harsh speech1 and the making known to others our annoyance8 ,could we through storms of obloquy and evil report keep calmly on in duty1 unruffled in love1 and commending ourselves to the judgment of ,god8 ,the examination will probably teach us to feel the infinite distance between us and our divine ,ideal1 and change censoriousness of others into prayer for ourselves4 ,,xxii ,,going ,,up ,,to ,,jerusalem ,palm ,sunday ,nothing in ancient or modern tragedy is so sublime and touching as the simple account given by the ,evangelists of the last week of our ,lord's earthly life4 ,the church has since his ascension so devoutly looked upon him as ,god that we are in danger of losing the pathos and the power which come from a consideration of his humanity4 ,the ,apostle tells us that1 in order that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest1 he was made in all respects like unto his brethren4 ,he was a ,jew4 ,his national and patriotic feeling was intense4 ,to him the sacred nation1 the temple service1 with all its hymns and prayers and ancient poetic recollections1 were more dear than to any other man of his nation4 ,the nation was his own1 his peculiar1 chosen people2 he was their head and flower1 for whom the whole gorgeous ritual had been appointed1 for whom the nation had been for centuries waiting4 ,apart from his general tenderness and love for humanity was this special love of country and countrymen4 ,then there was the love of his very own--the little church of tried1 true1 tested friends who had devoted themselves to him2 and1 still within that1 his family circle1 for whom his love was strong as a father's1 tender and thoughtful as a mother's4 ,and yet ,jesus went through life bearing in his bosom the bitter thought that his nation would reject him and instigate one of his own friends to betray him1 and that all seeming success and glory was to end in a cruel and shameful death4 ,he foresaw how every heart that loved him would be overwhelmed and crushed with a misery beyond all human precedent4 ,it is affecting to read in the ,evangelists how often and how earnestly ,jesus tried to make his disciples realize what was coming4 ,let this saying sink down into your ears1 he would say3 the ,son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men2 and then would recount1 item by item1 the overthrow1 the agonies1 the insults1 the torture1 that were to be the end of his loving and gentle mission4 ,at various times and in various forms he took them aside and repeated this prophecy4 ,and it is said that they understood not his word2 that they were astonished2 that they feared to ask him2 that they questioned one with another what this should mean4 ,it seems probable that1 warmed with the flush of present and increasing prosperity and popularity1 witnessing his victorious miracles1 they had thrown this dark prophecy by1 as something inexplicable and never literally to be accomplished4 ,what it could mean they knew not1 but that it could have a literal fulfillment they seem none of them to have even dreamed4 ,perhaps they were like many of us1 in our religion1 in the habit of looking only on the bright1 hopeful1 and easily comprehensible side of things1 and letting all that is dark and mysterious slide from the mind4 ,up to the very week before his crucifixion the power and popularity of ,jesus seemed constantly increasing4 ,his miracles were more open1 more impressive1 more effective4 ,the raising of ,lazarus from the dead had set the final crown on the glorious work4 ,it would appear that ,lazarus was a member of a well-known1 influential family1 moving in the higher circles of ,jerusalem4 ,it was a miracle wrought in the very heart and centre of knowledge and influence1 and it raised the fame of the new prophet to the summit of glory4 ,it is an affecting comment on the worth of popular favor that the very flood-tide of the fame and glory of ,jesus was just five days before he was crucified4 ,on ,monday--the day now celebrated in the ,christian ,church as ,palm ,sunday--he entered ,jerusalem in triumph1 with palms waving1 and garlands thrown at his feet1 and the multitudes going before and after1 shouting ,hosanna to the ,son of ,david2 and on ,friday of the same week the whole multitude shouted1 ,away with him6 ,crucify him6 ,release unto us ,barabbas6 ,his blood be upon us and upon our children6 and he was led through those same streets to ,calvary4 ,on these six days before the death of ,jesus the historians have expended a wealth of detail1 so that the record of what is said and done is more than that of all the other portions of that short life4 ,there are many touches of singular tenderness conveyed in very brief words4 ,speaking of his final journey from ,galilee to ,juda1 says one3 ,when the time came that he should be received up he set his face steadfastly to go to ,jerusalem4 ,another narrates that when he was going up to ,jerusalem he walked before his disciples1 and as they followed him they were afraid4 ,evidently he was wrapped in an electric cloud of emotion2 he was swept along by a mighty influence--tides of feeling deeper than they could comprehend were rolling in his soul1 and there was that atmosphere of silence and mystery about him by which the inward power of great souls casts an outward sphere of awe about them4 ,still1 as they walked behind1 they had their political dreams of a coming reign of power and splendor1 when the ,judan nation should rule the world1 and they1 as nearest to the ,master1 should administer the government of the nation--for it is said1 by the way they disputed who should be the greatest4 ,he hears their talk1 as a dying mother1 who knows that a few hours will leave her children orphans1 listens to the contentions of the nursery4 ,he turns to them and makes a last effort to enlighten them--to let them know that not earthly glory and a kingdom are before them1 but cruelty1 rejection1 shame1 and death4 ,he recounts the future1 circumstantially1 and with what deep energy and solemn pathos of voice and manner may be imagined4 ,they make no answer1 but shrink back1 look one on another1 and are afraid to ask more4 ,it would seem1 however1 that there was one in the band on whom these words made an impression4 ,judas evidently thought that1 if this was to be the end of all1 he had been taken in and deceived3 a sudden feeling of irritation arises against ,one who having such evident and splendid miraculous power is about to give up in this way and lose his opportunity and suffer himself to be defeated4 ,judas is all ready now to make the best terms for himself with the winning party4 ,the others follow in fear and trembling4 ,the strife who shall be greatest subsides into a sort of anxious questioning4 ,they arrive at a friendly house where they are to spend the ,sabbath1 the last ,sabbath of his earthly life4 ,there was a feast made for him1 and we see him surrounded by grateful friends4 ,by the fact that ,martha waited on the guests and that ,lazarus sat at the table it would appear that this feast was in the house of a relative of that family4 ,it is said to have occurred in the house of ,simon the ,leper--perhaps the leper to whom ,jesus said1 ,i will--be thou clean4 ,here ,mary1 with the abandon which marks her earnest and poetic nature1 breaks a costly vase of balm and sheds the perfume on the head of her ,lord4 ,it was an action in which she offered up her whole self--her heart and her life--to be spent for him1 like that fleeting perfume4 ,judas expostulates1 ,to what purpose is this waste8 ,there is an answering flash from ,jesus1 like lightning from a summer cloud4 ,the value that our ,lord sets upon love is nowhere more energetically expressed4 ,this trembling1 sensitive heart has offered itself up wholly to him1 and he accepts and defends it4 ,there is a touch of human pathos in the words1 ,she is anointing me for my burial4 ,her gift had all the sacredness in his eyes of a death-bed act of tenderness1 and he declares1 ,wheresoever through the world this gospel shall be preached1 there also shall what this woman hath done be told for a memorial of her4 ,judas slinks back1 sullen and silent4 ,the gulf between him and his ,master grows hourly more palpable--as the nature that cannot love and the nature to whom love is all come in close collision4 ,judas and ,christ cannot blend any more than oil and water1 and the nearer approach only makes the conflict of nature more evident4 ,on ,monday morning1 the day that we now celebrate as ,palm ,sunday1 ,jesus enters ,jerusalem4 ,we are told that the great city1 now full of ,jews come up from all parts of the world1 was moved about him4 ,we have in the ,book of ,acts an enumeration of the varieties in the throng that filled ,jerusalem at this time3 ,parthians1 ,medes1 ,elamites1 dwellers in ,mesopotamia and in ,juda and ,cappadocia1 in ,pontus and ,asia1 ,phrygia and ,pamphylia1 in ,egypt and in the parts of ,libya about ,cyrene1 and strangers of ,rome1 ,jews and ,proselytes1 ,cretes and ,arabians4 ,when all these strangers heard the shouting1 it is said the whole city was moved1 saying1 ,who is this8 ,and the multitude said1 ,this is ,jesus1 the ,prophet of ,nazareth in ,galilee4 ,and what was ,he thinking of1 as he came thus for the last time to the chosen city8 ,we are told ,and when he drew near and beheld the city1 he wept over it1 saying1 ,if thou hadst known1 even thou in this thy day1 the things that belong to thy peace6 but now they are hid from thine eyes4 ,then follows the prophetic vision of the destruction of ,jerusalem--scenes of horror and despair for which his gentle spirit bled inwardly4 ,one feature of the picture is touching3 the children in the temple crying1 ,hosanna to the ,son of ,david6 ,the love of ,jesus for children is something marked and touching4 ,when he rested from his labors at eventide1 it was often1 we are told1 with a little child in his arms--children were his favorite image for the heavenly life1 and he had bid the mothers to bring them to him as emblems of the better world4 ,the children were enthusiastic for him1 they broke forth into rapture at his coming as birds in the sunshine1 loud and noisily as children will1 to the great discomfiture of priests and ,scribes4 ,master6 bid them hush1 they said4 ,he turned1 indignant--,if these should hold their peace the very stones would cry out4 ,these evidences of love from dear little children were the last flower thrown at the feet of ,jesus on his path to death4 ,from that day the way to the cross was darker every hour4 ,,xxiii ,,the ,,barren ,,fig-,,tree ,monday in ,passion ,week ,during the last week of the life of ,jesus we see him under the most awful pressure of emotion2 the crisis of a great tragedy1 which has been slowly gathering and growing from the beginning of the world1 is now drawing on4 ,the nation that he had chosen--that he had borne and carried through all the days of old--was now to consummate her ruin in his rejection4 ,all his words and actions during the last week of his life were under the shadow of that cloud of doom which overhung the city of ,jerusalem1 the temple1 and the people whom he had loved1 so earnestly and so long1 in vain4 ,when going up to ,jerusalem he walked before his disciples1 silent and absorbed2 and they dared scarcely speak to him4 ,amid the triumphant shouts of the people that welcomed him to the city he paused on the verge of ,olivet and wept over it4 ,he saw the siege1 the famine1 the terror of women and helpless children1 the misery and despair1 the unutterable agonies of the sacking of ,jerusalem1 which has been a world's wonder2 and he broke forth in lamentation4 ,oh1 that thou hadst known--even thou in this thy day--the things that belong to thy peace6 ,but now they are hid from thine eyes4 ,all his discourses of this last week are shaded with the sad coloring and prophetic vision of coming doom1 of a crime hastening to fulfillment that should bring a long-delayed weight of wrath and vengeance4 ,his parables now turn on this theme4 ,one day they tell of a husbandman intrusting a vineyard to the care of faithless servants2 he sends messengers to overlook them2 they beat one and stone another1 till finally he sends his only and beloved son1 and then they say1 ,let us kill him2 and they catch him and cast him out of the vineyard and slay him4 ,what1 he asks1 shall the ,lord of the vineyard do to these husbandmen8 ,again1 he speaks of a feast to which all are generously invited1 and all neglect or reject the invitation1 and not only reject but insult and despise and ill-treat the messengers who bear the invitation2 and tells how the insulted ,king sends the invitation to others1 and decrees1 ,none of these men shall taste of my supper4 ,he tells of a wedding feast1 and of foolish virgins who slumber with unfilled lamps till the door of welcome is shut4 ,he tells of a king1 who1 having intrusted talents to his servants1 comes again to reckon1 and takes away the talent of the unfaithful one and casts him to outer darkness4 ,all these themes speak of the approaching rejection of the nation on whom ,god has heaped so many favors for many years4 ,the thought of their doom seems to press down the heart of the ,redeemer4 ,the twenty-third chapter of ,matthew contains ,christ's last sermon in the temple--his final words of leave-taking of his people2 and a most dreadful passage it is4 ,it is awful1 it is pathetic1 to compare those fearful words with his first benignant announcement at ,nazareth4 ,nothing in human language can be conceived more terrible than these last denunciations of the rejected ,lord and ,lover of the chosen race4 ,he exposes with scathing severity the hypocrisy1 the greed1 the cruelty of the leaders of the nation2 he denounces them as the true descendants of those who of old killed ,god's prophets and stoned his messengers1 and ends by rising into the very majesty of the ,godhead in declaring their final doom3-- ,fill ye up the measure of your fathers4 ,ye serpents6 ,ye generation of vipers6 ,how can ye escape the damnation of hell8 ,wherefore1 behold1 ,i send unto you prophets and wise men and scribes2 and some of them ye shall kill and crucify1 and some of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city4 ,that upon you might come all the righteous blood shed upon earth1 from the blood of righteous ,abel to the blood of ,zacharias1#e the son of ,barachias1 whom ye slew between the temple and the altar4 ,verily ,i say unto you all these shall come upon this generation6 ,o ,jerusalem6 ,jerusalem6 thou that killest the prophets and stonest those that are sent unto thee--how often would ,i have gathered thy children together1 even as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings--and ye would not4 ,behold1 your house is left unto you desolate1 for ,i say that ye shall see me no more henceforth till ye say1 ,blessed is he that cometh in the name of the ,lord4 #e ,see #b ,chronicles xxiv4 #bj1 #ba4 ,and the spirit of the ,lord came upon ,zechariah1 the son of ,jehoida the priest1 who stood among the people1 and said1 ,why transgress ye the commandments of the ,lord1 that ye cannot prosper8 ,because ye have forsaken the ,lord he also hath forsaken you4 ,and they conspired against him and stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the ,lord4 ,these two instances1 of ,abel and ,zacharias1 cited by our ,lord from the very first and very last of the sacred historic books1 seemed to cover the whole ground of their history4 ,the variation as to the name of the prophet's father has many theories to account for it1 any one of which is satisfactory4 ,this was ,christ's last farewell--his valedictory to those whom he had loved and labored for1 and who would not come to him that he might give them life4 ,to all these awful words was added the language of an awful symbol4 ,in one of his parables our ,lord had spoken of the ,jewish nation under the figure of a tree which1 though carefully tended year by year1 bore no fruit4 ,at last the word goes forth1 ,cut it down6 ,but the keeper of the vineyard intercedes and prays that it may have a longer space of cultured care1 and so be brought to fruit-bearing4 ,this last week of our ,lord's life he sets forth the solemn close of that parable by one of those symbolic acts common among the old prophets and well understood by the ,jews4 ,approaching a fair and promising tree on his way into the city1 he seeks fruit thereon1 but finds it barren4 ,there is a pause1 and then a voice of deep sadness says1 ,no fruit grow on thee henceforth and forever6 and immediately the fig-tree withered away4 ,it was an outward symbol of that doomed city whose day of mercy was past4 ,the awfulness of these last words and of this last significant sign is increased by the tenderness of ,him who gave them forth4 ,it is the ,fountain of ,pity1 the ,all-,loving ,one1 that uttered the doom--a doom made certain and inevitable not by ,god's will but by man's perversity4 ,the lesson that we have to learn is the reality and awfulness of sin1 the reality of that persistence in wickedness that can make even the love of ,jesus vain for our salvation4 ,for what hope1 what help1 what salvation can there be for those who cannot be reached by ,his love8 ,if they have seen and hated both him and his ,father--what remains8 ,,xxiv ,,caiaphas ,tuesday in ,passion ,week ,the thought may arise to many minds1 if ,jesus was so lovely1 so attractive1 and so beloved1 how could it have been possible that he should be put to so cruel a death in the very midst of a people whom he loved and for whom he labored8 ,the sacred record shows us why4 ,it was this very attractiveness1 this very power over men's hearts1 that was the cause and reason of the conspiracy against ,jesus4 ,we have a brief and very dramatic account of the meeting of the ,sanhedrim in which the death of ,christ was finally resolved upon1 and we find that very popularity urged as a reason why he cannot be permitted to live4 ,in ,john xi4 #dg1 we are told that after the raising of ,lazarus the chief priests and ,pharisees gathered a council and said1 ,what do we8 this man doeth many miracles4 ,if we let him thus alone all men will believe on him1 and the ,romans will come and take away our place and nation4 ,there is the case stated plainly1 and we see that these men talked then just as men in our days talk4 ,do they ever resolve on an act of oppression or cruelty1 calling it by its right name8 ,never4 ,it is a sacrifice to some virtue2 and the virtue in this case was patriotism4 ,here is the ,jewish nation1 a proud and once powerful people1 crushed and writhing under the heel of the conquering ,romans4 ,they are burning with hatred of their oppressors and with a desire of revenge1 longing for the ,messiah that shall lead them to conquest and make their nation the head of the world4 ,and now1 here comes this ,jesus and professes to be the long-promised leader2 and what does he teach8 ,love and forgiveness of enemies2 patient endurance of oppression and wrong2 and supreme devotion to the pure inner life of the soul4 ,if ,roman tax-gatherers distrain upon their property and force them to carry it from place to place1 they are to meet it only by free good will1 that is1 willingness to go two miles when one is asked4 ,if the extortionate officer seizes their coat1 they are to show only a kindliness that is willing to give even more than that4 ,they are to love their bitterest enemies1 pity and pray for them1 and continue in unbroken kindness1 even as ,god's sunshine falls in unmoved benignity on the just and the unjust6 ,it must have inflamed these haughty1 ambitious leaders to fury to see all their brilliant visions of war and conquest and national independence melting away in a mist of what seemed to them the mere impossible sentimentalism of love4 ,and yet this illusion gains ground daily2 ,christ is received in triumph at ,jerusalem1 and the rulers say to each other1 ,perceive ye how we prevail nothing8 behold the whole world is gone out after him4 ,now1 in the ,jewish ,sanhedrim ,christ had friends and followers4 ,we are told of ,joseph of ,arimathea1 who would not consent to the deeds of the council4 ,we are told of ,nicodemus1 who before now had spoken boldly in the council1 demanding justice and a fair hearing for ,jesus4 ,we may well believe that so extreme a course as was now proposed met at first strong opposition4 ,there seems to have been some warm discussion4 ,we may imagine what it was3 that ,jesus was a just and noble man1 a prophet1 a man all of whose deeds and words had been pure and beneficent1 was doubtless earnestly urged4 ,the advocates1 it is true1 were not men who had left all to follow him1 or enrolled themselves openly as his disciples1 but yet they could not consent to so monstrous an injustice as this4 ,that the discussion produced strong feeling is evident from the excited manner in which ,caiaphas sums up3 ,ye know nothing at all1 nor consider that it is better that one man should die than that the whole nation should perish4 ,that was the case as he viewed it1 and he talked precisely as men in our days have often talked when consenting to an injustice or oppression3 ,say what you will of this ,jesus2 ,i will not dispute you4 ,admit1 if you please1 his virtues and good works2 still1 he is a wrong-headed man1 that will be the ruin of our nation4 ,either he must perish or the nation be destroyed4 ,and so1 on the altar of patriotism this murder was laid as a sacrifice4 ,and it was this same burning1 impatient national spirit of independence that slew ,christ which afterwards provoked the ,roman government beyond endurance1 and brought upon ,jerusalem wrath to the uttermost4 ,the very children and grandchildren of ,caiaphas died in untold miseries in that day of wrath and doom4 ,the decision to reject ,christ was the decision which destroyed ,jerusalem with a destruction more awful than any other recorded in history4 ,we are apt to consider the actors in this great tragedy as sinners above all others4 ,but every day and every hour in our times just such deeds are being renacted4 ,there were all sorts of sinners in that tragedy3 ,caiaphas1 who sacrificed one whom he knew to be a noble and good man to political ambition2 ,pilate1 who consented to an acknowledged wrong from dread of personal inconvenience2 ,judas1 who made the best of his time in selling out a falling cause to the newcomers2 ,peter1 the impetuous friend suddenly frightened into denial2 the twelve1 forsaking and fleeing in a moment of weakness2 the multitude of careless spectators1 those tide-waiters who turn as the flood turns1 who shouted for ,jesus yesterday because others were shouting1 and turn against him to-day because he is unpopular4 ,all these were there4 ,on the other hand1 there were the faithful company of true-hearted women that went with ,jesus weeping on his way to the cross2 that beloved disciple and the ,mother that stood by him to the last2 all these1 both friends and foes1 represent classes of people who still live and still act their part in this our day4 ,for1 when under fierce oppression1 ,goodness suffers like transgression1 ,christ again is crucified2 ,but if love be there true-hearted1 ,by no pain or terror parted1 ,mary stands the cross beside6 ,,xxv ,,the ,,joy ,,of ,,christ ,wednesday in ,passion ,week ,the last chapters of ,st4 ,john--in particular from the thirteenth to the seventeenth--are worthy1 more than anything else in the sacred writings1 of the designation which has been given them1 ,the ,heart of ,jesus4 ,they are the language of the most intimate love1 to the most intimate friends1 in view of the greatest and most inconceivable of human sorrows4 ,for1 though the disciples--poor1 humble1 simple men--were dazed1 confused1 and misty up to the very moment when they were entering upon the greatest sorrow of their life1 the ,master who was leading them saw it all with perfect clearness4 ,he saw perfectly not only the unspeakable humiliation and anguish that were before himself1 but the disappointment1 the terror1 the dismay1 the utter darkness and despair that were just before these humble1 simple friends who had invested all their love and hope in him4 ,when we think of this it will seem all the more strange1 the more unworldly and divine to find that in these very chapters our ,lord speaks more often1 and with more emphasis1 of ,,joy than in any other part of the ,new ,testament4 ,in the fifteenth he says1 ,these things have ,i spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you1 and that your joy might be full4 ,and again1 in his prayer for them1 he says1 ,and now come ,i to thee2 and these things ,i speak in the world that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves4 ,he speaks of his joy as a treasure he longed to impart--as something which overflowed his own soul1 and sought to equalize itself by flowing into the souls of his friends4 ,he was not only full of joy1 but he had fullness of joy to give away4 ,this joy of ,christ in the approach of extremest earthly anguish and sorrow is one of the beautiful mysteries of our faith4 ,it is a holy night-flower1 opening only in darkness1 and shedding in the very shadow of death light and perfume2 or like the solemn splendor of the stars1 to be seen only in the deepest darkness4 ,in the representations made of our ,lord as a man of sorrows we are too apt to forget the solemn emphasis with which he asserts this fullness of joy4 ,but let us look at his position on the mere human side4 ,at the hour when he thus spoke he knew that1 so far as the salvation of his nation was concerned1 his life-work had been a failure4 ,his own people had rejected him and had bargained with a member of his own family to betray him4 ,he knew the exact details of the scourging1 the scoffing1 the taunts1 the torture1 the crucifixion2 and to a sensitive soul the hour of approach to a great untried agony is often the hour of bitterest trial4 ,it is when we foresee a great trouble in the dimness of to-morrow that our undisciplined hearts grow faint and fail us4 ,but he who had long foreseen--who had counted in advance--every humiliation1 every sorrow1 and every pain1 spoke at the same time of his joy as an overflowing fullness4 ,he spoke of his peace as something which he had a divine power to give away4 ,the world saw that night a new sight--a sufferer who had touched the extreme of all earthly loss and sorrow1 who yet stood1 like a ,god1 offering to give ,peace and ,joy--even fullness of joy4 ,for our ,lord intensifies the idea4 ,he wants his children not to have joy merely1 but to be full of joy4 ,this is the meaning of the words to have my joy fulfilled in them4 ,we shall see in the affecting history of the next few hours of the life of ,jesus that this heavenly joy was capable of a temporary obscuration4 ,he was aware that a trial was coming from a direct collision with the ,evil ,spirit4 ,the ,prince of this world cometh1 but hath nothing in me4 ,yet we cannot but feel that the mysterious agonies of ,gethsemane1 that wrung the blood-drops from his heart1 were in part due to that conflict with cruel and malignant spirits4 ,it is the greatest possible help to our poor sorrowful nature that these struggles1 these strong cryings and bitter tears of our ,lord1 have been recorded1 because it helps us to feel that he was not peaceful because he was passionless--that his joy and peace did not come from the serenity of a nature incapable of sorrow and struggles like ours4 ,there are passages in the experience of such saints as ,madame ,guyon that seem like the unnatural exaltations of souls exceptionally indifferent to circumstances2 nothing makes any difference to them2 one thing is just as good as another4 ,but in the experience of ,jesus we see our own most shrinking human repellencies4 ,we see that there were sufferings that he dreaded with his whole soul2 sorrows which he felt to be beyond even his power of endurance2 and so when he said1 ,not my will1 but ,thy will1 he said it with full vision of what he was accepting2 and in that unshaken1 that immovable oneness of will with the ,father lay the secret of his joy and victory4 ,it is a great and solemn thing for us to think of this joy of ,christ in sorrow4 ,it is something that we can know only in and by sorrow4 ,but sorrows are so many in this world of ours6 ,griefs1 sickness1 disappointment1 want1 death1 so beset our footsteps that it is worth everything to us to think of that joy of ,christ that is brightest as the hour grows darkest4 ,it is a gift4 ,it is not in us4 ,we cannot get it by any human reasonings or the mere exercise of human will1 but we can get it as a free gift from ,jesus ,christ4 ,if in the hour of his deepest humiliation and suffering he had joy and peace to give away1 how much more now1 when he is exalted at the right hand of ,god1 to give gifts unto men6 ,poor sorrowful1 suffering1 struggling souls1 ,christ longs to comfort you4 ,i will give to him that is athirst the water of life freely4 ,come unto me1 all ye that labor and are heavy laden1 and ,i will give you rest4 ,,xxvi ,,gethsemane ,thursday in ,passion ,week ,there are times in life when human beings are called to sorrows that seem so hopeless1 so cruel1 that they take from the spirit all power of endurance4 ,there are agonies that overwhelm1 that crush1--their only language seems to be a groan of prostrate anguish4 ,there are distresses against which the heart cries out1 ,it is too much4 ,i cannot1 cannot bear it4 ,god have mercy on me6 ,it was for people who suffer thus1 for those who are capable of such depths and who are called to go through them1 that the great ,apostle and ,high ,priest of our profession passed through that baptism of agony in the ,garden of ,gethsemane4 ,the ,apostle says1 ,it became him for whom are all things1 and by whom are all things1 in bringing many sons and daughters unto glory1 to make the ,captain of their salvation perfect through suffering4 ,and it was at this hour and time that he was to pass through such depths that no child of his could ever go deeper4 ,alone1 and without the possibility of human sympathy1 he was to test those uttermost distresses possible to the most exceptional natures4 ,jesus suffered all that he could endure and live4 ,the record is given with great particularity by three ,evangelists1 and is full of mysterious suggestion4 ,up to this period all the discourses of our ,lord1 in distinct view of his final sufferings1 had been full of calmness and courage4 ,he had consoled his little flock1 and bid them not be troubled1 speaking cheerfully of a joy that should repay the brief anguish of separation4 ,he not only was wholly at peace in his own soul1 but felt that he had peace in abundance to give away4 ,peace ,i leave with you1 my peace ,i give unto you2 not as the world giveth give ,i unto you4 ,let not your heart be troubled1 neither let it be afraid4 ,yet he went forth from speaking these very words1 and this is the account of the scene that followed1 collated from the three ,evangelists3-- ,then cometh ,jesus with them unto the place that is called ,gethsemane1 and said to his disciples1 ,sit ye here while ,i go and pray yonder4 ,and he took with him ,peter and ,james and ,john1 and began to be sore amazed1 and to be very heavy 7in extreme anguish74 ,and he said unto them1 ,my soul is exceeding sorrowful1 even unto death2 tarry ye here and watch with me1 and pray that ye enter not into temptation4 ,and he went forward a little1 and fell on his face and prayed that1 if it were possible1 the hour might pass from him1 saying1 ,my ,father1 if it be possible1 let this cup pass from me2 nevertheless1 not as ,i will1 but as thou wilt4 ,and he cometh unto his disciples and findeth them asleep1 and saith unto ,peter1 ,what6 could ye not watch with me one hour8 ,watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation2 the spirit indeed is willing1 but the flesh is weak4 ,he went away again the second time1 and prayed1 and said1 ,abba1 ,father1 all things are possible unto thee2 take away this cup from me2 nevertheless1 not what ,i will1 but what thou wilt4 ,o my ,father1 if this cup may not pass away from me except ,i drink it1 thy will be done4 ,and he came and found them asleep again2 for their eyes were heavy1 neither wist they what to answer him4 ,and he left them and went away the third time1 and prayed1 saying the same words4 ,and1 being in an agony1 he prayed more earnestly1 and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood1 falling down to the ground1 and there appeared to him an angel from heaven strengthening him4 ,and when he rose up from prayer and was come to his disciples1 he findeth them sleeping for sorrow1 and saith unto them1 ,sleep on now--rest4 ,there seems here evidence that the anguish1 whatever it was1 had passed1 and that ,jesus had returned to his habitual peace4 ,he looks with pity on the poor tired followers whose sympathy had failed him just when he most needed it1 and says1 ,poor souls1 let them sleep for a little and rest4 ,after an interval he rouses them4 ,it is enough--the hour is come2 the ,son of man is betrayed into the hand of sinners4 ,rise up2 let us go3 behold1 he is at hand that doth betray me4 ,the supposition that it was the final agony of the cross which ,jesus prayed to be delivered from is inconsistent with his whole life and character4 ,he had kept that end in view from the beginning of his life4 ,he said1 in view of it1 ,i have a baptism to be baptized with1 and how am ,i straitened till it be accomplished6 ,he rebuked ,peter in the sharpest terms for suggesting that he should avoid those predicted sufferings4 ,going up to ,jerusalem to die1 he walked before the rest1 as if impelled by a sacred ardor to fulfill his mission4 ,furthermore1 in the ,epistle to the ,hebrews we are taught thus3 the writer says1 speaking of the ,saviour1 ,who in the days of his flesh offered up prayers with strong crying and tears to him that was able to save him from death1 and was heard in that he feared4 ,whatever relief it was that our ,lord supplicated with such earnestness1 it was given2 and he went forth from the dreadful anguish in renewed and perfect peace4 ,we may not measure the depths of that anguish or its causes4 ,our ,lord gives some intimation of one feature in it by saying1 as he prepared to go forth to it1 ,the ,prince of this ,world cometh1 and hath nothing in me2 and in warning his disciples1 ,pray that ye enter not into temptation4 ,the expression employed by ,st4 ,mark to describe the anguish is indicative of a sudden rush--of an amazement1 as if a new possibility of suffering1 overwhelming and terrible1 had been disclosed to him1 such a sorrow as it seemed must destroy life--exceeding sorrowful1 even unto death4 ,let these words remain in all their depths1 in all their mystery1 as standing for that infinite possibility of pain which the one divine ,man was to taste for every man4 ,there have been facts in human experience analogous4 ,we are told that the night before his execution1 ,jerome of ,prague1 in his lonely prison1 condemned and held accursed by the proud ,scribes and ,pharisees1 the ,christian ,sanhedrim of his times1 fainted and groaned and prayed as ,jesus in ,gethsemane4 ,martin ,luther has left on record a wonderful prayer1 written the night before the ,diet of ,worms1 when he1 a poor1 simple monk1 was called before the great ,diet of the ,empire to answer for his faith4 ,such strong crying and tears--such throbbing words--that seem literally like drops of blood falling down to the ground1 attest that ,luther was passing through ,gethsemane4 ,alone1 with all the visible power of the ,church and the world against him1 his position was like that of ,jesus4 ,a crisis was coming when he was to witness for truth1 and he felt that only ,god was for him1 and he appeals to him3 ,hast thou not chosen me to do this work8 ,i ask thee1 ,o ,god1 ,o thou my ,god1 where art thou8 ,art thou dead8 ,no1 thou canst not die2 thou art only hiding thyself4 ,in many private histories there are ,gethsemanes4 ,there are visitations of sudden1 overpowering1 ghastly troubles1--troubles that transcend all ordinary human sympathy1 such as the helpless human soul has to wrestle with alone4 ,and it was because in this blind struggle of life such crushing experiences are to be meted out to the children of men that ,infinite ,love provided us with a divine ,friend who had been through the deepest of them all1 and come out victorious4 ,in the sudden wrenches which come by the entrance of death into our family circles1 there is often an inexplicable depth of misery that words cannot tell4 ,no outer words can tell what a trial is to the soul4 ,only ,jesus1 who1 as the ,head of the human race1 united in himself every capability of human suffering1 and proved them all1 in order that he might help us1 only he has an arm strong enough and a voice tender enough to reach us4 ,the stupor of the disciples in the agony of ,jesus is a sort of parable or symbol of the inevitable loneliness of the deepest kind of sorrow4 ,there are friends1 loving1 honest1 true1 but they cannot watch with us through such hours4 ,it is like the hour of death--nobody can go with us4 ,but he who knows what it is so to suffer2 he who has felt the horror1 the amazement1 the heart-sick dread--who has fallen on his face overcome1 and prayed with cryings and tears and the bloody sweat of agony--he can understand us and can help us4 ,he can send an angel from heaven to comfort us when every human comforter is sleeping for sorrow4 ,it was ,gethsemane which gave ,jesus the power to bring many sons and daughters unto glory4 ,and it may comfort us under such trials to hope that as he thus gained an experience and a tenderness which made him mighty to comfort and to save1 so we1 in our humbler measure1 may become comforters to others4 ,when the experience is long past1 when the wounds of the heart are healed1 then we may find it good to have drank of ,christ's cup1 and gone down in that baptism with him4 ,we may find ourselves with hearts tenderer to feel1 and stronger to sustain others2 even as the ,apostle says1 he comforteth us in all our tribulations1 that we may be able to comfort them that are in any trouble1 by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of ,god4 ,,xxvii ,,the ,,last ,,words ,,of ,,jesus ,good ,friday ,a peculiar sacredness always attaches to the words of the dying4 ,in that lonely pass between the here and the hereafter the meanest soul becomes in a manner a seer1 and a mysterious interest invests it4 ,but the last utterances of great and noble spirits1 of minds of vast feeling and depth1 are of still deeper significance4 ,the last utterances of great men would form a pathetic collection and a food for deep ponderings4 ,it is no wonder1 then1 that the traditions of the ,christian ,church have attached a special value to the last words of ,jesus on the cross4 ,the last words of ,socrates1 reported by ,plato1 have had an undying interest4 ,these words were spoken in the bosom of sympathizing friends and in the enjoyment of physical quiet and composure4 ,death was at hand2 but it was a death painless and easy1 and undisturbing to the flow of thought or emotion4 ,the death of ,jesus1 on the contrary1 was death with every aggravation and horror which could make it fearful4 ,there was everything to torture the senses and to obscure the soul4 ,it was a whirl of vulgar obloquy and abuse1 confusing to the spirit1 and following upon protracted exhaustion from sleeplessness and suffering of various kinds for long hours4 ,in the case of most human beings we might wish to hide our eyes from the sight of such an agony2 we might refuse to listen to what must be the falterings and the weaknesses of a noble spirit overwhelmed and borne down beyond the power of human endurance4 ,but no such danger attends the listening to the last words on ,calvary4 ,they have been collected into a rosary embodying the highest ,christian experience possible to humanity1 the most signal victory of love over pain and of good over evil that the world's history presents4 ,during ,passion ,week in ,rome no services are more impressive than those of the seven last words1 with the hymns1 prayers1 and exhortations accompanying them4 ,to us the mere quotation of them1 unattended by sermon or hymn or prayer1 is a litany of awful power4 ,have we ever pondered these as they were spoken in their order in the words of the simple ,gospel narrative8 ,and when they came to the place that is called ,calvary1 there they crucified him and the malefactors1 the one on his right hand and the other on his left4 ,then said ,jesus1 ,father1 forgive them2 they know not what they do4 ,this is the first word4 ,against physical violence and pain there is in us all a reaction of the animal nature which expresses itself often in the form of irritation4 ,thus1 in strong1 undisciplined natures1 the first shock of physical torture brings out a curse1 and it is only after an interval that reason and conscience gain the ascendency and make the needed allowance4 ,in these strange words of ,jesus we feel that there is the sharp shock of a new sense of pain1 but it wrings from him only prayer4 ,this divine sweetness of love was unvanquished2 the habit of tenderness and consideration for the faults of others furnished an instant plea4 ,the poor brutal ,roman soldiers--they know not what they do6 ,the foolish multitude who three days before shouted ,hosanna1 and now shout ,crucify--they know not what they do6 ,how strange to the ,roman soldiers must those words have sounded1 if they understood them6 ,what manner of man is this8 ,it is not surprising that tradition numbers these poor soldiers among the earliest converts to ,jesus4 ,the second utterance was on this wise3-- ,and the people that stood beholding1 and the rulers also with them1 derided him1 saying1 ,he saved others2 let him save himself1 if he be ,christ1 the chosen of ,god4 ,and the soldiers also mocked him1 coming to him and offering him vinegar2 and one of the malefactors railed on him1 saying1 ,if thou be the ,son of ,god1 save thyself and us4 ,but the other answering1 rebuked him1 saying1 ,dost thou not fear ,god1 seeing that thou art in the same condemnation8--and we1 indeed1 justly1 for we receive the reward of our deeds2 but this man hath done nothing amiss4 ,and he said to ,jesus1 ,lord1 remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom4 ,and ,jesus said unto him1 ,verily1 ,i say unto thee1 to-day thou shalt be with me in ,paradise4 ,still unvanquished by pain1 he is even with his last breath pronouncing words of grace and consolation for the guilty and repentant6 ,he is mighty to save even in his humiliation6 ,the third utterance is recorded by ,st4 ,john as follows3-- ,now there stood by the cross of ,jesus his mother1 and his mother's sister1 ,mary the wife of ,cleophas1 and ,mary ,magdalene4 ,when ,jesus1 therefore1 saw his mother standing1 and the disciple whom he loved1 he said to his mother1 ,woman1 behold thy son1 and to the disciple1 ,son1 behold thy mother4 ,thus far1 every utterance of ,jesus has been one of thoughtful consideration for others1 of prayer for his enemies1 of grace and pardon to the poor wretch by his side1 and of tenderness to his mother and disciple4 ,but in tasting death for every man our ,lord was to pass through a deeper experience2 he was to know the sufferings of the darkened brain1 which1 clogged and impeded by the obstructed circulation1 no longer afforded a clear medium for divine communion4 ,he was to suffer the eclipse which the animal nature in its dying state can interpose between the soul and ,god4 ,three hours we are told had passed1 when there was darkness over all the land1 like that that was slowly gathering over the head of the suffering ,lord4 ,and at the ninth hour ,jesus cried with a loud voice1 saying1 ,eloi1 ,eloi1 lama sabacthani1 which is1 being interpreted1 ,my ,god1 my ,god1 why hast thou forsaken me8 ,those words1 from the ,psalm of ,david1 come now as the familiar language expressive of that dreadful experience to which the whole world looks as its ransom3-- ,after that1 ,jesus said1 ,i thirst4 ,and one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar and put it on a reed and gave him to drink4 ,and when he had received the vinegar1 he said1 ,it is finished1 and he bowed his head4 ,what we read of his last utterance is that he cried with a loud voice1 and gave up the ghost4 ,this last loud utterance was in the words1 ,father1 into thy hands ,i commend my spirit4 ,it is the interpretation that the church has given to these last words that they betokened a sudden flame of joyful perception1 such as sometimes lights up the brain at the dying moment1 after it has been darkened by the paralysis of death4 ,as he said1 ,it is finished1 light1 and joy1 and hope1 flushed his soul1 and with this loud cry of victory and joy1 it departed like a ray of heavenly light to the bosom of the ,father4 ,such were the seven last utterances of ,jesus--and when can we hope to attain to what they teach8 ,when shall we be so grounded in ,love that no tumult or jar of outward forces1 no insults1 no physical weariness1 exhaustion1 or shock of physical pain1 shall have power to absorb us in selfishness1 or make us forgetful of others8 ,when shall pity and prayer be the only spontaneous movement of our hearts when most hurt and injured--pierced in the tenderest nerve8 ,when shall thoughtfulness for others1 and divine pity for degraded natures1 be the immovable habit of our souls8 ,how little of self and its sufferings in these last words2 how much of pity and love--the pity and love of a ,god6 ,could we but learn life's lessons by them1 then will come at last to us the final hour1 when1 our trial being completed1 we shall say ,it is finished1 and pass like him to the bosom of the ,father4 ,,xxviii ,,the ,,darkest ,,hour ,good ,friday ,evening ,what is the darkest hour to us when our friends die8 ,not the dying hour2 for then love has some last act1 some last word to receive1 some comfort to give1 some service to render1 that diverts from the bitterness of pain4 ,not even when the eyes are closed forever1 and the face is fixed in marble stillness2 for still we gather at the side of the cold clay and feel as if there were something left us of our love4 ,but when we have carried our dear ones to the grave1 and seen the doors of the sepulchre shut between them and us1 and come back to the house where they are no more--where they never more may be--then is indeed the darkest hour4 ,there is a very touching picture by ,delaroche entitled ,the ,return from the ,cross1 in which the mother of ,jesus1 leaning on the arm of the beloved ,john1 is seen just entering a lowly dwelling4 ,a few faithful friends1 men and women1 are with them2 they have seen him die--seen him laid in the sepulchre and a great stone rolled against the door2 and now they are come to their desolate home to think it all over1 and to weep4 ,do we ask1 ,why did they not remember the words of ,jesus1 that he should rise again8 ,ah6 because they had just such hearts as we have1 and their faith was overpowered by sight just as ours is4 ,they may have thought they believed that they should see their ,lord risen from the dead2 but at the sight of the death agonies1 and the lifeless form1 and the dark1 cold stone of the sepulchre1 all this poor faith died in darkness4 ,it was like carrying a taper out into a tempest4 ,and we1 when we lay our dear ones in the grave1 say in solemn words that we do it in sure and certain hope of a blessed and glorious resurrection1 when what is sown in weakness shall be raised in power1 what is sown in dishonor shall be raised in glory4 ,we say it1 and we think we believe it2 but does it really then cheer us8 ,does it dry our tears8 ,does it make the return to our desolated home any less dreadful8 ,still we remember the death-bed1 the pains1 the dying eyes1 the weakness1 the sinking--we are overwhelmed by sorrow1 and our souls ache as with a wound4 ,our hearts throb and yearn towards the form we can no longer see or embrace1 as if the loved one were a portion of our own selves that had been violently torn away1 leaving us fainting and bleeding to death4 ,all this--more than all this--was in the sorrow of the home of ,mary and ,john that darkest of all nights4 ,he they mourned was not merely friend1 but ,lord and ,leader1 the ,hope of ,israel2 the hope of the world2 and ,god had let him suffer and die thus6 ,it was true that ,jesus had made special efforts to provide against the sinking of this hour4 ,he warned his friends of it beforehand4 ,he admitted four of his chosen disciples upon the ,mount of ,transfiguration to look into the heavenly world and see him in glory and hear him speaking with ,moses and ,elijah of his coming death4 ,all this was given that their faith might not fail4 ,then1 just before his death1 at the grave of ,lazarus1 he declared himself the ,resurrection and the ,life1 and showed them in the restored form of a well-known friend what he meant by rising from the dead--for it is said1 ,they questioned among themselves what the rising from the dead should mean4 ,but all appeared to be gone now4 ,love still kept watch4 ,spices were prepared to embalm the precious form with no hope1 apparently1 of its resurrection4 ,it had faded out from their minds as it seems to fade out of the minds of us ,christians when we bewail our dead and speak of them as lost4 ,their ,jesus was to them dead and gone2 and why this thing was permitted was a dark1 insoluble mystery4 ,we trusted that it had been he that should have redeemed ,israel1 said the two disciples1 sadly walking on the way to ,emmaus4 ,we trusted6 ,all in the past tense4 ,not a word of any hope or faith in the resurrection6 ,and yet their ,lord and ,master was even at that moment walking with them and comforting their hearts4 ,surely1 in this respect1 we modern ,christians too often tread in the footsteps of the saints and suffer as they did4 ,but our ,lord knows our weakness2 he knows the physical faintness which comes from long watching1 the obscuration of mind which comes from sorrow1 and he is at hand to comfort us in our blind weeping4 ,mary ,magdalene knew him not1 because her eyes were full of tears1 till his well-known voice called her name4 ,the mourning disciples as they walked to ,emmaus knew not that ,jesus was walking by them4 ,and so1 ever since1 to weary hearts and lonely homes the comforting ,christ still comes invisibly1 with sweetness and rest1 if only we of little faith would remember his promises and recognize his presence4 ,still now1 as he first announced himself1 he comes to heal the broken-hearted1 and is beside them ever in the darkest and most dreadful hour of their afflictions4 ,,xxix ,,the ,,resurrection ,,of ,,jesus ,easter ,sunday ,there is something wonderfully poetic in the simple history given by the different ,evangelists of the resurrection of our ,lord4 ,it is like a calm1 serene1 dewy morning1 after a night of thunder and tempest4 ,one of the most beautiful features in the narrative is the presence of those godlike forms of our angel brethren4 ,how can it be possible that critics with human hearts have torn and mangled this sacred picture for the purpose of effacing these celestial forms--so beautiful1 so glorious6 ,is it superstition to believe that there are higher forms of life1 intellect1 and energy than those of earth2 that there are races of superior beings between us and the throne of ,god1 as there are gradations below us of less and lessening power down to the half-vegetable zophytes8 ,these angels1 with their power1 their purity1 their unfading youth1 their tender sympathy for man1 are a radiant celestial possibility which every heart must long to claim as not only probable but certain4 ,the history of our ,lord from first to last is fragrant with the sympathy and musical with the presence of these shining ones4 ,they announced his coming to the ,blessed among ,women4 ,they filled the air with songs and rejoicings at the hour of his birth4 ,they ministered to him during his temptations in the wilderness4 ,when repentant sinners thronged about him and ,scribes and ,pharisees sneered1 it was to the sympathy of these invisible ones that he turned1 as those whose hearts thrilled with joy over the repenting sinner4 ,in the last mysterious agony at ,gethsemane it was an angel that appeared and strengthened him4 ,and now with what godlike energy do they hasten upon their mission to attend their king's awaking6 ,and1 behold1 there was a great earthquake1 for the angel of the ,lord descended from heaven1 and rolled back the stone from the door of the sepulchre1 and sat upon it4 ,his countenance was like lightning1 and his raiment was white as snow1 and for fear of him the keepers did shake and became as dead men4 ,in another ,evangelist we have a scene that preceded this4 ,these devoted women1 in whose hearts love outlived both faith and hope1 rose while it was yet dark1 and set out with their spices and perfumes to go and pay their last tribute of affection and reverence to the dead4 ,they were under fear of persecution and death2 they knew the grave was sealed and watched by those who had slain their ,lord1 but still they determined to go4 ,there was the inconsiderate hardihood of love in their undertaking1 and the artless helplessness of their inquiry1 ,who will roll away the stone from the door8 shows the desperation of their enterprise4 ,yet they could not but believe that by prayers or tears or offered payment--in some way--that stone should be rolled away4 ,arrived on the spot1 they saw that the sepulchre was open and empty1 and ,mary ,magdalene1 with the impulsive haste and earnestness which marks her character1 ran back to the house of ,john1 where were the mother of ,jesus1 and ,peter1 and astonished them with the tidings4 ,they have taken away the ,lord out of the sepulchre1 and we know not where they have laid him4 ,nothing is said of the ,mother in this scene4 ,probably she was utterly worn out and exhausted by the dreadful scenes of the day before1 and incapable of further exertion4 ,but ,peter and ,john started immediately for the sepulchre4 ,meanwhile1 the two other women went into the sepulchre and stood there perplexed1 till suddenly they saw a vision of celestial forms1 radiant in immortal youth and clothed in white4 ,one said3-- ,be not afraid4 ,i know ye seek ,jesus of ,nazareth that was crucified4 ,why seek ye the living among the dead8 ,he is not here4 ,he is risen as he said4 ,behold where they laid him4 ,remember how he spake unto you of this when he was in ,galilee1 saying1 ,the ,son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified1 and the third day rise again4 ,and they remembered his words4 ,furthermore1 the friendly spirit bids them to go and tell the disciples and ,peter that their ,master is risen from the dead1 and is going before them into ,galilee--there shall they see him4 ,and charged with this message the women had fled from the sepulchre just as ,peter and ,john came up4 ,the delicacies of character are strikingly shown in the brief record4 ,john outruns ,peter1 stoops down and looks into the sepulchre2 but that species of reticence which always appears in him controls him here--he hesitates to enter the sacred place4 ,now1 however1 comes ,peter1 impetuous1 ardent1 determined1 and passes right into the tomb4 ,there is a touch of homelike minuteness in the description of the grave as they found it--no discovery of haste1 no sign of confusion1 but all in order3 the linen grave-clothes lying in one place2 the napkin that was about his head not lying with them1 but folded together in a place by itself2 indicating the perfect calmness and composure with which their ,lord had risen--transported with no rapture or surprise1 but1 in this supreme moment1 maintaining the same tranquillity which had ever characterized him4 ,it is said they saw and believed1 though as yet they did not fully understand the saying that he must rise from the dead2 and they left the place and ran with the news to the disciples4 ,but ,mary still lingers weeping by the empty tomb--type of too many of us1 who forget that our beloved ones have arisen4 ,through her tears she sees the pitying angels1 who ask her as they might often ask us1 ,why weepest thou8 ,she tells her sorrowful story--they have taken away her ,lord and she knows not where they have laid him2 and yet at this moment ,jesus is standing by her1 and one word from his voice changes all4 ,it is not general truth or general belief that our souls need in their anguish2 it is one word from ,christ to us1 it is his voice calling us by name1 that makes the darkness light4 ,we mark throughout this story the sympathetic touches of interest in the angels4 ,they had heard and remembered what ,christ said in ,galilee1 though his people had forgotten it4 ,they had had sympathy for the repentant weeping of ,peter1 and sent a special message of comfort to him4 ,these elder brethren of the household seem in all things most thoughtful and careful of human feelings2 they breathe around us the spirit of that world where an unloving word or harsh judgment is an impossible conception4 ,the earlier ,christian tradition speaks of our ,lord's first visit to his mother4 ,it may be that in that space of time while ,peter and ,john were running to the sepulchre ,jesus himself chose to draw near to his mother4 ,to her he gave one of his last dying words1 and we cannot but believe that one of his earliest risen messages of hope and blessing was for her4 ,but over an interview so peculiar and so blessed the sacred narrative has deemed it wise to leave the veil of silence4 ,the time after our ,lord's resurrection is one full of mysteries4 ,but few things are told us of that life which he lived on earth4 ,he no longer walked the ways of men as before--no longer lived with his disciples1 but only appeared to them from time to time1 as he saw that they needed comfort1 counsel1 or rebuke4 ,we have the beautiful story of the walk to ,emmaus4 ,we have accounts of meetings of the disciples with closed doors1 for fear of the ,jews1 when ,jesus suddenly appeared in the midst of them1 saying1 ,peace be unto you6 and showing to them his hands and his side2 and it is added1 ,then were the disciples glad when they saw the ,lord4 ,we have an account of how he suddenly appeared to them by the ,lake of ,genesareth1 when they had been vainly toiling all night--how he stood on the shore in the dim gray of morning and said1 ,children1 have ye any meat8 ,they answered him ,no2 and he said1 ,cast the net on the right hand and ye shall find4 ,and then ,john whispers to ,peter1 ,it is the ,lord6 and ,peter1 impetuous to the last1 casts himself into the water and swims to the shore4 ,they find a fire prepared1 a meal ready for them1 and ,jesus to bless the bread1--and very sweet and lovely was the interview4 ,how many such visits and interviews there were--when and with whom--we have no means of knowing1 though ,st4 ,john indicates that there were many other things which ,jesus said and did worthy of record besides those of which we are told4 ,we learn from ,st4 ,paul that he appeared to more than five hundred of his followers at once--a meeting not described by any of the ,evangelists4 ,it is believed by many ,christians that ,christ is yet coming to reign visibly upon this earth4 ,that ,christ should reign in any one spot or city of this earth1 as earthly kings reign1 with a court and human forms of administration1 is suggestive of grave difficulties4 ,the embarrassments in the way of our ,centennial ,exhibition this year1 the fatigue and disturbance and danger to health and life of such crowds coming and going1 might suggest what would be the effect on human society if in any one earthly place the universal object of all human desire were located4 ,but it may be possible that the barrier between the spiritual world and ours will be so far removed that the presence of our ,lord and his saints may at times be with us1 even as ,christ was with the disciples in this interval4 ,it may become a lawful subject of desire and prayer and expectation4 ,it may be in that day that in assemblies of his people ,jesus will suddenly stand1 saying1 ,peace be unto you6 ,such appearances could take place in all countries and lands1 according to human needs1 without deranging human society4 ,but whether visibly or by the manifestation of his ,spirit1 let us hasten and look forward to that final second coming of our ,master1 when the kingdoms of this world shall be the kingdoms of our ,lord and his ,christ4 ,,xxx ,,the ,,ascension ,,of ,,our ,,lord ,ascension ,day ,at length the visible and mortal pilgrimage of our ,lord was over1 and the time come when he must return to his home in heaven1 to the glory with the ,father which he had before the world was4 ,we cannot fail to notice the calmness1 brevity1 and simplicity with which this crowning act of his life is recorded4 ,he had before told his disciples that it was better for them that his visible presence should be withdrawn from them1 and that when ascended to the ,father he should be with them as an intimate spiritual presence and power4 ,he now speaks to them of a baptism of the ,holy ,spirit that they should receive after his ascension1 and bids them tarry in ,jerusalem till they be endued with this power from on high4 ,then the narrative says3 ,and he led them out as far as ,bethany2 and he lifted up his hands and blessed them1 and while he blessed them he was parted from them and taken up into heaven2 and a cloud received him out of their sight4 ,and while they were looking steadfastly to heaven1 as he went up1 behold two men stood by them in white apparel1 who said1 ,ye men of ,galilee1 why stand ye gazing up into heaven8 ,this same ,jesus which is taken from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go4 ,and they worshipped him1 and returned to ,jerusalem with great joy from the ,mount of ,olives1 and were continually in the temple praising and blessing ,god4 ,the forty days that ,jesus lingered on earth had1 it seems1 not been in vain4 ,his mourning flock were consoled and brought to such a point of implicit faith that the final separation was full of joy4 ,they were at last convinced that it was better for them that he go to the ,father--that an ascended ,lord1 seated at the right hand of power and shedding down spiritual light and joy1 was better than any earthly presence1 however dear4 ,christ1 as a living power of inspiration in the soul1 was henceforth to be nearer1 dearer1 more inseparable1 more consoling and helpful than the man of ,nazareth had ever been4 ,let us all with one heart unite in the beautiful prayer of the church for this day3 ,o ,god1 the ,king of ,glory1 who hast exalted thine only ,son ,jesus ,christ with great triumph unto thy ,kingdom in ,heaven1 we beseech thee leave us not comfortless2 but send to us thy ,holy ,ghost to comfort and exalt us to that same place whither our ,saviour ,christ is gone before us1 who liveth and reigneth with ,thee and the ,holy ,ghost1 ever one ,god1 world without end4 ,amen4 ,,xxxi ,,the ,,holy ,,spirit ,whitsuntide ,when our ,saviour was to go forth on his great mission he spent forty days in prayer2 and so now his little church were to spend forty days of waiting and devotion till they should receive the gift from on high4 ,what that gift was we can see in their history4 ,how dark1 how confused1 how unspiritual their views1 how low their faith1 how easily upset by the storms of persecution6 ,but when the divine influence came upon them1 what a change6 ,what clearness1 what insight1 what courage1 what power6 ,when brought before kings and rulers they bore joyous testimony2 when beaten ignominiously they went out rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his sake4 ,do not all ministers of ,christ1 all ,christians to whose keeping his honor and cause is confided1 need such a baptism as this1 such a new birth in spiritual things8 ,for the gift came not merely on the twelve ,apostles1 but on the whole company of believers1 both men and women4 ,we read the names of the twelve1 and then are told that these all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the women1 and ,mary the mother of ,jesus1 and his brethren1--a company of a hundred and twenty persons4 ,they were united day after day in prayer--their whole souls1 with one accord1 were lifted heavenward2 all earthly scenes and interests were put aside1 and the attitude of their minds was one of ardent desire and expectancy4 ,it was to souls so raised1 so enkindled1 that at last the glorious gift came--the spiritual power that made every ,christian man and woman among them an inspired and convincing witness for ,christ4 ,the world witnessed that day a new sight--an invisible spiritual power1 before which thousands bowed at the name of that ,jesus whom but a few weeks before they had seen crucified4 ,and why have we not such a baptism and such a power8 ,is our faith what it should be1--our zeal1 our devotion8 ,if all ,christians were like us1 would the world ever be converted to ,god8 ,is there a gift of spiritual power and constancy of faith to be had in answer to fervent prayer8 and should we not seek it as they did8 ,of late there have been in ,europe and in this country large conventions of ,christians of all names and denominations to pray and seek for this gift of the ,holy ,spirit1 to enable them to witness for ,christ as these witnessed2 it is a most joyful sign of our times4 ,let us hope that such prayers may be answered in bringing back to the modern church something of the fervor1 the simplicity1 the entire devotion that characterized these first ,christians4 ,it is not by arguing with skeptics1 but by a divine and holy life1 that ,christians are to convince the world of the truth of our religion4 ,it is ,christ in us1 the hope of glory1 that is to be the power that shall convert the world4 ,,xxxii ,,christ',s ,,second ,,life1 ,,in ,,his ,,followers ,in a moment of profound emotion1 when our ,lord contemplated the near approach of the last tragedy in his life1 he said3 ,except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die1 it abideth alone2 but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit4 ,accordingly1 it was but little more than a month after the scenes of ,calvary before ,jerusalem was filled with a harvest of men and women who were born into the ,christ-life1 and were living and acting in his spirit4 ,at the feast of ,pentecost ,jerusalem was full of strangers1 devout ,jews from every nation under heaven1 and three thousand in one day bowed at the feet of the ,jesus whom they had crucified4 ,the chief priests were enraged and terrified1 for everywhere the ,apostles of this crucified ,jesus1 inspired with a supernatural courage1 were working miracles and preaching with an energy even more overcoming than that of the ,master4 ,jesus had been among them but as one man2 he had come back as twelve men1 every one of whom was full of him1 working his works and preaching him with overwhelming power4 ,it is most impressive to read in the ,book of ,acts how ,peter and ,john were called before ,annas and ,caiaphas--the very tribunal before which ,jesus so lately stood1 the tribunal before which ,peter denied him and ,john stood in trembling silence4 ,now these same men face high priests and elders with heads erect and flashing eyes1 and say3-- ,if we be this day examined of the good deed done to the impotent man1 be it known unto you that by the name of ,jesus ,christ of ,nazareth1 whom you crucified and whom ,god raised from the dead1 doth this man stand before you whole4 ,this is the stone which was set at naught of you builders1 which has become the head of the corner2 neither is there salvation in any other4 ,we can imagine the dismay of the ,sanhedrim when such men and such sermons met them at every corner4 ,the record says that1 perceiving the boldness of ,peter and ,john1 and knowing that they were unlearned men1 they marveled1 and took knowledge of them that they had been with ,jesus6 ,it is not likely that the high priest had forgotten the recent time when ,jesus stood bound before him4 ,evidently even then his manner had inspired a secret misgiving awe2 and here were these disciples now looking and speaking just like him1 with the same certainty1 the same majesty4 ,it was ,jesus of ,nazareth returning in his followers4 ,it was a terror to them all4 ,but we are told the word of ,god grew and prevailed1 the converts increased in crowds daily1 a great company of the priests were obedient to the word4 ,of course persecution raged4 ,to confess ,christ was to lose place1 patronage1 and daily bread4 ,the ,christians1 in their new joy1 met this by throwing all their worldly possessions into a common stock and apportioning support to each4 ,there were rich men like ,nicodemus1 ,joseph of ,arimathea1 and many others1 and we read of men who sold all they had and laid the money at the ,apostles' feet4 ,thus those who daily were thrown out of employment for ,christ's sake were supported and relieved4 ,a great financial and administrative business grew up out of this state of things1 and we are told that there arose a murmuring among the foreign-born ,jews that their widows were neglected in the apportionment of aid4 ,the ,jews have been in all ages a trading nation4 ,palestine was a little country situated in the very heart of the ancient civilized world4 ,it was a centre of emigration4 ,colonies of ,jews1 bearing their religion1 their synagogue1 their national zeal1 had foothold and maintained ,jewish worship in almost every leading city of ,greece and ,rome4 ,they were called1 according to their country1 ,greeks or ,romans1 while as to religion and race they were ,jews4 ,it appears that the proportion of ,greek-born ,jews among the converts was so great as to warrant the appointment of seven deacons1 all of whom bear names which show their ,grecian origin4 ,stephen was evidently a noted man among them4 ,he is described as full of faith and the ,holy ,ghost4 ,for aught we know1 ,stephen may have been one of those ,greeks who1 during the last week of ,christ's life in ,jerusalem1 came to his disciples1 saying1 ,sir1 we would see ,jesus4 ,he may have been among the first-fruits of that harvest which ,christ then foresaw when he said1 ,i1 if ,i be lifted up1 will draw all men unto me4 ,he seems to have been of a nature peculiarly receptive and lovely--a beautiful medium through whom the ,christ-spirit could reveal itself4 ,if he had been in ,jerusalem at the time of ,christ's death1 and witnessed the scenes of ,calvary1 we may well believe what a fervor was enkindled in his soul1 and with what zeal he devoted himself to him4 ,his activity was not confined to the temporal ministrations which were committed to him4 ,he is described as full of faith and power1 and doing great miracles4 ,he maintained the cause of ,jesus in word as well as deed4 ,certain leaders in a ,jewish synagogue1 of ,greek extraction like himself1 who still clung to ,jewish prejudices1 disputed with him1 and we are told they were not able to resist the wisdom and power with which he spoke4 ,a tumult was stirred up1 and ,stephen was brought before the ,sanhedrim1 and stood in the place where his ,master had stood before him4 ,again1 as before1 it was the ,jewish national pride and bitterness that were arrayed against him4 ,stephen had shown the glories of that new spiritual kingdom which ,christ was bringing in1 where there should be neither ,jew nor ,greek1 barbarian1 ,scythian1 bond nor free1 but ,christ should be all in all4 ,so the accusation was formulated against him3-- ,we have heard him say that ,jesus of ,nazareth shall destroy this place and shall change the customs which ,moses delivered unto us4 ,the ,high ,priest probably felt that now he had got a leading ,christian at advantage4 ,he would meet now and expose this sect that threatened to overthrow their country and destroy their venerable religion4 ,he said to ,stephen1 with a semblance of moderation and justice1 ,are these things so8 ,there was a pause1 in which ,stephen seems to have been so filled by the vision of the glory and beauty of the new life which was opening before the world1 that he could not speak4 ,it is said3-- ,and all that sat in the council1 looking steadfastly on him1 saw his face as it had been the face of an angel4 ,then began that noble speech1 evidently the speech of a ,greek-born ,jew1 who had studied the ,hebrew history from a different standpoint from the ,rabbins4 ,it is clear from the fragment of this address that it was designed to show1 even by their past history1 that ,god's dealings with his people had been irrespective of the temple of ,jerusalem and the worship there4 ,he dwelt on ,god's calling of ,abraham1 his sojourn in ,canaan before he possessed it2 of ,god's suffering the chosen race to sojourn in ,egypt2 of ,moses1 born and nurtured in a ,gentile court1 and educated in the wisdom of the ,egyptians4 ,this man1 who lived to the age of forty years as an ,egyptian prince1 begins to offer himself as a guide and teacher to his oppressed people1 but they reject his mission with scorn4 ,then comes the scene of the appearance of ,jehovah for their rescue and the appointment of ,moses to accomplish their deliverance1 and he drives home the parallel between ,moses and the rejected ,jesus4 ,this ,moses1 whom they refused1 saying1 ,who made thee a ruler and a judge8 the same did ,god send to be a ruler and a deliverer4 ,this is that ,moses who said1 ,a ,prophet shall the ,lord your ,god raise up unto you like unto me3 him shall ye hear4 ,he then shows how the ,jewish nation disobeyed ,moses and ,god1 and turned back to the golden calf of ,egypt4 ,he traces their history till the time of the building of the temple1 but adds that the ,most ,high dwelleth not in temples made with hands1 as saith the prophet3 ,heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool3 what house will ye build me8 saith the ,lord4 ,hath not my hand made all these things8 ,we may imagine the fervor1 the energy of this brief history1 the tone1 the spirit1 the flashing eye that gave point to every incident4 ,it was perfectly evident what he was coming to1 what use he was going to make of this recital--that the ,jews were not ,god's favorites per se2 that they were and always had been an ungrateful1 rebellious people2 that ,god had chosen them1 in spite of their sins1 to be the unworthy guardians and receivers of a great mission for the whole world2 that the temple was not a necessity1 that it came late in their history1 and that ,god himself had declared his superiority to it4 ,it was easy to see that he was coming round to the mission of ,jesus1 the prophet whom ,moses had predicted1 and whom they had rejected as they did ,moses4 ,but there was evidently a tumult rising1 and ,stephen saw that he was about to be interrupted1 and therefore1 suddenly1 leaving the narrative unfinished1 he breaks forth3-- ,ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears1 ye do always resist the ,holy ,ghost--as your fathers did so do ye4 ,which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted8 ,they slew them which prophesied the coming of that ,just ,one of whom ye have been the betrayers and murderers2 who have received the law by the dispensation of angels and have not kept it4 ,these words were as coals dropping upon naphtha4 ,they were cut to the heart2 they gnashed on him with their teeth2 they raved round him as wild beasts who collect themselves for a deadly spring4 ,but he1 full of the ,holy ,ghost1 looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of ,god1 and ,jesus standing on the right hand of ,god4 ,there was something in his rapt appearance1 his pale1 upturned face and eager eyes1 that caused a moment's silence4 ,in a voice of exultation and awe he said3-- ,behold6 ,i see the heavens opened and the ,son of man standing on the right hand of ,god4 ,the ,son of man6--the very words that ,christ had used when he stood before ,caiaphas about fifty days before1 when he said1 ,hereafter ye shall see the ,son of man coming in the clouds of heaven6 ,there was a frantic shriek of rage4 ,the court broke up and became a blind1 infuriate mob4 ,all consideration was forgotten in the blind passion of the hour4 ,though they had no legal right to take life without a ,roman sentence1 they determined to have the blood of this man1 cost what it might4 ,they hurried him out of the city with curses and execrations4 ,the executioners stripped off their outer garments to prepare for the butchery1 and laid them down at the feet of a young zealot named ,saul of ,tarsus4 ,there are many paintings of this scene in the galleries of ,europe4 ,we may imagine him1 pale and enraptured1 looking up into the face of that ,jesus whom he saw in glory1 and as they threw him violently down he cried1 ,lord ,jesus1 receive my spirit4 ,rising to his knees1 wounded and bleeding1 he added1 ,lord1 lay not this sin to their charge4 ,and then1 says the narrative1 ,he fell asleep4 ,the sweetness and tenderness of this expression shows more than anything else how completely the faith of ,christ had conquered death4 ,christians spoke of death simply as a sleep4 ,and here amid the hootings and revilings of a mob1 the crash of stones and insult and execration1 nothing could hinder ,christ's beloved from falling asleep4 ,at peace within1 with a heaven of love in his soul1 he pitied and prayed for the wretched creatures who were murdering him1 and passed to the right hand of ,jesus--the first who had sealed his testimony with his blood4 ,thus was sown again the first perfected seed of the new wheat which rose from the grave of ,christ6 ,jesus was the first whom the world ever saw praying with his dying breath for his murderers2 and ,stephen1 who had risen to the same majesty of denunciation and rebuke of sin which characterized his master1 was baptized into the same tenderness of prayer for the miserable mob who were howling like wild beasts around him4 ,heavenly love never shrinks from denouncing sin2 but it has a prayer for the sinner ever in its breast1 and the nearer it comes to the higher world the more it pities this lower one4 ,but though the orator was crushed the cause was not lost4 ,jesus1 standing at the right hand of ,god1 had only to reach forth and touch that ,saul of ,tarsus who stood consenting to his death1 and he fell down at his feet trembling1 crying1 ,lord1 what wilt thou have me to do8 ,the noble work which ,stephen had begun1 the message of universal love to ,jew and ,gentile1 passed from the hands of dying ,stephen to the living ,paul1 who from that hour spoke the sentiment that must be the animating spirit of every true lover and follower of the ,master's footsteps3 ,i am crucified with ,christ2 and now it is no more ,i that live1 but ,christ that liveth in me4 ,,earthly ,,care ,a ,,heavenly ,,discipline ,why should these cares my heart divide1 ,if ,thou1 indeed1 hast set me free8 ,why am ,i thus1 if ,thou hast died-- ,if ,thou hast died to ransom me8 ,nothing is more frequently felt and spoken of1 as a hindrance to the inward life of devotion1 than the cares of life2 and even upon the showing of our ,lord himself1 the cares of the world are the thorns that choke the word1 and it becometh unfruitful4 ,and yet1 if this is a necessary and inevitable result of worldly care1 why does the providence of ,god so order things that it forms so large and unavoidable a part of every human experience8 ,why is the physical system of man arranged with such daily1 oft-recurring wants8 ,why does his nature1 in its full development1 tend to that state of society in which wants multiply1 and the business of supply becomes more complicated1 and requiring constantly more thought and attention1 and bringing the outward and seen into a state of constant friction and pressure on the inner and spiritual8 ,has ,god arranged an outward system to be a constant diversion from the inward--a weight on its wheels--a burden on its wings--and then commanded a strict and rigid inwardness and spirituality8 ,why placed us where the things that are seen and temporal must unavoidably have so much of our thoughts1 and time1 and care1 yet said to us1 ,set your affections on things above1 and not on things on the earth4 ,love not the world1 neither the things of the world8 ,and why does one of our brightest examples of ,christian experience1 as it should be1 say1 ,while we look not on the things which are seen1 but on the things which are not seen2 for the things which are seen are temporal1 but the things that are not seen are eternal8 ,the ,bible tells us that our whole existence here is a disciplinary one2 that this whole physical system1 by which our spirit is inclosed with all the joys and sorrows1 hopes and fears1 and wants which form a part of it1 are designed as an education to fit the soul for its immortality2 and as worldly care forms the greater part of the staple of every human life1 there must be some mode of viewing and meeting it1 which converts it from an enemy of spirituality into a means of grace and spiritual advancement4 ,why1 then1 do we so often hear the lamentation1 ,it seems to me as if ,i could advance to the higher stages of ,christian life1 if it were not for the pressure of my business and the multitude of my worldly cares8 ,is it not ,god1 ,o ,christian1 who1 in ordering thy lot1 has laid these cares upon thee1 and who still holds them about thee1 and permits no escape from them8 ,and as his great1 undivided object is thy spiritual improvement1 is there not some misapprehension or wrong use of these cares1 if they do not tend to advance it8 ,is it not even as if a scholar should say1 ,i could advance in science were it not for all the time and care which lessons1 and books1 and lectures require8 ,how1 then1 shall earthly care become heavenly discipline8 ,how shall the disposition of the weight be altered so as to press the spirit upward towards ,god1 instead of downward and away8 ,how shall the pillar of cloud which rises between us and him become one of fire1 to reflect upon us constantly the light of his countenance1 and to guide us over the sands of life's desert8 ,it appears to us that the great radical difficulty is an intellectual one1 and lies in a wrong belief4 ,there is not a genuine and real belief of the presence and agency of ,god in the minor events and details of life1 which is necessary to change them from secular cares into spiritual blessings4 ,it is true there is much loose talk about an overruling ,providence2 and yet1 if fairly stated1 the belief of a great many ,christians might be thus expressed3 ,god has organized and set in operation certain general laws of matter and mind1 which work out the particular results of life1 and over these laws he exercises a general supervision and care1 so that all the great affairs of the world are carried on after the counsel of his own will2 and in a certain general sense1 all things are working together for good to those that love ,god4 ,but when some simple-minded1 childlike ,christian really proceeds to refer all the smaller events of life to ,god's immediate care and agency1 there is a smile of incredulity1 and it is thought that the good brother displays more ,christian feeling than sound philosophy4 ,but as life for every individual is made up of fractions and minute atoms--as those things which go to affect habits and character are small and hourly recurring1 it comes to pass that a belief in ,providence so very wide and general is altogether inefficient for consecrating and rendering sacred the great body of what comes in contact with the mind in the experience of life4 ,only once in years does the ,christian with this kind of belief hear the voice of the ,lord ,god speaking to him4 ,when the hand of death is laid on his child1 or the bolt strikes down the brother by his side1 then1 indeed1 he feels that ,god is drawing near2 he listens humbly for the inward voice that shall explain the meaning and need of this discipline4 ,when by some unforeseen occurrence the whole of his earthly property is swept away1--he becomes a poor man1--this event1 in his eyes1 assumes sufficient magnitude to have come from ,god1 and to have a design and meaning2 but when smaller comforts are removed1 smaller losses are encountered1 and the petty every-day vexations and annoyances of life press about him1 he recognizes no ,god1 and hears no voice1 and sees no design4 ,hence ,john ,newton says1 ,many ,christians1 who bear the loss of a child1 or the destruction of all their property1 with the most heroic ,christian fortitude1 are entirely vanquished and overcome by the breaking of a dish1 or the blunders of a servant1 and show so unchristian a spirit1 that we cannot but wonder at them4 ,so when the breath of slander1 or the pressure of human injustice1 comes so heavily on a man as really to threaten loss of character1 and destruction of his temporal interests1 he seems forced to recognize the hand and voice of ,god1 through the veil of human agencies1 and in time-honored words to say3-- ,when men of spite against me join1 ,they are the sword2 the hand is thine4 ,but the smaller injustice and fault-finding which meet every one more or less in the daily intercourse of life1 the overheard remark1 the implied censure1 too petty1 perhaps1 to be even spoken of1 these daily recurring sources of disquietude and unhappiness are not referred to ,god's providence1 nor considered as a part of his probation and discipline4 ,those thousand vexations which come upon us through the unreasonableness1 the carelessness1 the various constitutional failings1 or ill adaptedness of others to our peculiarities of character1 form a very large item of the disquietudes of life2 and yet how very few look beyond the human agent1 and feel these are trials coming from ,god6 ,yet it is true1 in many cases1 that these so-called minor vexations form the greater part1 and in many cases the only discipline of life2 and to those that do not view them as ordered individually by ,god1 and coming upon them by specified design1 their affliction 'really' cometh of the dust1 and their trouble springs out of the ground2 it is sanctified and relieved by no divine presence and aid1 but borne alone and in a mere human spirit1 and by mere human reliances2 it acts on the mind as a constant diversion and hindrance1 instead of a moral discipline4 ,hence1 too1 come a coldness1 and generality1 and wandering of mind in prayer3 the things that are on the heart1 that are distracting the mind1 that have filled the soul so full that there is no room for anything else1 are all considered too small and undignified to come within the pale of a prayer and so1 with a wandering mind and a distracted heart1 the ,christian offers up his prayer for things which he thinks he ought to want1 and makes no mention of those which he does4 ,he prays that ,god would pour out his spirit on the heathen1 and convert the world1 and build up his kingdom everywhere1 when perhaps a whole set of little anxieties1 and wants1 and vexations are so distracting his thoughts1 that he hardly knows what he has been saying3 a faithless servant is wasting his property2 a careless or blundering workman has spoiled a lot of goods2 a child is vexatious or unruly2 a friend has made promises and failed to keep them2 an acquaintance has made unjust or satirical remarks2 some new furniture has been damaged or ruined by carelessness in the household2 but all this trouble forms no subject matter for prayer1 though there it is1 all the while lying like lead on the heart1 and keeping it down1 so that it has no power to expand and take in anything else4 ,but were ,god known and regarded as the soul's familiar friend1 were every trouble of the heart as it rises breathed into his bosom1 were it felt that there is not one of the smallest of life's troubles that has not been permitted by him1 and permitted for specific good purpose to the soul1 how much more would these be in prayer6 how constant1 how daily might it become6 how it might settle and clear the atmosphere of the soul6 how it might so dispose and lay away many anxieties which now take up their place there1 that there might be room for the higher themes and considerations of religion6 ,many sensitive and fastidious natures are worn away by the constant friction of what are called little troubles4 ,without any great affliction1 they feel that all the flower and sweetness of their life have faded2 their eye grows dim1 their cheek care-worn1 and their spirit loses hope and elasticity1 and becomes bowed with premature age2 and in the midst of tangible and physical comfort1 they are restless and unhappy4 ,the constant undercurrent of little cares and vexations1 which is slowly wearing on the finer springs of life1 is seen by no one2 scarce ever do they speak of these things to their nearest friends4 ,yet were there a friend of a spirit so discerning as to feel and sympathize in all these things1 how much of this repressed electric restlessness would pass off through such a sympathizing mind4 ,yet among human friends this is all but impossible1 for minds are so diverse that what is a trial and a care to one is a matter of sport and amusement to another2 and all the inner world breathed into a human ear only excites a surprised or contemptuous pity4 ,whom1 then1 shall the soul turn to8 ,who will feel that to be affliction which each spirit feels to be so8 ,if the soul shut itself within itself1 it becomes morbid2 the fine chords of the mind and nerves by constant wear become jarring and discordant2 hence fretfulness1 discontent1 and habitual irritability steal over the sincere ,christian4 ,but to the ,christian that really believes in the agency of ,god in the smallest events of life1 that confides in his love1 and makes his sympathy his refuge1 the thousand minute cares and perplexities of life become each one a fine affiliating bond between the soul and its ,god4 ,god is known1 not by abstract definition1 and by high-raised conceptions of the soul's aspiring hours1 but known as a man knoweth his friend2 he is known by the hourly wants he supplies2 known by every care with which he momentarily sympathizes1 every apprehension which he relieves1 every temptation which he enables us to surmount4 ,we learn to know ,god as the infant child learns to know its mother and its father1 by all the helplessness and all the dependence which are incident to this commencement of our moral existence2 and as we go on thus year by year1 and find in every changing situation1 in every reverse1 in every trouble1 from the lightest sorrow to those which wring our soul from its depths1 that he is equally present1 and that his gracious aid is equally adequate1 our faith seems gradually almost to change to sight2 and ,god's existence1 his love and care1 seem to us more real than any other source of reliance1 and multiplied cares and trials are only new avenues of acquaintance between us and heaven4 ,suppose1 in some bright vision unfolding to our view1 in tranquil evening or solemn midnight1 the glorified form of some departed friend should appear to us with the announcement1 ,this year is to be to you one of especial probation and discipline1 with reference to perfecting you for a heavenly state4 ,weigh well and consider every incident of your daily life1 for not one shall fall out by accident1 but each one is to be a finished and indispensable link in a bright chain that is to draw you upward to the skies6 ,with what new eyes should we now look on our daily lot6 and if we found in it not a single change1--the same old cares1 the same perplexities1 the same uninteresting drudgeries still1--with what new meaning would every incident be invested6 and with what other and sublimer spirit could we meet them8 ,yet1 if announced by one rising from the dead with the visible glory of a spiritual world1 this truth could be asserted no more clearly and distinctly than ,jesus ,christ has stated it already4 ,not a sparrow falleth to the ground without our ,father4 ,not one of them is forgotten by him2 and we are of more value than many sparrows2 yea1 even the hairs of our head are all numbered4 ,not till belief in these declarations1 in their most literal sense1 becomes the calm and settled habit of the soul1 is life ever redeemed from drudgery and dreary emptiness1 and made full of interest1 meaning1 and divine significance4 ,not till then do its groveling wants1 its wearing cares1 its stinging vexations1 become to us ministering spirits1 each one1 by a silent but certain agency1 fitting us for a higher and perfect sphere4 ,,the ,,ministration ,,of ,,our ,,departed ,,friends ,a ,,new ,,year',s ,,reverie ,it is a beautiful belief1 ,that ever round our head ,are hovering on viewless wings ,the spirits of the dead4 ,while every year is taking one and another from the ranks of life and usefulness1 or the charmed circle of friendship and love1 it is soothing to remember that the spiritual world is gaining in riches through the poverty of this4 ,in early life1 with our friends all around us1--hearing their voices1 cheered by their smiles1--death and the spiritual world are to us remote1 misty1 and half fabulous2 but as we advance in our journey1 and voice after voice is hushed1 and form after form vanishes from our side1 and our shadow falls almost solitary on the hillside of life1 the soul1 by a necessity of its being1 tends to the unseen and spiritual1 and pursues in another life those it seeks in vain in this4 ,for with every friend that dies1 dies also some especial form of social enjoyment1 whose being depended on the peculiar character of that friend2 till1 late in the afternoon of life1 the pilgrim seems to himself to have passed over to the unseen world in successive portions half his own spirit2 and poor indeed is he who has not familiarized himself with that unknown1 whither1 despite himself1 his soul is earnestly tending4 ,one of the deepest and most imperative cravings of the human heart1 as it follows its beloved ones beyond the veil1 is for some assurance that they still love and care for us4 ,could we firmly believe this1 bereavement would lose half its bitterness4 ,as a ,german writer beautifully expresses it1 ,our friend is not wholly gone from us2 we see across the river of death1 in the blue distance1 the smoke of his cottage2 hence the heart1 always creating what it desires1 has ever made the guardianship and ministration of departed spirits a favorite theme of poetic fiction4 ,but is it1 then1 fiction8 ,does revelation1 which gives so many hopes which nature had not1 give none here8 ,is there no sober certainty to correspond to the inborn and passionate craving of the soul8 ,do departed spirits in verity retain any knowledge of what transpires in this world1 and take any part in its scenes8 ,all that revelation says of a spiritual state is more intimation than assertion2 it has no distinct treatise1 and teaches nothing apparently of set purpose2 but gives vague1 glorious images1 while now and then some accidental ray of intelligence looks out1-- like eyes of cherubs shining ,from out the veil that hid the ark4 ,but out of all the different hints and assertions of the ,bible we think a better inferential argument might be constructed to prove the ministration of departed spirits than for many a doctrine which has passed in its day for the height of orthodoxy4 ,first1 then1 the ,bible distinctly says that there is a class of invisible spirits who minister to the children of men3 ,are they not all ministering spirits1 sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation8 ,it is said of little children1 that their angels do always behold the face of our ,father which is in heaven4 ,this last passage1 from the words of our ,saviour1 taken in connection with the well-known tradition of his time1 fully recognizes the idea of individual guardian spirits2 for ,god's government over mind is1 it seems1 throughout1 one of intermediate agencies1 and these not chosen at random1 but with the nicest reference to their adaptation to the purpose intended4 ,not even the ,all-seeing1 ,all-knowing ,one was deemed perfectly adapted to become a human ,saviour without a human experience4 ,knowledge intuitive1 gained from above1 of human wants and woes was not enough--to it must be added the home-born certainty of consciousness and memory2 the ,head of all mediation must become human4 ,is it likely1 then1 that1 in selecting subordinate agencies1 this so necessary a requisite of a human life and experience is overlooked8 ,while around the throne of ,god stand spirits1 now sainted and glorified1 yet thrillingly conscious of a past experience of sin and sorrow1 and trembling in sympathy with temptations and struggles like their own1 is it likely that he would pass by these souls1 thus burning for the work1 and commit it to those bright abstract beings whose knowledge and experience are comparatively so distant and so cold8 ,it is strongly in confirmation of this idea1 that in the transfiguration scene--which seems to have been intended purposely to give the disciples a glimpse of the glorified state of their ,master--we find him attended by two spirits of earth1 ,moses and ,elias1 which appeared with him in glory1 and spake of his death which he should accomplish at ,jerusalem4 ,it appears that these so long departed ones were still mingling in deep sympathy with the tide of human affairs--not only aware of the present1 but also informed as to the future4 ,in coincidence with this idea are all those passages which speak of the redeemed of earth as being closely and indissolubly identified with ,christ1 members of his body1 of his flesh and his bones4 ,it is not to be supposed that those united to ,jesus above all others by so vivid a sympathy and community of interests are left out as instruments in that great work of human regeneration which so engrosses him2 and when we hear ,christians spoken of as kings and priests unto ,god1 as those who shall judge angels1 we see it more than intimated that they are to be the partners and actors in that great work of spiritual regeneration of which ,jesus is the head4 ,what then8 ,may we look among the band of ministering spirits for our own departed ones8 ,whom would ,god be more likely to send us8 ,have we in heaven a friend who knew us to the heart's core8 a friend to whom we have unfolded our soul in its most secret recesses8 to whom we have confessed our weaknesses and deplored our griefs8 ,if we are to have a ministering spirit1 who better adapted8 ,have we not memories which correspond to such a belief8 ,when our soul has been cast down1 has never an invisible voice whispered1 ,there is lifting up8 ,have not gales and breezes of sweet and healing thought been wafted over us1 as if an angel had shaken from his wings the odors of paradise8 ,many a one1 we are confident1 can remember such things--and whence come they8 ,why do the children of the pious mother1 whose grave has grown green and smooth with years1 seem often to walk through perils and dangers fearful and imminent as the crossing ,mohammed's fiery gulf on the edge of a drawn sword1 yet walk unhurt8 ,ah6 could we see that attendant form1 that face where the angel conceals not the mother1 our question would be answered4 ,it may be possible that a friend is sometimes taken because the divine ,one sees that his ministry can act more powerfully from the unseen world than amid the infirmities of mortal intercourse4 ,here the soul1 distracted and hemmed in by human events and by bodily infirmities1 often scarce knows itself1 and makes no impression on others correspondent to its desires4 ,the mother would fain electrify the heart of her child2 she yearns and burns in vain to make her soul effective on its soul1 and to inspire it with a spiritual and holy life2 but all her own weaknesses1 faults1 and mortal cares cramp and confine her1 till death breaks all fetters2 and then1 first truly alive1 risen1 purified1 and at rest1 she may do calmly1 sweetly1 and certainly1 what1 amid the tempests and tossings of life1 she labored for painfully and fitfully4 ,so1 also1 to generous souls1 who burn for the good of man1 who deplore the shortness of life1 and the little that is permitted to any individual agency on earth1 does this belief open a heavenly field4 ,think not1 father or brother1 long laboring for man1 till thy sun stands on the western mountains1--think not that thy day in this world is over4 ,perhaps1 like ,jesus1 thou hast lived a human life1 and gained a human experience1 to become1 under and like him1 a saviour of thousands2 thou hast been through the preparation1 but thy real work of good1 thy full power of doing1 is yet to begin4 ,but again3 there are some spirits 7and those of earth's choicest7 to whom1 so far as enjoyment to themselves or others is concerned1 this life seems to have been a total failure4 ,a hard hand from the first1 and all the way through life1 seems to have been laid upon them2 they seem to live only to be chastened and crushed1 and we lay them in the grave at last in mournful silence4 ,to such1 what a vision is opened by this belief6 ,this hard discipline has been the school and task-work by which their soul has been fitted for their invisible labors in a future life2 and when they pass the gates of the grave1 their course of benevolent acting first begins1 and they find themselves delighted possessors of what through many years they have sighed for--the power of doing good4 ,the year just past1 like all other years1 has taken from a thousand circles the sainted1 the just1 and the beloved2 there are spots in a thousand graveyards which have become this year dearer than all the living world2 but in the loneliness of sorrow how cheering to think that our lost ones are not wholly gone from us6 ,they still may move about in our homes1 shedding around an atmosphere of purity and peace1 promptings of good1 and reproofs of evil4 ,we are compassed about by a cloud of witnesses1 whose hearts throb in sympathy with every effort and struggle1 and who thrill with joy at every success4 ,how should this thought check and rebuke every worldly feeling and unworthy purpose1 and enshrine us1 in the midst of a forgetful and unspiritual world1 with an atmosphere of heavenly peace4 ,they have overcome--have risen--are crowned1 glorified1 but still they remain to us1 our assistants1 our comforters1 and in every hour of darkness their voice speaks to us3 ,so we grieved1 so we struggled1 so we fainted1 so we doubted2 but we have overcome1 we have obtained1 we have seen1 we have found--and in our victory behold the certainty of thy own4 ,,religious ,,sketches ,,children ,a little child shall lead them4 ,one cold market morning ,i looked into a milliner's shop1 and there ,i saw a hale1 hearty1 well-browned young fellow from the country1 with his long cart whip1 and lion-shag coat1 holding up some little matter1 and turning it about on his great fist4 ,and what do you suppose it was8 ,a baby's bonnet6 ,a little1 soft1 blue satin hood1 with a swan's-down border1 white as the new-fallen snow1 with a frill of rich blonde around the edge4 ,by his side stood a very pretty woman1 holding1 with no small pride1 the baby--for evidently it was the baby4 ,any one could read that fact in every glance1 as they looked at each other1 and then at the large1 unconscious eyes1 and fat1 dimpled cheeks of the little one4 ,it was evident that neither of them had ever seen a baby like that before4 ,but really1 ,mary1 said the young man1 isn't three dollars very high8 ,mary very prudently said nothing1 but taking the little bonnet1 tied it on the little head1 and held up the baby4 ,the man looked1 and without another word down went the three dollars--all the avails of last week's butter2 and as they walked out of the shop1 it is hard to say which looked the more delighted with the bargain4 ,ah1 thought ,i1 a little child shall lead them4 ,another day1 as ,i was passing a carriage factory along one of our principal back streets1 ,i saw a young mechanic at work on a wheel4 ,the rough body of a carriage stood beside him1 and there1 wrapped up snugly1 all hooded and cloaked1 sat a little dark-eyed girl1 about a year old1 playing with a great1 shaggy dog4 ,as ,i stopped1 the man looked up from his work1 and turned admiringly towards his little companion1 as much as to say1 ,see what ,i have got here6 ,yes1 thought ,i2 and if the little lady ever gets a glance from admiring swains as sincere as that1 she will be lucky4 ,ah1 these children1 little witches1 pretty even in all their faults and absurdities4 ,see1 for example1 yonder little fellow in a naughty fit4 ,he has shaken his long curls over his deep blue eyes2 the fair brow is bent in a frown1 the rose leaf lip is pursed up in infinite defiance1 and the white shoulder thrust angrily forward4 ,can any but a child look so pretty1 even in its naughtiness8 ,then comes the instant change2 flashing smiles and tears as the good comes back all in a rush1 and you are overwhelmed with protestations1 promises1 and kisses6 ,they are irresistible1 too1 these little ones4 ,they pull away the scholar's pen1 tumble about his paper1 make somersets over his books2 and what can he do8 ,they tear up newspapers1 litter the carpets1 break1 pull1 and upset1 and then jabber unheard-of ,english in self-defense2 and what can you do for yourself8 ,if ,i had a child1 says the precise man1 you should see4 ,he does have a child1 and his child tears up his papers1 tumbles over his things1 and pulls his nose like all other children2 and what has the precise man to say for himself8 ,nothing2 he is like everybody else2 a little child shall lead him4 ,the hardened heart of the worldly man is unlocked by the guileless tones and simple caresses of his son2 but he repays it in time1 by imparting to his boy all the crooked tricks and callous maxims which have undone himself4 ,go to the jail1 to the penitentiary1 and find there the wretch most sullen1 brutal1 and hardened4 ,then look at your infant son4 ,such as he is to you1 such to some mother was this man4 ,that hard hand was soft and delicate2 that rough voice was tender and lisping2 fond eyes followed him as he played1 and he was rocked and cradled as something holy4 ,there was a time when his heart1 soft and unworn1 might have opened to questionings of ,god and ,jesus1 and been sealed with the seal of ,heaven4 ,but harsh hands seized it2 fierce goblin lineaments were impressed upon it2 and all is over with him forever6 ,so of the tender1 weeping child is made the callous1 heartless man2 of the all-believing child1 the sneering skeptic2 of the beautiful and modest1 the shameless and abandoned2 and this is what the world does for the little one4 ,there was a time when the divine ,one stood on earth1 and little children sought to draw near to him4 ,but harsh human beings stood between him and them1 forbidding their approach4 ,ah1 has it not always been so8 ,do not even we1 with our hard and unsubdued feelings1 our worldly and unspiritual habits and maxims1 stand like a dark screen between our little child and its ,saviour1 and keep even from the choice bud of our hearts the sweet radiance which might unfold it for paradise8 ,suffer little children to come unto me1 and forbid them not1 is still the voice of the ,son of ,god2 but the cold world still closes around and forbids4 ,when1 of old1 disciples would question their ,lord of the higher mysteries of his kingdom1 he took a little child and set him in the midst1 as a sign of him who should be greatest in heaven4 ,that gentle teacher remains still to us4 ,by every hearth and fireside ,jesus still sets the little child in the midst of us4 ,wouldst thou know1 ,o parent1 what is that faith which unlocks heaven8 ,go not to wrangling polemics1 or creeds and forms of theology1 but draw to thy bosom thy little one1 and read in that clear1 trusting eye the lesson of eternal life4 ,be only to thy ,god as thy child is to thee1 and all is done4 ,blessed shalt thou be1 indeed1 when a little child shall lead thee4 ,,the ,,old ,,oak ,,of ,,andover ,a ,,reverie ,silently1 with dreamy languor1 the fleecy snow is falling4 ,through the windows1 flowery with blossoming geranium and heliotrope1 through the downward sweep of crimson and muslin curtain1 one watches it as the wind whirls and sways it in swift eddies4 ,right opposite our house1 on our ,mount ,clear1 is an old oak1 the apostle of the primeval forest4 ,once1 when this place was all wildwood1 the man who was seeking a spot for the location of the buildings of ,phillips ,academy climbed this oak1 using it as a sort of green watch-tower1 from whence he might gain a view of the surrounding country4 ,age and time1 since then1 have dealt hardly with the stanch old fellow4 ,his limbs have been here and there shattered2 his back begins to look mossy and dilapidated2 but1 after all1 there is a piquant1 decided air about him1 that speaks the old age of a tree of distinction1 a kingly oak4 ,to-day ,i see him standing1 dimly revealed through the mist of falling snows2 to-morrow's sun will show the outline of his gnarled limbs--all rose color with their soft snow burden2 and again a few months1 and spring will breathe on him1 and he will draw a long breath1 and break out once more1 for the three hundredth time1 perhaps1 into a vernal crown of leaves4 ,i sometimes think that leaves are the thoughts of trees1 and that if we only knew it1 we should find their life's experience recorded in them4 ,our oak6 what a crop of meditations and remembrances must he have thrown forth1 leafing out century after century4 ,awhile he spake and thought only of red deer and ,indians2 of the trillium that opened its white triangle in his shade2 of the scented arbutus1 fair as the pink ocean shell1 weaving her fragrant mats in the moss at his feet2 of feathery ferns1 casting their silent shadows on the checkerberry leaves1 and all those sweet1 wild1 nameless1 half-mossy things1 that live in the gloom of forests1 and are only desecrated when brought to scientific light1 laid out and stretched on a botanic bier4 ,sweet old forest days6--when blue jay1 and yellowhammer1 and bobolink made his leaves merry1 and summer was a long opera of such music as ,mozart dimly dreamed4 ,but then came human kind bustling beneath2 wondering1 fussing1 exploring1 measuring1 treading down flowers1 cutting down trees1 scaring bobolinks--and ,andover1 as men say1 began to be settled4 ,stanch men were they--these ,puritan fathers of ,andover4 ,the old oak must have felt them something akin to himself4 ,such strong1 wrestling limbs had they1 so gnarled and knotted were they1 yet so outbursting with a green and vernal crown1 yearly springing1 of noble and generous thoughts1 rustling with leaves which shall be for the healing of nations4 ,these men were content with the hard1 dry crust for themselves1 that they might sow seeds of abundant food for us1 their children2 men out of whose hardness in enduring we gain leisure to be soft and graceful1 through whose poverty we have become rich4 ,like ,moses1 they had for their portion only the pain and weariness of the wilderness1 leaving to us the fruition of the promised land4 ,let us cherish for their sake the old oak1 beautiful in its age as the broken statue of some antique wrestler1 brown with time1 yet glorious in its suggestion of past achievement4 ,i think all this the more that ,i have recently come across the following passage in one of our religious papers4 ,the writer expresses a kind of sentiment which one meets very often upon this subject1 and leads one to wonder what glamour could have fallen on the minds of any of the descendants of the ,puritans1 that they should cast nettles on those honored graves where they should be proud to cast their laurels4 ,it is hard1 he says1 for a lover of the beautiful--not a mere lover1 but a believer in its divinity also--to forgive the ,puritans1 or to think charitably of them4 ,it is hard for him to keep ,forefathers' ,day1 or to subscribe to the ,plymouth ,monument2 hard to look fairly at what they did1 with the memory of what they destroyed rising up to choke thankfulness2 for they were as one-sided and narrow-minded a set of men as ever lived1 and saw one of ,truth's faces only--the hard1 stern1 practical face1 without loveliness1 without beauty1 and only half dear to ,god4 ,the ,puritan flew in the face of facts1 not because he saw them and disliked them1 but because he did not see them4 ,he saw foolishness1 lying1 stealing1 worldliness1--the very mammon of unrighteousness rioting in the world and bearing sway1--and he ran full tilt against the monster1 hating it with a very mortal and mundane hatred1 and anxious to see it bite the dust that his own horn might be exalted4 ,it was in truth only another horn of the old dilemma1 tossing and goring grace and beauty1 and all the loveliness of life1 as if they were the enemies instead of the sure friends of ,god and man4 ,now1 to those who say this we must ask the question with which ,socrates of old pursued the sophist3 ,what is beauty8 ,if beauty be only physical1 if it appeal only to the senses1 if it be only an enchantment of graceful forms1 sweet sounds1 then indeed there might be something of truth in this sweeping declaration that the ,puritan spirit is the enemy of beauty4 ,the very root and foundation of all artistic inquiry lies here4 ,what is beauty8 ,and to this question ,god forbid that we ,christians should give a narrower answer than ,plato gave in the old times before ,christ arose1 for he directs the aspirant who would discover the beautiful to consider of greater value the beauty existing in the soul1 than that existing in the body4 ,more gracefully he teaches the same doctrine when he tells us that there are two kinds of ,venus 7beauty72 the one1 the elder1 who had no mother1 and was the daughter of ,uranus 7heaven71 whom we name the celestial2 the other1 younger1 daughter of ,jupiter and ,dione1 whom we call the vulgar4 ,now1 if disinterestedness1 faith1 patience1 piety1 have a beauty celestial and divine1 then were our fathers worshipers of the beautiful4 ,if high-mindedness and spotless honor are beautiful things1 they had those4 ,what work of art can compare with a lofty and heroic life8 ,is it not better to be a ,moses than to be a ,michael ,angelo making statues of ,moses8 ,is not the life of ,paul a sublimer work of art than ,raphael's cartoons8 ,are not the patience1 the faith1 the undying love of ,mary by the cross1 more beautiful than all the ,madonna paintings in the world4 ,if1 then1 we would speak truly of our fathers1 we should say that1 having their minds fixed on that celestial beauty of which ,plato speaks1 they held in slight esteem that more common and earthly4 ,should we continue the parable in ,plato's manner1 we might say that the earthly and visible ,venus1 the outward grace of art and nature1 was ordained of ,god as a priestess1 through whom men were to gain access to the divine1 invisible ,one2 but that men1 in their blindness1 ever worship the priestess instead of the divinity4 ,therefore it is that great reformers so often must break the shrines and temples of the physical and earthly beauty1 when they seek to draw men upward to that which is high and divine4 ,christ says of ,john the ,baptist1 ,what went ye out for to see8 ,a man clothed in soft raiment8 ,behold they which are clothed in soft raiment are in kings' palaces4 ,so was it when our fathers came here4 ,there were enough wearing soft raiment and dwelling in kings' palaces4 ,life in papal ,rome and prelatic ,england was weighed down with blossoming luxury4 ,there were abundance of people to think of pictures1 and statues1 and gems1 and cameos1 vases and marbles1 and all manner of deliciousness4 ,the world was all drunk with the enchantments of the lower ,venus1 and it was needful that these men should come1 ,baptist-like in the wilderness1 in raiment of camel's hair4 ,we need such men now4 ,art1 they tell us1 is waking in ,america2 a love of the beautiful is beginning to unfold its wings2 but what kind of art1 and what kind of beauty8 ,are we to fill our houses with pictures and gems1 and to see that even our drinking cup and vase are wrought in graceful pattern1 and to lose our reverence for self-denial1 honor1 and faith8 ,is our ,venus to be the frail1 ensnaring ,aphrodite1 or the starry1 divine ,urania8 ,,the ,,elder',s ,,feast ,a ,,tradition ,,of ,,laodicea ,at a certain time in the earlier ages there lived in the city of ,laodicea a ,christian elder of some repute1 named ,onesiphorus4 ,the world had smiled on him1 and though a ,christian1 he was rich and full of honors4 ,all men1 even the heathen1 spoke well of him1 for he was a man courteous of speech and mild of manner4 ,his wife1 a fair ,ionian lady but half reclaimed from idolatry1 though baptized and accredited as a member of the ,christian ,church1 still lingered lovingly on the confines of old heathenism1 and if she did not believe1 still cherished with pleasure the poetic legends of ,apollo and ,venus1 of ,jove and ,diana4 ,a large and fair family of sons and daughters had risen around these parents2 but their education had been much after the rudiments of this world1 and not after ,christ4 ,though1 according to the customs of the church1 they were brought to the font of baptism1 and sealed in the name of the ,father1 and the ,son1 and ,holy ,ghost1 and although daily1 instead of libations to the ,penates1 or flower offerings to ,diana and ,juno1 the name of ,jesus was invoked1 yet the spirit of ,jesus was wanting4 ,the chosen associates of all these children1 as they grew older1 were among the heathen2 and daily they urged their parents1 by their entreaties1 to conform1 in one thing after another1 to heathen usage4 ,why should we be singular1 mother8 said the dark-eyed ,myrrah1 as she bound her hair and arranged her dress after the fashion of the girls in the temple of ,venus4 ,why may we not wear the golden ornaments and images which have been consecrated to heathen goddesses8 said the sprightly ,thalia2 surely none others are to be bought1 and are we to do altogether without8 ,and why may we not be at feasts where libations are made to ,apollo or ,jupiter8 said the sons2 so long as we do not consent to it or believe in it1 will our faith be shaken thereby8 ,how are we ever to reclaim the heathen1 if we do not mingle among them8 said another son2 did not our ,master eat with publicans and sinners8 ,it was1 however1 to be remarked1 that no conversions of the heathen to ,christianity ever took place through the means of these complying sons and daughters1 or any of the number who followed their example4 ,instead of withdrawing any from the confines of heathenism1 they themselves were drawn so nearly over1 that in certain situations and circumstances they would undoubtedly have been ranked among them by any but a most scrutinizing observer4 ,if any in the city of ,laodicea were ever led to unite themselves with ,jesus1 it was by means of a few who observed the full simplicity of the ancient faith1 and who1 though honest1 tender1 and courteous in all their dealings with the heathen1 still went not a step with them in conformity to any of their customs4 ,in time1 though the family we speak of never broke off from the ,christian ,church1 yet if you had been in it1 you might have heard much warm and earnest conversation about things that took place at the baths1 or in feasts to various divinities2 but if any one spoke of ,jesus1 there was immediately a cold silence1 a decorous1 chilling1 respectful pause1 after which the conversation1 with a bound1 flew back into the old channel again4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it was now night2 and the house of ,onesiphorus the ,elder was blazing with torches1 alive with music1 and all the hurry and stir of a sumptuous banquet4 ,all the wealth and fashion of ,laodicea were there1 ,christian and heathen2 and all that the classic voluptuousness of ,oriental ,greece could give to shed enchantment over the scene was there4 ,in ancient times the festivals of ,christians in ,laodicea had been regulated in the spirit of the command of ,jesus1 as recorded by ,luke1 whose classical ,greek had made his the established version in ,asia ,minor4 ,and thou1 when thou makest a feast1 call not thy friends and thy kinsmen1 nor thy rich neighbors1 lest they also bid thee1 and a recompense be made thee4 ,but when thou makest a feast1 call the poor1 and the maimed1 and the lame1 and the blind1 and thou shalt be blessed2 for they cannot recompense thee1 but thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just4 ,that very day1 before the entertainment1 had this passage been quoted in the ears of the family by ,cleon1 the youngest son1 who1 different from all his family1 had cherished in his bosom the simplicity of the old belief4 ,how ridiculous6 how absurd6 had been the reply of the more thoughtless members of the family1 when ,cleon cited the above passage as in point to the evening's entertainment4 ,the dark-eyed mother looked reproof on the levity of the younger children1 and decorously applauded the passage1 which she said had no application to the matter in hand4 ,but1 mother1 even if the passage be not literally taken1 it must mean something4 ,what did the ,lord ,jesus intend by it8 ,if we ,christians may make entertainments with all the parade and expense of our heathen neighbors1 and thus spend the money that might be devoted to charity1 what does this passage mean8 ,your father gives in charity as handsomely as any ,christian in ,laodicea1 said his mother warmly4 ,nay1 mother1 that may be2 but ,i bethink me now of two or three times when means have been wanting for the relieving of the poor1 and the ransoming of captives1 and the support of apostles1 when we have said that we could give no more4 ,my son1 said his mother1 you do not understand the ways of the world4 ,nay1 how should he1 said ,thalia1 shut up day and night with that old papyrus of ,st4 ,luke and ,paul's ,epistles8 ,one may have too much of a good thing4 ,but does not the holy ,paul say1 ',be not conformed to this world'8 ,certainly1 said the elder2 that means that we should be baptized1 and not worship in the heathen temples4 ,my dear son1 said his mother1 you intend well1 doubtless2 but you have not sufficient knowledge of life to estimate our relations to society4 ,entertainments of this sort are absolutely necessary to sustain our position in the world4 ,if we accept1 we must return them4 ,but not to dwell on this conversation1 let us suppose ourselves in the rooms now glittering with lights1 and gay with every costly luxury of wealth and taste4 ,here were statues to ,diana and ,apollo1 and to the household ,juno--not meant for worship--of course not--but simply to conform to the general usages of good society2 and so far had this complaisance been carried1 that the shrine of a peerless ,venus was adorned with garlands and votive offerings1 and an exquisitely wrought silver censer diffused its perfume on the marble altar in front4 ,this complaisance on the part of some of the younger members of the family drew from the elder a gentle remonstrance1 as having an unseemly appearance for those bearing the ,christian name2 but they readily answered1 ,has not ,paul said1 ',we know that an idol is nothing'8 ,where is the harm of an elegant statue1 considered merely as a consummate work of art8 ,as for the flowers1 are they not simply the most appropriate ornament8 ,and where is the harm of burning exquisite perfume8 ,and is it worse to burn it in one place than another8 ,upon my sword1 said one of the heathen guests1 as he wandered through the gay scene1 how liberal and accommodating these ,christians are becoming6 ,except in a few small matters in the temple1 they seem to be with us entirely4 ,ah1 said another1 it was not so years back4 ,nothing was heard among them1 then1 but prayers1 and alms1 and visits to the poor and sick2 and when they met together in their feasts1 there was so much of their talk of ,christ1 and such singing of hymns and prayer1 that one of us found himself quite out of place4 ,yes1 said an old man present1 in those days ,i quite bethought me of being some day a ,christian2 but look you1 they are grown so near like us now1 it is scarce worth one's while to change4 ,a little matter of ceremony in the temple1 and offering incense to ,jesus1 instead of ,jupiter1 when all else is the same1 can make small odds in a man4 ,but now1 the ancient legend goes on to say1 that in the midst of that gay and brilliant evening1 a stranger of remarkable appearance and manners was noticed among the throng4 ,none knew him1 or whence he came4 ,he mingled not in the mirth1 and seemed to recognize no one present1 though he regarded all that was passing with a peculiar air of still and earnest attention2 and wherever he moved1 his calm1 penetrating gaze seemed to diffuse a singular uneasiness about him4 ,now his eye was fixed with a quiet scrutiny on the idolatrous statues1 with their votive adornments--now it followed earnestly the young forms that were wreathing in the graceful waves of the dance2 and then he turned toward the tables1 loaded with every luxury and sparkling with wines1 where the devotion to ,bacchus became more than poetic fiction2 and as he gazed1 a high1 indignant sorrow seemed to overshadow the calmness of his majestic face4 ,when1 in thoughtless merriment1 some of the gay company sought to address him1 they found themselves shrinking involuntarily from the soft1 piercing eye1 and trembling at the low1 sweet tones in which he replied4 ,what he spoke was brief2 but there was a gravity and tender wisdom in it that strangely contrasted with the frivolous scene1 and awakened unwonted ideas of heavenly purity even in thoughtless and dissipated minds4 ,the only one of the company who seemed to seek his society was the youngest1 the fair little child ,isa4 ,she seemed as strangely attracted towards him as others were repelled2 and when1 unsolicited1 in the frank confidence of childhood she pressed to his side1 and placed her little hand in his1 the look of radiant compassion and tenderness which beamed down from those eyes was indeed glorious to behold4 ,yet here and there1 as he glided among the crowd1 he spoke in the ear of some ,christian words which1 though soft and low1 seemed to have a mysterious and startling power2 for one after another1 pensive1 abashed1 and confounded1 they drew aside from the gay scene1 and seemed lost in thought4 ,that stranger--who was he8 ,who8 ,the inquiry passed from mouth to mouth1 and one and another1 who had listened to his low1 earnest tones1 looked on each other with a troubled air4 ,erelong he had glided hither and thither in the crowd2 he had spoken in the ear of every ,christian--and suddenly again he was gone1 and they saw him no more4 ,each had felt the heart thrill within--each spirit had vibrated as if the finger of its ,creator had touched it1 and shrunk conscious as if an omniscient eye were upon it4 ,each heart was stirred from its depths4 ,vain sophistries1 worldly maxims1 making the false look true1 all appeared to rise and clear away like a mist2 and at once each one seemed to see1 as ,god sees1 the true state of the inner world1 the true motive and reason of action1 and in the instinctive pause that passed through the company1 the banquet was broken up and deserted4 ,and what if their ,god were present8 said one of the heathen members of the company1 next day4 ,why did they all look so blank8 ,a most favorable omen1 we should call it1 to have one's patron divinity at a feast4 ,besides1 said another1 these ,christians hold that their ,god is always everywhere present2 so1 at most1 they have but had their eyes opened to see ,him who is always there6 99 99 99 99 99 ,what is practically the meaning of the precept1 ,be not conformed to the world8 ,in its every-day results1 it presents many problems difficult of solution4 ,there are so many shades and blendings of situation and circumstances1 so many things1 innocent and graceful in themselves1 which1 like flowers and incense on a heathen altar1 become unchristian only through position and circumstances1 that the most honest and well-intentioned are often perplexed4 ,that we must conform in some things is conceded2 yet the whole tenor of the ,new ,testament shows that this conformity must have its limits--that ,christians are to be transformed1 so as to exhibit to the world a higher and more complete style of life1 and thus prove what is the good1 and acceptable1 and perfect will of ,god4 ,but in many particulars as to style of living and modes of social intercourse1 there can be no definite rules laid down1 and no ,christian can venture to judge another by his standard4 ,one ,christian condemns dress adornment1 and the whole application of taste to the usages of life1 as a sinful waste of time and money4 ,another1 perceiving in every work of ,god a love and appreciation of the beautiful1 believes that there is a sphere in which he is pleased to see the same trait in his children1 if the indulgence do not become excessive1 and thus interfere with higher duties4 ,one condemns all time and expense laid out in social visiting as so much waste4 ,another remembers that ,jesus1 when just entering on the most vast and absorbing work1 turned aside to attend a wedding feast1 and wrought his first miracle to enhance its social enjoyment4 ,again1 there are others who1 because some indulgence of taste and some exercise for the social powers are admissible1 go all lengths in extravagance1 and in company1 dress1 and the externals of life4 ,in the same manner1 with regard to style of life and social entertainment--most of the items which go to constitute what is called style of living1 or the style of particular parties1 may be in themselves innocent1 and yet they may be so interwoven and combined with evils1 that the whole effect shall be felt to be decidedly unchristian1 both by ,christians and the world4 ,how1 then1 shall the well-disposed person know where to stop1 and how to strike the just medium8 ,we know of but one safe rule3 read the life of ,jesus with attention--study it--inquire earnestly with yourself1 ,what sort of a person1 in thought1 in feeling1 in action1 was my ,saviour8--live in constant sympathy and communion with him--and there will be within a kind of instinctive rule by which to try all things4 ,a young man1 who was to be exposed to the temptations of one of the most dissipated ,european capitals1 carried with him his father's picture1 and hung it in his apartment4 ,before going out to any of the numerous resorts of the city1 he was accustomed to contemplate this picture1 and say to himself1 ,would my father wish to see me in the place to which ,i am going8 and thus was he saved from many a temptation4 ,in like manner the ,christian1 who has always by his side the beautiful ideal of his ,saviour1 finds it a holy charm1 by which he is gently restrained from all that is unsuitable to his profession4 ,he has but to inquire of any scene or employment1 ,should ,i be well pleased to meet my ,saviour there8 ,would the trains of thought ,i should there fall into1 the state of mind that would there be induced1 be such as would harmonize with an interview with him8 ,thus protected and defended1 social enjoyment might be like that of ,mary and ,john1 and the disciples1 when1 under the mild1 approving eye of the ,son of ,god1 they shared the festivities of ,cana4 ,a ,,scene ,,in ,,jerusalem ,it is now nearly noon1 the busiest and most bustling hour of the day2 yet the streets of the ,holy ,city seem deserted and silent as the grave4 ,the artisan has left his bench1 the merchant his merchandise2 the throngs of returned wanderers which this great national festival has brought up from every land of the earth1 and which have been for the last week carrying life and motion through every street1 seem suddenly to have disappeared4 ,here and there solitary footfalls1 like the last pattering rain-drops after a shower1 awaken the echoes of the streets2 and here and there some lonely woman looks from the housetop with anxious and agitated face1 as if she would discern something in the far distance4 ,alone1 or almost alone1 the few remaining priests move like white-winged1 solitary birds over the gorgeous pavements of the temple1 and as they mechanically conduct the ministrations of the day1 cast significant glances on each other1 and pause here and there to converse in anxious whispers4 ,ah1 there is one voice which they have often heard beneath those arches--a voice which ever bore in it a mysterious and thrilling charm--which they know will be hushed to-day4 ,chief priest1 scribe1 and doctor have all gone out in the death procession after him2 and these few remaining ones1 far from the excitement of the crowd1 and busied in calm and sacred duties1 find voices of anxious questioning rising from the depths of their own souls1 ,what if this indeed were the ,christ8 ,but pass we on out of the city1 and what a surging tide of life and motion meets the eye1 as if all nations under heaven had dashed their waves of population on this ,judan shore6 ,a noisy1 wrathful1 tempestuous mob1 billow on billow1 waver and rally round some central object1 which it conceals from view4 ,parthians1 ,medes1 ,elamites1 dwellers in ,mesopotamia and ,egypt1 strangers of ,rome1 ,cretes and ,arabians1 ,jew and ,proselyte1 convoked from the ends of the earth1 throng in agitated concourse one on another2 one theme in every face1 on every tongue1 one name in every variety of accent and dialect passing from lip to lip-- ,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,look on that man--the centre and cause of all this outburst6 ,he stands there alone4 ,the cross is ready4 ,it lies beneath his feet4 ,the rough hand of a brutal soldier has seized his robe to tear it from him4 ,another with stalwart arm is boring the holes1 gazing upward the while with a face of stupid unconcern4 ,there on the ground lie the hammer and the nails3 the hour1 the moment of doom is come6 ,look on this man1 as upward1 with deep1 sorrowing eyes1 he gazes towards heaven4 ,hears he the roar of the mob8 ,feels he the rough hand on his garment8 ,nay1 he sees not1 feels not3 from all the rage and tumult of the hour he is rapt away4 ,a sorrow deeper1 more absorbing1 more unearthly seems to possess him1 as upward with long gaze he looks to that heaven never before closed to his prayer1 to that ,god never before to him invisible4 ,that mournful1 heaven-searching glance1 in its lonely anguish1 says but one thing3 ,lo1 ,i come to do thy will1 ,o ,god4 ,through a life of sorrow the realized love of his ,father has shone like a precious and beautiful talisman in his bosom2 but now1 when desolation and anguish have come upon him as a whirlwind1 this last star has gone out in the darkness1 and ,jesus1 deserted by man and ,god1 stands there alone4 ,alone8 ,no2 for undaunted by the cruel mob1 fearless in the strength of mortal anguish1 helpless1 yet undismayed1 stands the one blessed among women1 the royal daughter of a noble line1 the priestess to whose care was intrusted this spotless sacrifice4 ,she and her son1 last of a race of kings1 stand there despised1 rejected1 and disavowed by their nation1 to accomplish dread words of prophecy1 which have swept down for far ages to this hour4 ,strange it is1 in this dark scene1 to see the likeness between mother and son1 deepening in every line of those faces1 as they stand thus thrown out by the dark background of rage and hate1 which like a storm-cloud lowers around4 ,the same rapt1 absorbed1 calm intensity of anguish in both mother and son1 save only that while he gazes upward towards ,god1 she1 with like fervor1 gazes on him4 ,what to her is the deriding mob1 the coarse taunt1 the brutal abuse8 ,of it all she hears1 she feels nothing4 ,she sinks not1 faints not1 weeps not2 her whole being concentrates in the will to suffer by and with him to the last4 ,other hearts there are that beat for him2 others that press into the doomed circle1 and own him amid the scorn of thousands4 ,there may you see the clasped hands and upraised eyes of a ,magdalen1 the pale and steady resolve of ,john1 the weeping company of women who bewailed and lamented him2 but none dare press so near1 or seem so identical with him in his sufferings1 as this mother4 ,and as we gaze on these two in human form1 surrounded by other human forms1 how strange the contrast6 ,how is it possible that human features and human lineaments essentially alike can be wrought into such heaven-wide contrast8 ,man is he who stands there1 lofty and spotless1 in bleeding patience6 ,men also are those brutal soldiers1 alike stupidly ready1 at the word of command1 to drive the nail through quivering flesh or insensate wood4 ,men are those scowling priests and infuriate ,pharisees4 ,men1 also1 the shifting figures of the careless rabble1 who shout and curse without knowing why4 ,no visible glory shines round that head2 yet how1 spite of every defilement cast upon him by the vulgar rabble1 seems that form to be glorified6 ,what light is that in those eyes6 ,what mournful beauty in that face6 ,what solemn1 mysterious sacredness investing the whole form1 constraining from us the exclamation1 ,surely this is the ,son of ,god4 ,man's voice is breathing vulgar taunt and jeer3 ,he saved others2 himself he cannot save4 ,he trusted in ,god2 let him deliver him if he will have him4 ,and man's1 also1 clear1 sweet1 unearthly1 pierces that stormy mob1 saying1 ,father1 forgive them2 they know not what they do4 ,but we draw the veil in reverence4 ,it is not ours to picture what the sun refused to shine upon1 and earth shook to behold4 ,little thought those weeping women1 that stricken disciple1 that heartbroken mother1 how on some future day that cross--emblem to them of deepest infamy--should blaze in the eye of all nations1 symbol of triumph and hope1 glittering on gorgeous fanes1 embroidered on regal banners1 associated with all that is revered and powerful on earth4 ,the ,roman ensign that waved on that mournful day1 symbol of highest earthly power1 is a thing mouldered and forgotten2 and over all the high places of old ,rome1 herself1 stands that mystical cross1 no longer speaking of earthly anguish and despair1 but of heavenly glory1 honor1 and immortality4 ,theologians have endlessly disputed and philosophized on this great fact of atonement4 ,the ,bible tells only that this tragic event was the essential point without which our salvation could never have been secured4 ,but where lay the necessity they do not say4 ,what was that dread strait that either the divine ,one must thus suffer1 or man be lost1 who knoweth8 ,to this question answer a thousand voices1 with each a different solution1 urged with equal confidence--each solution to its framer as certain and sacred as the dread fact it explains--yet every one1 perhaps1 unsatisfactory to the deep-questioning soul4 ,the ,bible1 as it always does1 gives on this point not definitions or distinct outlines1 but images--images which lose all their glory and beauty if seized by the harsh hands of metaphysical analysis1 but inexpressibly affecting to the unlettered human heart1 which softens in gazing on their mournful and mysterious beauty4 ,christ is called our sacrifice1 our passover1 our atoning high priest2 and he himself1 while holding in his hands the emblem cup1 says1 ,it is my blood shed for many1 for the remission of sins4 ,let us reason on it as we will1 this story of the cross1 presented without explanation in the simple metaphor of the ,bible1 has produced an effect on human nature wholly unaccountable4 ,in every age and clime1 with every variety of habit1 thought1 and feeling1 from the cannibals of ,new ,zealand and ,madagascar to the most enlightened and scientific minds in ,christendom1 one feeling1 essentially homogeneous in its character and results1 has arisen in view of this cross4 ,there is something in it that strikes one of the great nerves of simple1 unsophisticated humanity1 and meets its wants as nothing else will4 ,ages ago1 ,paul declared to philosophizing ,greek and scornful ,roman that he was not ashamed of this gospel1 and alleged for his reason this very adaptedness to humanity4 ,a priori1 many would have said that ,paul should have told of ,christ living1 ,christ preaching1 ,christ working miracles1 not omitting also the pathetic history of how he sealed all with his blood2 but ,paul declared that he determined to know nothing else but ,christ crucified4 ,he said it was a stumbling-block to the ,jew1 an absurdity to the ,greek2 yet he was none the less positive in his course4 ,true1 there were many then1 as now1 who looked on with the most philosophic and cultivated indifference4 ,the courtly ,festus1 as he settled his purple tunic1 declared he could make nothing of the matter1 only a dispute about one ,jesus1 who was dead1 and whom ,paul affirmed to be alive2 and perchance some ,athenian1 as he reclined on his ivory couch at dinner1 after the sermon on ,mars ,hill1 may have disposed of the matter very summarily1 and passed on to criticisms on ,samian wine and marble vases4 ,yet in spite of their disbelief1 this story of ,christ has outlived them1 their age and nation1 and is to this hour as fresh in human hearts as if it were just published4 ,this one ,jesus which was dead1 and whom ,paul affirmed to be alive1 is nominally1 at least1 the object of religious homage in all the more cultivated portions of the globe2 and to hearts scattered through all regions of the earth this same ,jesus is now a sacred and living name1 dearer than all household sounds1 all ties of blood1 all sweetest and nearest affections of humanity4 ,i am ready not only to be bound1 but also to die for the name of the ,lord ,jesus1 are words that have found an echo in the bosoms of thousands in every age since then2 that would1 if need were1 find no less echo in thousands now4 ,considering ,christ as a man1 and his death as a mere pathetic story1--considering him as one of the great martyrs for truth1 who sealed it with his blood1--this result is wholly unaccountable4 ,other martyrs have died1 bravely and tenderly1 in their last hours bearing witness of the godlike that is in man2 but who so remembers them8 ,who so loves them8 ,to whom is any one of them a living presence1 a life1 and all8 ,yet so thousands look on ,jesus at this hour4 ,nay1 it is because this story strikes home to every human bosom as an individual concern4 ,a thrilling voice speaks from this scene of anguish to every human bosom3 ,this is thy ,saviour4 ,thy sin hath done this4 ,it is the appropriative words1 thine and mine1 which make this history different from any other history4 ,this was for me1 is the thought which has pierced the apathy of the ,greenlander1 and kindled the stolid clay of the ,hottentot2 and no human bosom has ever been found so low1 so lost1 so guilty1 so despairing1 that this truth1 once received1 has not had power to redeem1 regenerate1 and disenthrall4 ,christ so presented becomes to every human being a friend nearer than the mother who bore him2 and the more degraded1 the more hopeless and polluted is the nature1 the stronger comes on the living reaction1 if this belief is really and vividly enkindled with it4 ,but take away this appropriative1 individual element1 and this legend of ,jesus' death has no more power than any other4 ,he is to us no more than ,washington1 or ,socrates1 or ,howard4 ,and where is there not a touchstone to try every theory of atonement8 ,whatever makes a man feel that he is only a spectator1 an uninterested judge in this matter1 is surely astray from the idea of the ,bible4 ,whatever makes him feel that his sins have done this deed1 that he is bound1 soul and body1 to this ,deliverer1 though it may be in many points philosophically erroneous1 cannot go far astray4 ,if we could tell the number of the stars1 and call them forth by name1 then1 perhaps1 might we solve all the mystic symbols by which the ,bible has shadowed forth the far-lying necessities and reachings-forth of this event among principalities and powers1 and in ages to come4 ,but he who knows nothing of all this1 who shall so present the atonement as to bind and affiance human souls indissolubly to their ,redeemer1 does all that could be done by the highest and most perfect knowledge4 ,the great object is accomplished1 when the soul1 rapt1 inspired1 feels the deep resolve3-- ,remember ,thee6 ,yea1 from the table of my memory ,i'll wipe away all trivial1 fond records1 ,all saws of books1 all forms1 all pressures past ,that youth and observation copied there1 ,and thy commandment all alone shall live ,within the book and volume of my brain1 ,unmixed with baser matter4 ,,the ,,old ,,meeting-,,house ,,sketch ,,from ,,the ,,note-,,book ,,of ,,an ,,old ,,gentleman ,never shall ,i forget the dignity and sense of importance which swelled my mind when ,i was first pronounced old enough to go to meeting4 ,that eventful ,sunday ,i was up long before day1 and even took my ,sabbath suit to the window to ascertain by the first light that it actually was there1 just as it looked the night before4 ,with what complacency did ,i view myself completely dressed6 ,how did ,i count over the rows of yellow gilt buttons on my coat6 how my good mother1 grandmother1 and aunts fussed1 and twitched1 and pulled1 to make everything set up and set down1 just in the proper place6 how my clean1 starched white collar was turned over and smoothed again and again1 and my golden curls twisted and arranged to make the most of me6 and1 last of all1 how ,i was cautioned not to be thinking of my clothes4 ,in truth1 ,i was in those days a very handsome youngster1 and it really is no more than justice to let the fact be known1 as there is nothing in my present appearance from which it could ever be inferred4 ,everybody in the house successively asked me if ,i should be a good boy1 and sit still1 and not talk1 nor laugh2 and my mother informed me1 in terrorem1 that there was a tithing man1 who carried off naughty children1 and shut them up in a dark place behind the pulpit2 and that this tithing man1 ,mr4 ,zephaniah ,scranton1 sat just where he could see me4 ,this fact impressed my mind with more solemnity than all the exhortations which had preceded it--a proof of the efficacy of facts above reason4 ,under shadow and power of this weighty truth1 ,i demurely took hold of my mother's forefinger to walk to meeting4 ,the traveler in ,new ,england1 as he stands on some eminence1 and looks down on its rich landscape of golden grain and waving cornfield1 sees no feature more beautiful than its simple churches1 whose white taper fingers point upward1 amid the greenness and bloom of the distant prospects1 as if to remind one of the overshadowing providence whence all this luxuriant beauty flows2 and year by year1 as new ones are added to the number1 or succeed in the place of old ones1 there is discernible an evident improvement in their taste and architecture4 ,those modest ,doric little buildings1 with their white pillars1 green blinds1 and neat inclosures1 are very different affairs from those great1 uncouth mountains of windows and doors that stood in the same place years before4 ,to my childish eye1 however1 our old meeting-house was an awe-inspiring thing4 ,to me it seemed fashioned very nearly on the model of ,noah's ark and ,solomon's temple1 as set forth in the pictures in my ,scripture ,catechism--pictures which ,i did not doubt were authentic copies2 and what more respectable and venerable architectural precedent could any one desire8 ,its double rows of windows1 of which ,i knew the number by heart1 its doors with great wooden quirls over them1 its belfry projecting out at the east end1 its steeple and bell1 all inspired as much sense of the sublime in me as ,strasbourg ,cathedral itself2 and the inside was not a whit less imposing4 ,how magnificent1 to my eye1 seemed the turnip-like canopy that hung over the minister's head1 hooked by a long iron rod to the wall above6 and how apprehensively did ,i consider the question1 what would become of him if it should fall6 ,how did ,i wonder at the panels on either side of the pulpit1 in each of which was carved and painted a flaming red tulip1 bolt upright1 with its leaves projecting out at right angles6 and then at the grapevine1 bas-relieved on the front1 with its exactly triangular bunches of grapes1 alternating at exact intervals with exactly triangular leaves4 ,to me it was an indisputable representation of how grapevines ought to look1 if they would only be straight and regular1 instead of curling and scrambling1 and twisting themselves into all sorts of slovenly shapes4 ,the area of the house was divided into large square pews1 boxed up with stout boards1 and surmounted with a kind of baluster work1 which ,i supposed to be provided for the special accommodation of us youngsters1 being the loopholes of retreat through which we gazed on the remarkabilia of the scene4 ,it was especially interesting to me to notice the coming in to meeting of the congregation4 ,the doors were so contrived that on entering you stepped down instead of up--a construction that has more than once led to unlucky results in the case of strangers4 ,i remember once when an unlucky ,frenchman1 entirely unsuspicious of the danger that awaited him1 made entrance by pitching devoutly upon his nose in the middle of the broad aisle2 that it took three bunches of my grandmother's fennel to bring my risibles into anything like composure4 ,such exhibitions1 fortunately for me1 were very rare2 but still ,i found great amusement in watching the distinctive and marked outlines of the various people that filled up the seats around me4 ,a ,yankee village presents a picture of the curiosities of every generation3 there from year to year1 they live on1 preserved by hard labor and regular habits1 exhibiting every peculiarity of manner and appearance1 as distinctly marked as when they first came from the mint of nature4 ,and as everybody goes punctually to meeting1 the meeting-house becomes a sort of museum of antiquities--a general muster ground for past and present4 ,i remember still with what wondering admiration ,i used to look around on the people that surrounded our pew4 ,on one side there was an old ,captain ,mc,lean1 and ,major ,mc,dill1 a couple whom the mischievous wits of the village designated as ,captain ,mc,lean and ,captain ,mc,fat2 and1 in truth1 they were a perfect antithesis1 a living exemplification of flesh and spirit4 ,captain ,mc,lean was a mournful1 lengthy1 considerate-looking old gentleman1 with a long face1 digressing into a long1 thin1 horny nose1 which1 when he applied his pocket-handkerchief1 gave forth a melancholy1 minor-keyed sound1 such as a ghost might make1 using a pocket-handkerchief in the long gallery of some old castle4 ,close at his side was the doughty1 puffing ,captain ,mc,dill1 whose full-orbed1 jolly visage was illuminated by a most valiant red nose1 shaped something like an overgrown doughnut1 and looking as if it had been thrown at his face1 and happened to hit in the middle4 ,then there was old ,israel ,peters1 with a wooden leg1 which tramped into meeting1 with undeviating regularity1 ten minutes before meeting time2 and there was ,jedediah ,stebbins1 a thin1 wistful1 moonshiny-looking old gentleman1 whose mouth appeared as if it had been gathered up with a needle and thread1 and whose eyes seemed as if they had been bound with red tape2 and there was old ,benaiah ,stephens1 who used regularly to get up and stand when the minister was about half through his sermon1 exhibiting his tall figure1 long1 single-breasted coat1 with buttons nearly as large as a tea plate2 his large1 black1 horn spectacles stretched down on the extreme end of a very long nose1 and vigorously chewing1 meanwhile1 on the bunch of caraway which he always carried in one hand4 ,then there was ,aunt ,sally ,stimpson1 and old ,widow ,smith1 and a whole bevy of little1 dried old ladies1 with small1 straight1 black bonnets1 tight sleeves to the elbow1 long silk gloves1 and great fans1 big enough for a windmill2 and of a hot day it was a great amusement to me to watch the bobbing of the little black bonnets1 which showed that sleep had got the better of their owners' attention1 and the sputter and rustling of the fans1 when a more profound nod than common would suddenly waken them1 and set them to fanning and listening with redoubled devotion4 ,there was ,deacon ,dundas1 a great wagon load of an old gentleman1 whose ample pockets looked as if they might have held half the congregation1 who used to establish himself just on one side of me1 and seemed to feel such entire confidence in the soundness and capacity of his pastor that he could sleep very comfortably from one end of the sermon to the other4 ,occasionally1 to be sure1 one of your officious blue flies1 who1 as everybody knows1 are amazingly particular about such matters1 would buzz into his mouth1 or flirt into his ears a passing admonition as to the impropriety of sleeping in meeting1 when the good old gentleman would start1 open his eyes very wide1 and look about with a resolute air1 as much as to say1 ,i wasn't asleep1 ,i can tell you2 and then setting himself in an edifying posture of attention1 you might perceive his head gradually settling back1 his mouth slowly opening wider and wider1 till the good man would go off again soundly asleep1 as if nothing had happened4 ,it was a good orthodox custom of old times to take every part of the domestic establishment to meeting1 even down to the faithful dog1 who1 as he had supervised the labors of the week1 also came with due particularity to supervise the worship of ,sunday4 ,i think ,i can see now the fitting out on a ,sunday morning--the one wagon1 or two1 as the case might be1 tackled up with an old gray or an old bay1 with a buffalo skin over the seat by way of cushion1 and all the family1 in their ,sunday best1 packed in for meeting2 while ,master ,bose1 ,watch1 or ,towser stood prepared to be an outguard1 and went meekly trotting up hill and down dale in the rear4 ,arrived at meeting1 the canine part of the establishment generally conducted themselves with great decorum1 lying down and going to sleep as decently as anybody present1 except when some of the business-loving bluebottles aforesaid would make a sortie upon them1 when you might hear the snap of their jaws as they vainly sought to lay hold of the offender4 ,now and then1 between some of the sixthlies1 seventhlies1 and eighthlies1 you might hear some old patriarch giving himself a rousing shake1 and pitpatting soberly up the aisles1 as if to see that everything was going on properly1 after which he would lie down and compose himself to sleep again2 and certainly this was as improving a way of spending ,sunday as a good ,christian dog could desire4 ,but the glory of our meeting-house was its singers' seat--that empyrean of those who rejoiced in the divine1 mysterious art of fa-sol-la-ing1 who1 by a distinguishing grace and privilege1 could raise and fall the cabalistical eighth notes1 and move serene through the enchanted region of flats1 sharps1 thirds1 fifths1 and octaves4 ,there they sat in the gallery that lined three sides of the house1 treble1 counter1 tenor1 and bass1 each with its appropriate leaders and supporters2 there were generally seated the bloom of our young people2 sparkling1 modest1 and blushing girls on one side1 with their ribbons and finery1 making the place where they sat as blooming and lively as a flower garden1 and fiery1 forward1 confident young men on the other4 ,in spite of its being a meeting-house1 we could not swear that glances were never given and returned1 and that there was not often as much of an approach to flirtation as the distance and the sobriety of the place would admit4 ,certain it was1 that there was no place where our village coquettes attracted half so many eyes or led astray half so many hearts4 ,but ,i have been talking of singers all this time1 and neglected to mention the ,magnus ,apollo of the whole concern1 the redoubtable chorister1 who occupied the seat of honor in the midst of the middle gallery1 and exactly opposite to the minister4 ,certain it is that the good man1 if he were alive1 would never believe it2 for no person ever more magnified his office1 or had a more thorough belief in his own greatness and supremacy1 than ,zedekiah ,morse4 ,methinks ,i can see him now as he appeared to my eyes on that first ,sunday1 when he shot up from behind the gallery1 as if he had been sent up by a spring4 ,he was a little man1 whose fiery red hair1 brushed straight upon the top of his head1 had an appearance as vigorous and lively as real flame2 and this1 added to the ardor and determination of all his motions1 had obtained for him the surname of the ,burning ,bush4 ,he seemed possessed with the very soul of song2 and from the moment he began to sing1 looked alive all over1 till it seemed to me that his whole body would follow his hair upwards1 fairly rapt away by the power of harmony4 ,with what an air did he sound the important fa-sol-la in the ears of the waiting gallery1 who stood with open mouths ready to seize their pitch1 preparatory to their general set to6 ,how did his ascending and descending arm astonish the zephyrs when once he laid himself out to the important work of beating time6 ,how did his little head whisk from side to side1 as now he beat and roared towards the ladies on his right1 and now towards the gentlemen on his left6 ,it used to seem to my astonished vision as if his form grew taller1 his arm longer1 his hair redder1 and his little green eyes brighter1 with every stave2 and particularly when he perceived any falling off of time or discrepancy in pitch2 with what redoubled vigor would he thump the gallery and roar at the delinquent quarter1 till every mother's son and daughter of them skipped and scrambled into the right place again6 ,oh1 it was a fine thing to see the vigor and discipline with which he managed the business2 so that if1 on a hot1 drowsy ,sunday1 any part of the choir hung back or sung sleepily on the first part of a verse1 they were obliged to bestir themselves in good earnest1 and sing three times as fast1 in order to get through with the others4 ',kiah ,morse was no advocate for your dozy1 drawling singing1 that one may do at leisure1 between sleeping and waking1 ,i assure you2 indeed1 he got entirely out of the graces of ,deacon ,dundas and one or two other portly1 leisurely old gentlemen below1 who had been used to throw back their heads1 shut up their eyes1 and take the comfort of the psalm1 by prolonging indefinitely all the notes4 ,the first ,sunday after ',kiah took the music in hand1 the old deacon really rubbed his eyes and looked about him1 for the psalm was sung off before he was ready to get his mouth opened1 and he really looked upon it as a most irreverent piece of business4 ,but the glory of ',kiah's art consisted in the execution of those good old billowy compositions called fuguing tunes1 where the four parts that compose the choir take up the song1 and go racing around one after another1 each singing a different set of words1 till1 at length1 by some inexplicable magic1 they all come together again1 and sail smoothly out into a rolling sea of song4 ,i remember the wonder with which ,i used to look from side to side when treble1 tenor1 counter1 and bass were thus roaring and foaming1--and it verily seemed to me as if the psalm was going to pieces among the breakers1--and the delighted astonishment with which ,i found that each particular verse did emerge whole and uninjured from the storm4 ,but alas for the wonders of that old meeting-house1 how they are passed away6 ,even the venerable building itself has been pulled down1 and its fragments scattered2 yet still ,i retain enough of my childish feelings to wonder whether any little boy was gratified by the possession of those painted tulips and grapevines1 which my childish eye used to covet1 and about the obtaining of which1 in case the house should ever be pulled down1 ,i devised so many schemes during the long sermons and services of summer days4 ,i have visited the spot where it stood1 but the modern1 fair-looking building that stands in its room bears no trace of it2 and of the various familiar faces that used to be seen inside not one remains4 ,verily1 ,i must be growing old2 and as old people are apt to spin long stories1 ,i check myself1 and lay down my pen4 ,,little ,,edward ,were any of you born in ,new ,england1 in the good old catechising1 church-going1 school-going1 orderly times8 ,if so1 you may have seen my ,uncle ,abel2 the most perpendicular1 rectangular1 upright1 downright good man that ever labored six days and rested on the seventh4 ,you remember his hard1 weather-beaten countenance1 where every line seemed drawn with a pen of iron and the point of a diamond2 his considerate gray eyes1 that moved over objects as if it were not best to be in a hurry about seeing2 the circumspect opening and shutting of the mouth2 his down-sitting and up-rising1 all performed with conviction aforethought--in short1 the whole ordering of his life and conversation1 which was1 according to the tenor of the military order1 to the right about face--forward1 march6 ,now1 if you supposed1 from all this triangularism of exterior1 that this good man had nothing kindly within1 you were much mistaken4 ,you often find the greenest grass under a snowdrift2 and though my uncle's mind was not exactly of the flower garden kind1 still there was an abundance of wholesome and kindly vegetation there4 ,it is true1 he seldom laughed1 and never joked himself2 but no man had a more serious and weighty conviction of what a good joke was in another2 and when some exceeding witticism was dispensed in his presence1 you might see ,uncle ,abel's face slowly relax into an expression of solemn satisfaction1 and he would look at the author with a sort of quiet wonder1 as if it was past his comprehension how such a thing could ever come into a man's head4 ,uncle ,abel1 too1 had some relish for the fine arts2 in proof of which1 ,i might adduce the pleasure with which he gazed at the plates in his family ,bible1 the likeness whereof is neither in heaven1 nor on earth1 nor under the earth4 ,and he was also such an eminent musician1 that he could go through the singing-book at one sitting without the least fatigue1 beating time like a windmill all the way4 ,he had1 too1 a liberal hand1 though his liberality was all by the rule of three4 ,he did by his neighbor exactly as he would be done by4 ,he loved some things in this world very sincerely2 he loved his ,god much1 but he honored and feared him more4 ,he was exact with others2 he was more exact with himself1 and he expected his ,god to be more exact still4 ,everything in ,uncle ,abel's house was in the same time1 place1 manner1 and form1 from year's end to year's end4 ,there was old ,master ,bose1 a dog after my uncle's own heart1 who always walked as if he was studying the multiplication table4 ,there was the old clock1 forever ticking in the kitchen corner1 with a picture on its face of the sun1 forever setting behind a perpendicular row of poplar-trees4 ,there was the never failing supply of red peppers and onions hanging over the chimney4 ,there1 too1 were the yearly hollyhocks and morning-glories blooming about the windows4 ,there was the best room1 with its sanded floor1 the cupboard in one corner with its glass doors1 the ever green asparagus bushes in the chimney1 and there was the stand with the ,bible and almanac on it in another corner4 ,there1 too1 was ,aunt ,betsey1 who never looked any older1 because she always looked as old as she could2 who always dried her catnip and wormwood the last of ,september1 and began to clean house the first of ,may4 ,in short1 this was the land of continuance4 ,old ,time never took it into his head to practice either addition1 or subtraction1 or multiplication on its sum total4 ,this ,aunt ,betsey aforenamed was the neatest and most efficient piece of human machinery that ever operated in forty places at once4 ,she was always everywhere1 predominating over and seeing to everything2 and though my uncle had been twice married1 ,aunt ,betsey's rule and authority had never been broken4 ,she reigned over his wives when living1 and reigned after them when dead1 and so seemed likely to reign on to the end of the chapter4 ,but my uncle's latest wife left ,aunt ,betsey a much less tractable subject than ever before had fallen to her lot4 ,little ,edward was the child of my uncle's old age1 and a brighter1 merrier little blossom never grew on the verge of an avalanche4 ,he had been committed to the nursing of his grandmamma till he had arrived at the age of indiscretion1 and then my old uncle's heart so yearned for him that he was sent for to come home4 ,his introduction into the family excited a terrible sensation4 ,never was there such a contemner of dignities1 such a violator of high places and sanctities1 as this very ,master ,edward4 ,it was all in vain to try to teach him decorum4 ,he was the most outrageously merry elf that ever shook a head of curls1 and it was all the same to him whether it was ,sabba' day or any other day4 ,he laughed and frolicked with everybody and everything that came in his way1 not even excepting his solemn old father2 and when you saw him1 with his fair arms around the old man's neck1 and his bright blue eyes and blooming cheek peering out beside the bleak face of ,uncle ,abel1 you might fancy you saw spring caressing winter4 ,uncle ,abel's metaphysics were sorely puzzled by this sparkling1 dancing compound of spirit and matter2 nor could he devise any method of bringing it into any reasonable shape1 for he did mischief with an energy and perseverance that was truly astonishing4 ,once he scoured the floor with ,aunt ,betsey's very ,scotch snuff2 once he washed up the hearth with ,uncle ,abel's most immaculate clothes-brush2 and once he was found trying to make ,bose wear his father's spectacles4 ,in short1 there was no use1 except the right one1 to which he did not put everything that came in his way4 ,but ,uncle ,abel was most of all puzzled to know what to do with him on the ,sabbath1 for on that day ,master ,edward seemed to exert himself to be particularly diligent and entertaining4 ,edward6 ,edward must not play ,sunday6 his father would call out2 and then ,edward would hold up his curly head1 and look as grave as the ,catechism2 but in three minutes you would see pussy scampering through the best room1 with ,edward at her heels1 to the entire discomposure of all devotion in ,aunt ,betsey and all others in authority4 ,at length my uncle came to the conclusion that it wasn't in natur' to teach him any better1 and that he could no more keep ,sunday than the brook down in the lot4 ,my poor uncle6 he did not know what was the matter with his heart1 but certain it was1 he lost all faculty of scolding when little ,edward was in the case1 and he would rub his spectacles a quarter of an hour longer than common when ,aunt ,betsey was detailing his witticisms and clever doings4 ,in process of time our hero had compassed his third year and arrived at the dignity of going to school4 ,he went illustriously through the spelling-book1 and then attacked the ,catechism2 went from man's chief end to the requirin's and forbiddin's in a fortnight1 and at last came home inordinately merry1 to tell his father that he had got to ,amen4 ,after this1 he made a regular business of saying over the whole every ,sunday evening1 standing with his hands folded in front and his checked apron folded down1 occasionally glancing round to see if pussy gave proper attention4 ,and1 being of a practically benevolent turn of mind1 he made several commendable efforts to teach ,bose the ,catechism1 in which he succeeded as well as might be expected4 ,in short1 without further detail1 ,master ,edward bade fair to become a literary wonder4 ,but alas for poor little ,edward6 his merry dance was soon over4 ,a day came when he sickened4 ,aunt ,betsey tried her whole herbarium1 but in vain3 he grew rapidly worse and worse4 ,his father sickened in heart1 but said nothing2 he only stayed by his bedside day and night1 trying all means to save1 with affecting pertinacity4 ,can't you think of anything more1 doctor8 said he to the physician1 when all had been tried in vain4 ,nothing1 answered the physician4 ,a momentary convulsion passed over my uncle's face4 ,the will of the ,lord be done1 said he1 almost with a groan of anguish4 ,just at that moment a ray of the setting sun pierced the checked curtains1 and gleamed like an angel's smile across the face of the little sufferer4 ,he woke from troubled sleep4 ,oh1 dear6 ,i am so sick6 he gasped feebly4 ,his father raised him in his arms2 he breathed easier1 and looked up with a grateful smile4 ,just then his old playmate1 the cat1 crossed the room4 ,there goes pussy1 said he2 oh1 dear6 ,i shall never play any more6 ,at that moment a deadly change passed over his face4 ,he looked up in his father's face with an imploring expression1 and put out his hand as if for help4 ,there was one moment of agony1 and then the sweet features all settled into a smile of peace1 and mortality was swallowed up of life4 ,my uncle laid him down1 and looked one moment at his beautiful face4 ,it was too much for his principles1 too much for his consistency1 and he lifted up his voice and wept4 ,the next morning was the ,sabbath1--the funeral day1--and it rose with breath all incense and with cheek all bloom4 ,uncle ,abel was as calm and collected as ever2 but in his face there was a sorrow-stricken appearance touching to behold4 ,i remember him at family prayers1 as he bent over the great ,bible and began the psalm1 ,lord1 thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations4 ,apparently he was touched by the melancholy splendor of the poetry1 for after reading a few verses he stopped4 ,there was a dead silence1 interrupted only by the tick of the clock4 ,he cleared his voice repeatedly1 and tried to go on1 but in vain4 ,he closed the book1 and kneeled down to prayer4 ,the energy of sorrow broke through his usual formal reverence1 and his language flowed forth with a deep and sorrowful pathos which ,i shall never forget4 ,the ,god so much reverenced1 so much feared1 seemed to draw near to him as a friend and comforter1 his refuge and strength1 a very present help in time of trouble4 ,my uncle rose1 and ,i saw him walk to the room of the departed one4 ,he uncovered the face4 ,it was set with the seal of death2 but oh1 how surpassingly lovely6 ,the brilliancy of life was gone1 but that pure1 transparent face was touched with a mysterious1 triumphant brightness1 which seemed like the dawning of heaven4 ,my uncle looked long and earnestly4 ,he felt the beauty of what he gazed on2 his heart was softened1 but he had no words for his feelings4 ,he left the room unconsciously1 and stood in the front door4 ,the morning was bright1 the bells were ringing for church1 the birds were singing merrily1 and the pet squirrel of little ,edward was frolicking about the door4 ,my uncle watched him as he ran first up one tree1 and then down and up another1 and then over the fence1 whisking his brush and chattering just as if nothing was the matter4 ,with a deep sigh ,uncle ,abel broke forth1 ,how happy that cretur' is6 ,well1 the ,lord's will be done4 ,that day the dust was committed to dust1 amid the lamentations of all who had known little ,edward4 ,years have passed since then1 and all that is mortal of my uncle has long since been gathered to his fathers2 but his just and upright spirit has entered the glorious liberty of the sons of ,god4 ,yes1 the good man may have had opinions which the philosophical scorn1 weaknesses at which the thoughtless smile2 but death shall change him into all that is enlightened1 wise1 and refined1 for he shall awake in ,his likeness1 and be satisfied4 ,,conversation ,,on ,,conversation ,for every idle word that men shall speak1 they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment4 ,a very solemn sermon1 said ,miss ,b41 shaking her head impressively1 as she sat down to table on ,sunday noon2 then giving a deep sigh1 she added1 ,i am afraid that if an account is to be rendered for all our idle words1 some people will have a great deal to answer for4 ,why1 ,cousin ,anna1 replied a sprightly young lady opposite1 what do you mean by idle words8 ,all words that have not a strictly useful tendency1 ,helen1 replied ,miss ,b4 ,i don't know what is to become of me1 then1 answered ,helen1 for ,i never can think of anything useful to say4 ,i sit and try sometimes1 but it always stops my talking4 ,i don't think anything in the world is so doleful as a set of persons sitting round1 all trying to say something useful1 like a parcel of old clocks ticking at each other4 ,i think one might as well take the vow of entire silence1 like the monks of ,la ,trappe4 ,it is probable1 said ,miss ,b41 that a greater part of our ordinary conversation had better be dispensed with4 ',in the multitude of words there wanteth not sin4' ,for my own part1 my conscience often reproaches me with the sins of my tongue4 ,i'm sure you don't sin much that way1 ,i must say1 said ,helen2 but1 cousin1 ,i really think it is a freezing business sitting still and reflecting all the time when friends are together2 and1 after all1 ,i can't bring myself to feel as if it were wrong to talk and chatter away a good part of the time1 just for the sake of talking4 ,for instance1 if a friend comes in of a morning to make a call1 ,i talk about the weather1 my roses1 my canary-birds1 or anything that comes uppermost4 ,and about lace1 and bonnet patterns1 and the last fashions1 added ,miss ,b4 sarcastically4 ,well1 supposing we do2 where's the harm8 ,where's the good8 said ,miss ,b4 ,the good6 why1 it passes time agreeably1 and makes us feel kindly towards each other4 ,i think1 ,helen1 said ,miss ,b41 if you had a higher view of ,christian responsibility1 you would not be satisfied with merely passing time agreeably1 or exciting agreeable feelings in others4 ,does not the very text we are speaking of show that we have an account to give in the day of judgment for all this trifling1 useless conversation8 ,i don't know what that text does mean1 replied ,helen1 looking seriously2 but if it means as you say1 ,i think it is a very hard1 strait rule4 ,well1 replied ,miss ,b41 is not duty always hard and strait8 ',strait is the gate1 and narrow is the way1' you know4 ,helen sighed4 ,what do you think of this1 ,uncle ,c48 she said1 after some pause4 ,the uncle of the two young ladies had been listening thus far in silence4 ,i think1 he replied1 that before people begin to discuss1 they should be quite sure as to what they are talking about1 and ,i am not exactly clear in this case4 ,you say1 ,anna1 said he1 turning to ,miss ,b41 that all conversation is idle which has not a directly useful tendency4 ,now1 what do you mean by that8 ,are we never to say anything that has not for its direct and specific object the benefit of others or of ourselves8 ,yes1 replied ,miss ,b41 ,i suppose not4 ,well1 then1 when ,i say1 ',good-morning1 sir2 'tis a pleasant day1' ,i have no such object4 ,are these1 then1 idle words8 ,why1 no1 not exactly1 replied ,miss ,b42 in some cases it is necessary to say something1 so as not to appear rude4 ,very well1 replied her uncle4 ,you admit1 then1 that some things1 which are not instructive in themselves considered1 are to be said to keep up the intercourse of society8 ,certainly2 some things1 said ,miss ,b4 ,well1 now1 in the case mentioned by ,helen1 when two or three people with whom you are in different degrees of intimacy call upon you1 ,i think she is perfectly right1 as she said1 in talking of roses1 and canary-birds1 and even of bonnet patterns1 and lace1 or anything of the kind1 for the sake of making conversation4 ,it amounts to the same thing as 'good-morning1' and 'good-evening1' and the other courtesies of society4 ,this sort of small talk has nothing instructive in it1 and yet it may be useful in its place4 ,it makes people comfortable and easy1 promotes kind and social feelings2 and making people comfortable by any innocent means is certainly not a thing to be despised4 ,but is there not great danger of becoming light and trifling if one allows this8 said ,miss ,b4 doubtfully4 ,to be sure2 there is always danger of running every innocent thing to excess4 ,one might eat to excess1 or drink to excess2 yet eating and drinking are both useful in their way4 ,now1 our lively young friend ,helen1 here1 might perhaps be in some temptation of this sort2 but as for you1 ,anna1 ,i think you in more danger of another extreme4 ,and what is that8 ,of overstraining your mind by endeavoring to keep up a constant1 fixed state of seriousness and solemnity1 and not allowing yourself the relaxation necessary to preserve its healthy tone4 ,in order to be healthy1 every mind must have variety and amusement2 and if you would sit down at least one hour a day1 and join your friends in some amusing conversation1 and indulge in a good laugh1 ,i think1 my dear1 that you would not only be a happier person1 but a better ,christian4 ,my dear uncle1 said ,miss ,b41 this is the very thing that ,i have been most on my guard against2 ,i can never tell stories1 or laugh and joke1 without feeling condemned for it afterwards4 ,but1 my dear1 you must do the thing in the testimony of a good conscience before you can do it to any purpose4 ,you must make up your mind that cheerful and entertaining conversation--conversation whose first object is to amuse--is useful conversation in its place1 and then your conscience will not be injured by joining in it4 ,but what good does it do1 uncle8 ,do you not often complain of coldness and deadness in your religious feelings8 of lifelessness and want of interest8 ,yes1 uncle4 ,well1 this coldness and lifelessness is the result of forcing your mind to one set of thoughts and feelings4 ,you become worn out--your feelings exhausted--deadness and depression ensue4 ,now1 turn your mind off from these subjects--divert it by a cheerful and animated conversation1 and you will find1 after a while1 that it will return to them with new life and energy4 ,but are not foolish talking and jesting expressly forbidden8 ,that text1 if you will look at the connections1 does not forbid jesting in the abstract2 but jesting on immodest subjects--which are often designated in the ,new ,testament by the phraseology there employed4 ,i should give the sense of it--neither filthiness1 nor foolish talking1 nor indelicate jests4 ,the kind of sprightly and amusing conversation to which ,i referred1 ,i should not denominate foolish1 by any means1 at proper times and places4 ,yet people often speak of gayety as inconsistent in ,christians--even worldly people1 said ,miss ,b4 ,yes1 because1 in the first place1 they often have wrong ideas as to what ,christianity requires in this respect1 and suppose ,christians to be violating their own principles in indulging in it4 ,in the second place1 there are some1 especially among young people1 who never talk in any other way--with whom this kind of conversation is not an amusement1 but a habit--giving the impression that they never think seriously at all4 ,but ,i think1 that if persons are really possessed by the tender1 affectionate1 benevolent spirit of ,christianity--if they regulate their temper and their tongue by it1 and in all their actions show an evident effort to conform to its precepts2 they will not do harm by occasionally indulging in sprightly and amusing conversation--they will not make the impression that they are not sincerely ,christians4 ,besides1 said ,helen1 are not people sometimes repelled from religion by a want of cheerfulness in its professors8 ,certainly1 replied her uncle1 and the difference is just this3 if persons are habitually trifling and thoughtless1 it is thought that they have no religion2 if they are ascetic and gloomy it is attributed to their religion2 and you know what ,miss ,e4 ,smith says--that 'to be good and disagreeable is high treason against virtue4' ,the more sincerely and earnestly religious a person is1 the more important it is that he should be agreeable4 ,but1 uncle1 said ,helen1 what does that text mean that we began with8 ,what are idle words8 ,my dear1 if you will turn to the place where the passage is 7,matt4 xii47 and read the whole page1 you will see the meaning of it4 ,christ was not reproving anybody for trifling conversation at the time2 but for a very serious slander4 ,the ,pharisees1 in their bitterness1 accused him of being in league with evil spirits4 ,it seems1 by what follows1 that this was a charge which involved an unpardonable sin4 ,they were not1 indeed1 conscious of its full guilt1--they said it merely from the impulse of excited and envious feeling1--but he warns them that in the day of judgment ,god will hold them accountable for the full consequences of all such language1 however little they may have thought of it at the time of uttering it4 ,the sense of the passage ,i take to be1 ',god will hold you responsible in the day of judgment for the consequences of all you have said in your most idle and thoughtless moments4' ,for example1 said ,helen1 if one makes unguarded and unfounded assertions about the ,bible1 which excite doubt and prejudice4 ,there are many instances1 said her uncle1 that are quite in point4 ,suppose in conversation1 either under the influence of envy or ill will1 or merely from love of talking1 you make remarks and statements about another person which may be true or may not1--you do not stop to inquire1--your unguarded words set reports in motion1 and unhappiness1 and hard feeling1 and loss of character are the result4 ,you spoke idly1 it is true1 but nevertheless you are held responsible by ,god for all the consequences of your words4 ,so professors of religion often make unguarded remarks about each other1 which lead observers to doubt the truth of all religion2 and they are responsible for every such doubt they excite4 ,parents and guardians often allow themselves to speak of the faults and weaknesses of their ministers in the presence of children and younger people--they do it thoughtlessly--but in so doing they destroy an influence which might otherwise have saved the souls of their children2 they are responsible for it4 ,people of cultivated minds and fastidious taste often allow themselves to come home from church1 and criticise a sermon1 and unfold all its weak points in the presence of others on whom it may have made a very serious impression4 ,while the critic is holding up the bad arrangement1 and setting in a ludicrous point of view the lame figures1 perhaps the servant behind his chair1 who was almost persuaded to be a ,christian by that very discourse1 gives up his purposes1 in losing his respect for the sermon2 this was thoughtless--but the evil is done1 and the man who did it is responsible for it4 ,i think1 said ,helen1 that a great deal of evil is done to children in this way1 by our not thinking of what we are saying4 ,it seems to me1 said ,miss ,b41 that this view of the subject will reduce us to silence almost as much as the other4 ,how is one ever to estimate the consequences of their words8--people are affected in so many different ways by the same thing4 ,i suppose1 said her uncle1 we are only responsible for such results as by carefulness and reflection we might have foreseen4 ,it is not for ill-judged words1 but for idle words1 that we are to be judged--words uttered without any consideration at all1 and producing bad results4 ,if a person really anxious to do right misjudges as to the probable effect of what he is about to say on others1 it is quite another thing4 ,but1 uncle1 will not such carefulness destroy all freedom in conversation8 said ,helen4 ,if you are talking with a beloved friend1 ,helen1 do you not use an instinctive care to avoid all that might pain that friend8 ,certainly4 ,and do you find this effort a restraint on your enjoyment8 ,certainly not4 ,and you1 from your own feelings1 avoid what is indelicate and impure in conversation1 and yet feel it no restraint8 ,certainly4 ,well1 ,i suppose the object of ,christian effort should be so to realize the character of our ,saviour1 and conform our tastes and sympathies to his1 that we shall instinctively avoid all in our conversation that would be displeasing to him4 ,a person habitually indulging jealous1 angry1 or revengeful feeling1 a person habitually worldly in his spirit1 a person allowing himself in skeptical and unsettled habits of thought1 cannot talk without doing harm4 ,this is our ,saviour's account of the matter in the verses immediately before the passage we were speaking of--',how can ye1 being evil1 speak good things8 for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh4 ,a good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things1 and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth evil things4' ,the highest flow of animal spirits would never hurry a pure-minded person to say anything indelicate or gross2 and in the same manner1 if a person is habitually ,christian in all his habits of thought and feeling1 he will be able without irksome watchfulness to avoid what may be injurious even in the most unrestrained conversation4 ,,how ,,do ,,we ,,know ,it was a splendid room4 ,rich curtains swept down to the floor in graceful folds1 half excluding the light1 and shedding it in soft hues over the fine old paintings on the walls1 and over the broad mirrors that reflect all that taste can accomplish by the hand of wealth4 ,books1 the rarest and most costly1 were around1 in every form of gorgeous binding and gilding1 and among them1 glittering in ornament1 lay a magnificent ,bible--a ,bible too beautiful in its appointments1 too showy1 too ornamental1 ever to have been meant to be read--a ,bible which every visitor should take up and exclaim1 ,what a beautiful edition6 what superb bindings6 and then lay it down again4 ,and the master of the house was lounging on a sofa1 looking over a late review--for he was a man of leisure1 taste1 and reading--but1 then1 as to reading the ,bible6--that forms1 we suppose1 no part of the pretensions of a man of letters4 ,the ,bible--certainly he considered it a very respectable book--a fine specimen of ancient literature--an admirable book of moral precepts2 but1 then1 as to its divine origin1 he had not exactly made up his mind3 some parts appeared strange and inconsistent to his reason--others were revolting to his taste3 true1 he had never studied it very attentively1 yet such was his general impression about it2 but1 on the whole1 he thought it well enough to keep an elegant copy of it on his drawing-room table4 ,so much for one picture4 ,now for another4 ,come with us into this little dark alley1 and up a flight of ruinous stairs4 ,it is a bitter night1 and the wind and snow might drive through the crevices of the poor room1 were it not that careful hands have stopped them with paper or cloth4 ,but for all this carefulness1 the room is bitter cold--cold even with those few decaying brands on the hearth1 which that sorrowful woman is trying to kindle with her breath4 ,do you see that pale1 little1 thin girl1 with large1 bright eyes1 who is crouching so near her mother8--hark6--how she coughs4 ,now listen4 ,mary1 my dear child1 says the mother1 do keep that shawl close about you2 you are cold1 ,i know1 and the woman shivers as she speaks4 ,no1 mother1 not very1 replies the child1 again relapsing into that hollow1 ominous cough4 ,i wish you wouldn't make me always wear your shawl when it is cold1 mother4 ,dear child1 you need it most4 ,how you cough to-night6 replies the mother2 it really don't seem right for me to send you up that long1 cold street2 now your shoes have grown so poor1 too2 ,i must go myself after this4 ,oh1 mother1 you must stay with the baby--what if he should have one of those dreadful fits while you are gone6 ,no1 ,i can go very well2 ,i have got used to the cold now4 ,but1 mother1 ,i'm cold1 says a little voice from the scanty bed in the corner2 mayn't ,i get up and come to the fire8 ,dear child1 it would not warm you2 it is very cold here1 and ,i can't make any more fire to-night4 ,why can't you1 mother8 ,there are four whole sticks of wood in the box2 do put one on1 and let's get warm once4 ,no1 my dear little ,henry1 says the mother soothingly1 that is all the wood mother has1 and ,i haven't any money to get more4 ,and now wakens the sick baby in the cradle1 and mother and daughter are both for some time busy in attempting to supply its little wants1 and lulling it again to sleep4 ,and now look you well at that mother4 ,six months ago she had a husband1 whose earnings procured for her both the necessaries and comforts of life2 her children were clothed1 fed1 and schooled1 without thoughts of hers4 ,but husbandless1 friendless1 and alone in the heart of a great1 busy city1 with feeble health1 and only the precarious resource of her needle1 she has gone down from comfort to extreme poverty4 ,look at her now1 as she is to-night4 ,she knows full well that the pale1 bright-eyed girl1 whose hollow cough constantly rings in her ears1 is far from well4 ,she knows that cold1 and hunger1 and exposure of every kind1 are daily and surely wearing away her life4 ,and yet what can she do8 ,poor soul6 how many times has she calculated all her little resources1 to see if she could pay a doctor and get medicine for ,mary--yet all in vain4 ,she knows that timely medicine1 ease1 fresh air1 and warmth might save her2 but she knows that all these things are out of the question for her4 ,she feels1 too1 as a mother would feel1 when she sees her once rosy1 happy little boy becoming pale1 and anxious1 and fretful2 and even when he teases her most1 she only stops her work a moment1 and strokes his little thin cheeks1 and thinks what a laughing1 happy little fellow he once was1 till she has not a heart to reprove him4 ,and all this day she has toiled with a sick and fretful baby in her lap1 and her little shivering1 hungry boy at her side1 whom ,mary's patient artifices cannot always keep quiet2 she has toiled over the last piece of work which she can procure from the shop1 for the man has told her that after this he can furnish no more2 and the little money that is to come from this is already portioned out in her own mind1 and after that she has no human prospect of support4 ,but yet that woman's face is patient1 quiet1 firm4 ,nay1 you may even see in her suffering eye something like peace4 ,and whence comes it8 ,i will tell you4 ,there is a ,bible in that room1 as well as in the rich man's apartment4 ,not splendidly bound1 to be sure1 but faithfully read--a plain1 homely1 much worn book4 ,hearken now while she says to her children1 ,listen to me1 dear children1 and ,i will read you something out of this book4 ',let not your heart be troubled2 in my ,father's house are many mansions4' ,so you see1 my children1 we shall not always live in this little1 cold1 dark room4 ,jesus ,christ has promised to take us to a better home4 ,shall we be warm there all day8 says the little boy earnestly2 and shall we have enough to eat8 ,yes1 dear child1 says the mother2 listen to what the ,bible says3 ',they shall hunger no more1 neither thirst any more2 for the ,lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them2 and ,god shall wipe away all tears from their eyes4' ,i am glad of that1 said little ,mary1 for1 mother1 ,i never can bear to see you cry4 ,but1 mother1 says little ,henry1 won't ,god send us something to eat to-morrow8 ,see1 says the mother1 what the ,bible says3 ',seek ye not what ye shall eat1 nor what ye shall drink1 neither be of anxious mind4 ,for your ,father knoweth that ye have need of these things4' ,but1 mother1 says little ,mary1 if ,god is our ,father1 and loves us1 what does he let us be so poor for8 ,nay1 says the mother1 our dear ,lord ,jesus ,christ was as poor as we are1 and ,god certainly loved him4 ,was he1 mother8 ,yes1 children2 you remember how he said1 ',the ,son of man hath not where to lay his head4' ,and it tells us more than once that ,jesus was hungry when there was none to give him food4 ,oh1 mother1 what should we do without the ,bible8 says ,mary4 ,now1 if the rich man1 who had not yet made up his mind what to think of the ,bible1 should visit this poor woman1 and ask her on what she grounded her belief of its truth1 what could she answer8 ,could she give the arguments from miracles and prophecy8 ,could she account for all the changes which might have taken place in it through translators and copyists1 and prove that we have a genuine and uncorrupted version8 ,not she6 ,but how1 then1 does she know that it is true8 ,how1 say you8 ,how does she know that she has warm life-blood in her heart8 ,how does she know that there is such a thing as air and sunshine8 ,she does not believe these things--she knows them2 and in like manner1 with a deep heart consciousness1 she is certain that the words of her ,bible are truth and life4 ,is it by reasoning that the frightened child1 bewildered in the dark1 knows its mother's voice8 ,no6 ,nor is it only by reasoning that the forlorn and distressed human heart knows the voice of its ,saviour1 and is still4 ,,how ,,to ,,make ,,friends ,,with ,,mammon ,it was four o'clock in the afternoon of a dull winter day that ,mr4 ,h4 sat in his counting-room4 ,the sun had nearly gone down1 and1 in fact1 it was already twilight beneath the shadows of the tall1 dusky stores1 and the close1 crooked streets of that quarter of ,boston4 ,hardly light enough struggled through the dusky panes of the counting-house for him to read the entries in a much-thumbed memorandum-book1 which he held in his hand4 ,a small1 thin boy1 with a pale face and anxious expression1 significant of delicacy of constitution and a too early acquaintance with want and sorrow1 was standing by him1 earnestly watching his motions4 ,ah1 yes1 my boy1 said ,mr4 ,h41 as he at last shut up the memorandum-book4 ,yes1 ,i've got the place now2 ,i'm apt to be forgetful about these things2 come1 now1 let's go4 ,how is it8 ,haven't you brought the basket8 ,no1 sir1 said the boy timidly4 ,the grocer said he'd let mother have a quarter for it1 and she thought she'd sell it4 ,that's bad1 said ,mr4 ,h41 as he went on1 tying his throat with a long comforter of some yards in extent2 and as he continued this operation he abstractedly repeated1 ,that's bad1 that's bad1 till the poor little boy looked quite dismayed1 and began to think that somehow his mother had been dreadfully out of the way4 ,she didn't want to send for help so long as she had anything she could sell1 said the little boy in a deprecating tone4 ,oh yes1 quite right1 said ,mr4 ,h41 taking from a pigeonhole in the desk a large pocketbook1 and beginning to turn it over2 and1 as before1 abstractedly repeating1 ,quite right1 quite right6 till the little boy became reassured1 and began to think1 although he didn't know why1 that his mother had done something quite meritorious4 ,well1 said ,mr4 ,h41 after he had taken several bills from the pocketbook and transferred them to a wallet which he put into his pocket1 now we're ready1 my boy4 ,but first he stopped to lock up his desk1 and then he said abstractedly to himself1 ,i wonder if ,i hadn't better take a few tracts4 ,now1 it is to be confessed that this ,mr4 ,h41 whom we have introduced to our reader1 was1 in his way1 quite an oddity4 ,he had a number of singular little penchants and peculiarities quite his own1 such as a passion for poking about among dark alleys1 at all sorts of seasonable and unseasonable hours2 fishing out troops of dirty1 neglected children1 and fussing about generally in the community till he could get them into schools or otherwise provided for4 ,he always had in his pocketbook a note of some dozen poor widows who wanted tea1 sugar1 candles1 or other things such as poor widows always will be wanting4 ,and then he had a most extraordinary talent for finding out all the sick strangers that lay in out-of-the-way upper rooms in hotels1 who1 everybody knows1 have no business to get sick in such places1 unless they have money enough to pay their expenses1 which they never do4 ,besides this1 all ,mr4 ,h4's kinsmen and cousins1 to the third1 fourth1 and fortieth remove1 were always writing him letters1 which1 among other pleasing items1 generally contained the intelligence that a few hundred dollars were just then exceedingly necessary to save them from utter ruin1 and they knew of nobody else to whom to look for it4 ,and then ,mr4 ,h4 was up to his throat in subscriptions to every charitable society that ever was made or imagined2 had a hand in building all the churches within a hundred miles2 occasionally gave four or five thousand dollars to a college2 offered to be one of six to raise ten thousand dollars for some benevolent purpose1 and when four of the six backed out1 quietly paid the balance himself1 and said no more about it4 ,another of his innocent fancies was to keep always about him any quantity of tracts and good books1 little and big1 for children and grown-up people1 which he generally diffused in a kind of gentle shower about him wherever he moved4 ,so great was his monomania for benevolence that it could not at all confine itself to the streets of ,boston1 the circle of his relatives1 or even the ,united ,states of ,america4 ,mr4 ,h4 was fully posted up in the affairs of ,india1 ,burmah1 ,china1 and all those odd1 out-of-the-way places1 which no sensible man ever thinks of with any interest1 unless he can make some money there2 and money1 it is to be confessed1 ,mr4 ,h4 didn't make there1 though he spent an abundance4 ,for getting up printing-presses in ,ceylon for ,chinese type1 for boxes of clothing and what-not to be sent to the ,sandwich ,islands1 for schoolbooks for the ,greeks1 and all other nonsense of that sort1 ,mr4 ,h4 was without a parallel4 ,no wonder his rich brother merchants sometimes thought him something of a bore1 since1 his heart being full of all these matters1 he was rather apt to talk about them1 and sometimes to endeavor to draw them into fellowship1 to an extent that was not to be thought of4 ,so it came to pass often1 that though ,mr4 ,h4 was a thriving business man1 with some ten thousand a year1 he often wore a pretty threadbare coat1 the seams whereof would be trimmed with lines of white2 and he would sometimes need several pretty plain hints on the subject of a new hat before he would think he could afford one4 ,now1 it is to be confessed the world is not always grateful to those who thus devote themselves to its interests2 and ,mr4 ,h4 had as much occasion to know this as any other man4 ,people got so used to his giving1 that his bounty became as common and as necessary as that of a higher ,benefactor1 who maketh his sun to rise upon the evil and the good1 and sendeth rain upon the just and the unjust2 and so it came to pass that people took them1 as they do the sunshine and the rain1 quite as matters of course1 not thinking much about them when they came1 but particularly apt to scold when they did not come4 ,but ,mr4 ,h4 never cared for that4 ,he did not give for gratitude2 he did not give for thanks1 nor to have his name published in the papers as one of six who had given fifty thousand to do so and so2 but he gave because it was in him to give1 and we all know that it is an old rule in medicine1 as well as morals1 that what is in a man must be brought out4 ,then1 again1 he had heard it reported that there had been ,one of distinguished authority who had expressed the opinion that it was more blessed to give than to receive1 and he very much believed it--believed it because the ,one who said it must have known1 since for man's sake he once gave away all4 ,and so1 when some thriftless1 distant relation1 whose debts he had paid a dozen times over1 gave him an overhauling on the subject of liberality1 and seemed inclined to take him by the throat for further charity1 he calmed himself down by a chapter or two from the ,new ,testament and half a dozen hymns1 and then sent him a good1 brotherly letter of admonition and counsel1 with a bank-note to enforce it2 and when some querulous old woman1 who had had a tenement of him rent free for three or four years1 sent him word that if he didn't send and mend the water-pipes she would move right out1 he sent and mended them4 ,people said that he was foolish1 and that it didn't do any good to do for ungrateful people2 but ,mr4 ,h4 knew that it did him good4 ,he loved to do it1 and he thought also on some words that ran to this effect3 ,do good and lend1 hoping for nothing again4 ,he literally hoped for nothing again in the way of reward1 either in this world or in heaven1 beyond the present pleasure of the deed2 for he had abundant occasion to see how favors are forgotten in this world2 and as for another1 he had in his own soul a standard of benevolence so high1 so pure1 so ethereal1 that but ,one of mortal birth ever reached it4 ,he felt that1 do what he might1 he fell ever so far below the life of that spotless ,one--that his crown in heaven must come to him at last1 not as a reward1 but as a free1 eternal gift4 ,but all this while our friend and his little companion have been pattering along the wet streets1 in the rain and sleet of a bitter cold evening1 till they stopped before a grocery4 ,here a large cross-handled basket was first bought1 and then filled with sundry packages of tea1 sugar1 candles1 soap1 starch1 and various other matters2 a barrel of flour was ordered to be sent after him on a dray4 ,mr4 ,h4 next stopped at a dry goods store and bought a pair of blankets1 with which he loaded down the boy1 who was happy enough to be so loaded2 and then1 turning gradually from the more frequented streets1 the two were soon lost to view in one of the dimmest alleys of the city4 ,the cheerful fire was blazing in his parlor1 as1 returned from his long1 wet walk1 he was sitting by it with his feet comfortably incased in slippers4 ,the astral lamp was burning brightly on the centre-table1 and a group of children were around it1 studying their lessons4 ,papa1 said a little boy1 what does this verse mean8 ,it's in my ,sunday-school lesson4 ',make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness1 that when ye fail1 they may receive you into everlasting habitations4' ,you ought to have asked your teacher1 my son4 ,but he said he didn't know exactly what it meant4 ,he wanted me to look this week and see if ,i could find out4 ,mr4 ,h4's standing resource in all exegetical difficulties was ,dr4 ,scott's ,family ,bible4 ,therefore he now got up1 and putting on his spectacles1 walked to the glass bookcase1 and took down a volume of that worthy commentator1 and opening it1 read aloud the whole exposition of the passage1 together with the practical reflections upon it2 and by the time he had done1 he found his young auditor fast asleep in his chair4 ,mother1 said he1 this child plays too hard4 ,he can't keep his eyes open evenings4 ,it's time he was in bed4 ,i wasn't asleep1 pa1 said ,master ,henry1 starting up with that air of injured innocence with which gentlemen of his age generally treat an imputation of this kind4 ,then can you tell me now what the passage means that ,i have been reading to you8 ,there's so much of it1 said ,henry hopelessly1 ,i wish you'd just tell me in short order1 father4 ,oh1 read it for yourself1 said ,mr4 ,h41 as he pushed the book towards the boy1 for it was to be confessed that he perceived at this moment that he had not himself received any particularly luminous impression1 though of course he thought it was owing to his own want of comprehension4 ,mr4 ,h4 leaned back in his rocking-chair1 and on his own private account began to speculate a little as to what he really should think the verse might mean1 supposing he were at all competent to decide upon it4 ',make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness1' says he3 that's money1 very clearly4 ,how am ,i to make friends with it or of it8 ,receive me into everlasting habitations3 that's a singular kind of expression4 ,i wonder what it means4 ,dr4 ,scott makes some very good remarks about it--but somehow ,i'm not exactly clear4 ,it must be remarked that this was not an uncommon result of ,mr4 ,h4's critical investigations in this quarter4 ,well1 thoughts will wander2 and as he lay with his head on the back of his rocking-chair1 and his eyes fixed on the flickering blaze of the coal1 visions of his wet tramp in the city1 and of the lonely garret he had been visiting1 and of the poor woman with the pale1 discouraged face1 to whom he had carried warmth and comfort1 all blended themselves together4 ,he felt1 too1 a little indefinite creeping chill1 and some uneasy sensations in his head like a commencing cold1 for he was not a strong man1 and it is probable his long1 wet walk was likely to cause him some inconvenience in this way4 ,at last he was fast asleep1 nodding in his chair4 ,he dreamed that he was very sick in bed1 that the doctor came and went1 and that he grew sicker and sicker4 ,he was going to die4 ,he saw his wife sitting weeping by his pillow--his children standing by with pale and frightened faces2 all things in his room began to swim1 and waver1 and fade1 and voices that called his name1 and sobs and lamentations that rose around him1 seemed far off and distant in his ear4 ,oh1 eternity1 eternity6 ,i am going--,i am going1 he thought2 and in that hour1 strange to tell1 not one of all his good deeds seemed good enough to lean on--all bore some taint or tinge1 to his purified eye1 of mortal selfishness1 and seemed unholy before the ,all ,pure4 ,i am going1 he thought2 there is no time to stay1 no time to alter1 to balance accounts2 and ,i know not what ,i am1 but ,i know1 ,o ,jesus1 what thou art4 ,i have trusted in thee1 and shall never be confounded2 and with that last breath of prayer earth was past4 ,a soft and solemn breathing1 as of music1 awakened him4 ,as an infant child not yet fully awake hears the holy warblings of his mother's hymn1 and smiles half conscious1 so the heaven-born became aware of sweet voices and loving faces around him ere yet he fully woke to the new immortal ,life4 ,ah1 he has come at last4 ,how long we have waited for him6 ,here he is among us4 ,now forever welcome6 welcome6 said the voices4 ,who shall speak the joy of that latest birth1 the birth from death to life6 the sweet1 calm1 inbreathing consciousness of purity and rest1 the certainty that all sin1 all weakness and error1 are at last gone forever2 the deep1 immortal rapture of repose--felt to be but begun--never to end6 ,so the eyes of the heaven-born opened on the new heaven and the new earth1 and wondered at the crowd of loving faces that thronged about him4 ,fair1 godlike forms of beauty1 such as earth never knew1 pressed round him with blessings1 thanks1 and welcome4 ,the man spoke not1 but he wondered in his heart who they were1 and whence it came that they knew him2 and as soon as the inquiry formed itself in his soul1 it was read at once by his heavenly friends4 ,i1 said one bright spirit1 was a poor boy whom you found in the streets3 you sought me out1 you sent me to school1 you watched over me1 and led me to the house of ,god2 and now here ,i am4 ,and we1 said other voices1 are other neglected children whom you redeemed2 we also thank you4 ,and ,i1 said another1 was a lost1 helpless girl3 sold to sin and shame1 nobody thought ,i could be saved2 everybody passed me by till you came4 ,you built a home1 a refuge for such poor wretches as ,i1 and there ,i and many like me heard of ,jesus2 and here we are4 ,and ,i1 said another1 was once a clerk in your store4 ,i came to the city innocent1 but ,i was betrayed by the tempter4 ,i forgot my mother1 and my mother's ,god4 ,i went to the gaming-table and the theatre1 and at last ,i robbed your drawer4 ,you might have justly cast me off2 but you bore with me1 you watched over me1 you saved me4 ,i am here through you this day4 ,and ,i1 said another1 was a poor slave girl--doomed to be sold on the auction-block to a life of infamy1 and the ruin of soul and body4 ,had you not been willing to give so largely for my ransom1 no one had thought to buy me4 ,you stimulated others to give1 and ,i was redeemed4 ,i lived a ,christian mother to bring my children up for ,christ--they are all here with me to bless you this day1 and their children on earth1 and their children's children are growing up to bless you4 ,and ,i1 said another1 was an unbeliever4 ,in the pride of my intellect1 ,i thought ,i could demonstrate the absurdity of ,christianity4 ,i thought ,i could answer the argument from miracles and prophecy2 but your patient1 self-denying life was an argument ,i never could answer4 ,when ,i saw you spending all your time and all your money in efforts for your fellow men1 undiscouraged by ingratitude1 and careless of praise1 then ,i thought1 ',there is something divine in that man's life1' and that thought brought me here4 ,the man looked around on the gathering congregation1 and he saw that there was no one whom he had drawn heavenward that had not also drawn thither myriads of others4 ,in his lifetime he had been scattering seeds of good around from hour to hour1 almost unconsciously2 and now he saw every seed springing up into a widening forest of immortal beauty and glory4 ,it seemed to him that there was to be no end of the numbers that flocked to claim him as their long-expected soul friend4 ,his heart was full1 and his face became as that of an angel as he looked up to ,one who seemed nearer than all1 and said1 ,this is thy love for me1 unworthy1 ,o ,jesus4 ,of thee1 and to thee1 and through thee are all things4 ,amen4 ,amen6 as with chorus of many waters and mighty thunderings the sound swept onward1 and died far off in chiming echoes among the distant stars1 and the man awoke4 ,,the ,,sabbath ,,sketches ,,from ,a ,,note-,,book ,,of ,,an ,,elderly ,,gentleman ,the ,puritan ,sabbath--is there such a thing existing now1 or has it gone with the things that were1 to be looked at as a curiosity in the museum of the past8 ,can any one1 in memory1 take himself back to the unbroken stillness of that day1 and recall the sense of religious awe which seemed to brood in the very atmosphere1 checking the merry laugh of childhood1 and chaining in unwonted stillness the tongue of volatile youth1 and imparting even to the sunshine of heaven1 and the unconscious notes of animals1 a tone of its own gravity and repose8 ,if you cannot remember these things1 go back with me to the verge of early boyhood1 and live with me one of the ,sabbaths that ,i have spent beneath the roof of my uncle1 ,phineas ,fletcher4 ,imagine the long sunny hours of a ,saturday afternoon insensibly slipping away1 as we youngsters are exploring the length and breadth of a trout stream1 or chasing gray squirrels1 or building mud milldams in the brook4 ,the sun sinks lower and lower1 but we still think it does not want half an hour to sundown4 ,at last1 he so evidently is really going down1 that there is no room for skepticism or latitude of opinion on the subject2 and with many a lingering regret1 we began to put away our fish-hooks1 and hang our hoops over our arm1 preparatory to trudging homeward4 ,oh1 ,henry1 don't you wish that ,saturday afternoons lasted longer8 said little ,john to me4 ,i do1 says ,cousin ,bill1 who was never the boy to mince matters in giving his sentiments2 and ,i wouldn't care if ,sunday didn't come but once a year4 ,oh1 ,bill1 that's wicked1 ,i'm afraid1 says little conscientious ,susan1 who1 with her doll in hand1 was coming home from a ,saturday afternoon visit4 ,can't help it1 says ,bill1 catching ,susan's bag1 and tossing it in the air2 ,i never did like to sit still1 and that's why ,i hate ,sundays4 ,hate ,sundays6 ,oh1 ,bill6 ,why1 ,aunt ,kezzy says heaven is an eternal ,sabbath--only think of that6 ,well1 ,i know ,i must be pretty different from what ,i am now before ,i could sit still forever1 said ,bill in a lower and somewhat disconcerted tone1 as if admitting the force of the consideration4 ,the rest of us began to look very grave1 and to think that we must get to liking ,sunday some time or other1 or it would be a very bad thing for us4 ,as we drew near the dwelling1 the compact and businesslike form of ,aunt ,kezzy was seen emerging from the house to hasten our approach4 ,how often have ,i told you1 young ones1 not to stay out after sundown on ,saturday night8 ,don't you know it's the same as ,sunday1 you wicked children1 you8 ,come right into the house1 every one of you1 and never let me hear of such a thing again4 ,this was ,aunt ,kezzy's regular exordium every ,saturday night2 for we children1 being blinded1 as she supposed1 by natural depravity1 always made strange mistakes in reckoning time on ,saturday afternoons4 ,after being duly suppered and scrubbed1 we were enjoined to go to bed1 and remember that to-morrow was ,sunday1 and that we must not laugh and play in the morning4 ,with many a sorrowful look did ,susan deposit her doll in the chest1 and give one lingering glance at the patchwork she was piecing for dolly's bed1 while ,william1 ,john1 and myself emptied our pockets of all superfluous fish-hooks1 bits of twine1 popguns1 slices of potato1 marbles1 and all the various items of boy property1 which1 to keep us from temptation1 were taken into ,aunt ,kezzy's safe-keeping over ,sunday4 ,my ,uncle ,phineas was a man of great exactness1 and ,sunday was the centre of his whole worldly and religious system4 ,everything with regard to his worldly business was so arranged that by ,saturday noon it seemed to come to a close of itself4 ,all his accounts were looked over1 his workmen paid1 all borrowed things returned1 and lent things sent after1 and every tool and article belonging to the farm was returned to its own place at exactly such an hour every ,saturday afternoon1 and an hour before sundown every item of preparation1 even to the blacking of his ,sunday shoes and the brushing of his ,sunday coat1 was entirely concluded2 and at the going down of the sun1 the stillness of the ,sabbath seemed to settle down over the whole dwelling4 ,and now it is ,sunday morning2 and though all without is fragrance1 and motion1 and beauty1 the dewdrops are twinkling1 butterflies fluttering1 and merry birds caroling and racketing as if they never could sing loud or fast enough1 yet within there is such a stillness that the tick of the tall mahogany clock is audible through the whole house1 and the buzz of the blue flies1 as they whiz along up and down the window-panes1 is a distinct item of hearing4 ,look into the best front room1 and you may see the upright form of my ,uncle ,phineas1 in his immaculate ,sunday clothes1 with his ,bible spread open on the little stand before him1 and even a deeper than usual gravity settling down over his toil-worn features4 ,alongside1 in well-brushed ,sunday clothes1 with clean faces and smooth hair1 sat the whole of us younger people1 each drawn up in a chair1 with hat and handkerchief1 ready for the first stroke of the bell1 while ,aunt ,kezzy1 all trimmed1 and primmed1 and made ready for meeting1 sat reading her psalm-book1 only looking up occasionally to give an additional jerk to some shirt-collar1 or the fifteenth pull to ,susan's frock1 or to repress any straggling looks that might be wandering about1 beholding vanity4 ,a stranger1 in glancing at ,uncle ,phineas as he sat intent on his ,sunday reading1 might have seen that the ,sabbath was in his heart--there was no mistake about it4 ,it was plain that he had put by all worldly thoughts when he shut up his account-book1 and that his mind was as free from every earthly association as his ,sunday coat was from dust4 ,the slave of worldliness1 who is driven1 by perplexing business or adventurous speculation1 through the hours of a half-kept ,sabbath to the fatigues of another week1 might envy the unbroken quiet1 the sunny tranquillity1 which hallowed the weekly rest of my uncle4 ,the ,sabbath of the ,puritan ,christian was the golden day1 and all its associations1 and all its thoughts1 words1 and deeds1 were so entirely distinct from the ordinary material of life1 that it was to him a sort of weekly translation--a quitting of this world to sojourn a day in a better2 and year after year1 as each ,sabbath set its seal on the completed labors of a week1 the pilgrim felt that one more stage of his earthly journey was completed1 and that he was one week nearer to his eternal rest4 ,and as years1 with their changes1 came on1 and the strong man grew old1 and missed1 one after another1 familiar forms that had risen around his earlier years1 the face of the ,sabbath became like that of an old and tried friend1 carrying him back to the scenes of his youth1 and connecting him with scenes long gone by1 restoring to him the dew and freshness of brighter and more buoyant days4 ,viewed simply as an institution for a ,christian and mature mind1 nothing could be more perfect than the ,puritan ,sabbath3 if it had any failing1 it was in the want of adaptation to children1 and to those not interested in its peculiar duties4 ,if you had been in the dwelling of my uncle of a ,sabbath morning1 you must have found the unbroken stillness delightful2 the calm and quiet must have soothed and disposed you for contemplation1 and the evident appearance of single-hearted devotion to the duties of the day in the elder part of the family must have been a striking addition to the picture4 ,but1 then1 if your eye had watched attentively the motions of us juveniles1 you might have seen that what was so very invigorating to the disciplined ,christian was a weariness to young flesh and bones4 ,then there was not1 as now1 the intellectual relaxation afforded by the ,sunday-school1 with its various forms of religious exercise1 its thousand modes of interesting and useful information4 ,our whole stock in this line was the ,bible and ,primer1 and these were our main dependence for whiling away the tedious hours between our early breakfast and the signal for meeting4 ,how often was our invention stretched to find wherewithal to keep up our stock of excitement in a line with the duties of the day6 ,for the first half hour1 perhaps1 a story in the ,bible answered our purpose very well2 but1 having dispatched the history of ,joseph1 or the story of the ten plagues1 we then took to the ,primer3 and then there was1 first1 the looking over the system of theological and ethical teaching1 commencing1 ,in ,adam's fall we sinnd all1 and extending through three or four pages of pictorial and poetic embellishment4 ,next was the death of ,john ,rogers1 who was burned at ,smithfield2 and for a while we could entertain ourselves with counting all his nine children and one at the breast1 as in the picture they stand in a regular row1 like a pair of stairs4 ,these being done1 came miscellaneous exercises of our own invention1 such as counting all the psalms in the psalm-book1 backward and forward1 to and from the ,doxology1 or numbering the books in the ,bible1 or some other such device as we deemed within the pale of religious employments4 ,when all these failed1 and it still wanted an hour of meeting time1 we looked up at the ceiling1 and down at the floor1 and all around into every corner1 to see what we could do next2 and happy was he who could spy a pin gleaming in some distant crack1 and forthwith muster an occasion for getting down to pick it up4 ,then there was the infallible recollection that we wanted a drink of water1 as an excuse to get out to the well2 or else we heard some strange noise among the chickens1 and insisted that it was essential that we should see what was the matter2 or else pussy would jump on to the table1 when all of us would spring to drive her down2 while there was a most assiduous watching of the clock to see when the first bell would ring4 ,happy was it for us1 in the interim1 if we did not begin to look at each other and make up faces1 or slyly slip off and on our shoes1 or some other incipient attempts at roguery1 which would gradually so undermine our gravity that there would be some sudden explosion of merriment1 whereat ,uncle ,phineas would look up and say1 ,tut1 tut1 and ,aunt ,kezzy would make a speech about wicked children breaking the ,sabbath day4 ,i remember once how my ,cousin ,bill got into deep disgrace one ,sunday by a roguish trick4 ,he was just about to close his ,bible with all sobriety1 when snap came a grasshopper through an open window1 and alighted in the middle of the page4 ,bill instantly kidnapped the intruder1 for so important an auxiliary in the way of employment was not to be despised4 ,presently we children looked towards ,bill1 and there he sat1 very demurely reading his ,bible1 with the grasshopper hanging by one leg from the corner of his mouth1 kicking and sprawling1 without in the least disturbing ,master ,william's gravity4 ,we all burst into an uproarious laugh4 ,but it came to be rather a serious affair for ,bill1 as his good father was in the practice of enforcing truth and duty by certain modes of moral suasion much recommended by ,solomon1 though fallen into disrepute at the present day4 ,this morning picture may give a good specimen of the whole livelong ,sunday1 which presented only an alternation of similar scenes until sunset1 when a universal unchaining of tongues and a general scamper proclaimed that the sun was down4 ,but1 it may be asked1 what was the result of all this strictness8 ,did it not disgust you with the ,sabbath and with religion8 ,no1 it did not4 ,it did not1 because it was the result of no unkindly feeling1 but of consistent principle2 and consistency of principle is what even children learn to appreciate and revere4 ,the law of obedience and of reverence for the ,sabbath was constraining so equally on the young and the old1 that its claims came to be regarded like those immutable laws of nature1 which no one thinks of being out of patience with1 though they sometimes bear hard on personal convenience4 ,the effect of the system was to ingrain into our character a veneration for the ,sabbath which no friction of after life would ever efface4 ,i have lived to wander in many climates and foreign lands1 where the ,sabbath is an unknown name1 or where it is only recognized by noisy mirth2 but never has the day returned without bringing with it a breathing of religious awe1 and even a yearning for the unbroken stillness1 the placid repose1 and the simple devotion of the ,puritan ,sabbath4 ,,another ,,scene ,how late we are this morning6 said ,mrs4 ,roberts to her husband1 glancing hurriedly at the clock1 as they were sitting down to breakfast on a ,sabbath morning4 ,really1 it is a shame to us to be so late ,sundays4 ,i wonder ,john and ,henry are not up yet3 ,hannah1 did you speak to them8 ,yes1 ma'am1 but ,i could not make them mind2 they said it was ,sunday1 and that we always have breakfast later ,sundays4 ,well1 it is a shame to us1 ,i must say1 said ,mrs4 ,roberts1 sitting down to the table4 ,i never lie late myself unless something in particular happens4 ,last night ,i was out very late1 and ,sabbath before last ,i had a bad headache4 ,well1 well1 my dear1 said ,mr4 ,roberts1 it is not worth while to worry yourself about it2 ,sunday is a day of rest2 everybody indulges a little of a ,sunday morning1 it is so very natural1 you know2 one's work done up1 one feels like taking a little rest4 ,well1 ,i must say it was not the way my mother brought me up1 said ,mrs4 ,roberts2 and ,i really can't feel it to be right4 ,this last part of the discourse had been listened to by two sleepy-looking boys1 who had1 meanwhile1 taken their seats at table with that listless air which is the result of late sleeping4 ,oh1 by the bye1 my dear1 what did you give for those hams ,saturday8 said ,mr4 ,roberts4 ,eleven cents a pound1 ,i believe1 replied ,mrs4 ,roberts2 but ,stephens and ,philips have some much nicer1 canvas and all1 for ten cents4 ,i think we had better get our things at ,stephens and ,philips's in future1 my dear4 ,why8 are they much cheaper8 ,oh1 a great deal2 but ,i forget it is ,sunday4 ,we ought to be thinking of other things4 ,boys1 have you looked over your ,sunday-school lesson8 ,no1 ma'am4 ,now1 how strange6 and here it wants only half an hour of the time1 and you are not dressed either4 ,now1 see the bad effects of not being up in time4 ,the boys looked sullen1 and said they were up as soon as any one else in the house4 ,well1 your father and ,i had some excuse1 because we were out late last night2 you ought to have been up full three hours ago1 and to have been all ready1 with your lessons learned4 ,now1 what do you suppose you shall do8 ,oh1 mother1 do let us stay at home this one morning2 we don't know the lesson1 and it won't do any good for us to go4 ,no1 indeed1 ,i shall not4 ,you must go and get along as well as you can4 ,it is all your own fault4 ,now1 go upstairs and hurry4 ,we shall not find time for prayers this morning4 ,the boys took themselves upstairs to hurry1 as directed1 and soon one of them called from the top of the stairs1 ,mother6 mother6 the buttons are off this vest2 so ,i can't wear it6 and ,mother6 here is a long rip in my best coat6 said another4 ,why did you not tell me of it before8 said ,mrs4 ,roberts1 coming upstairs4 ,i forgot it1 said the boy4 ,well1 well1 stand still2 ,i must catch it together somehow1 if it is ,sunday4 ,there6 there is the bell6 ,stand still a minute6 and ,mrs4 ,roberts plied needle1 and thread1 and scissors2 there1 that will do for to-day4 ,dear me1 how confused everything is to-day6 ,it is always just so ,sundays1 said ,john1 flinging up his book and catching it again as he ran downstairs4 ,it is always just so ,sundays4 ,these words struck rather unpleasantly on ,mrs4 ,roberts's conscience1 for something told her that1 whatever the reason might be1 it was just so4 ,on ,sunday everything was later and more irregular than any other day in the week4 ,hannah1 you must boil that piece of beef for dinner to-day4 ,i thought you told me you did not have cooking done on ,sunday4 ,no1 ,i do not1 generally4 ,i am very sorry ,mr4 ,roberts would get that piece of meat yesterday4 ,we did not need it1 but here it is on our hands2 the weather is too hot to keep it4 ,it won't do to let it spoil2 so ,i must have it boiled1 for aught ,i see4 ,hannah had lived four ,sabbaths with ,mrs4 ,roberts1 and on two of them she had been required to cook from similar reasoning4 ,for once is apt1 in such cases1 to become a phrase of very extensive signification4 ,it really worries me to have things go on so as they do on ,sundays1 said ,mrs4 ,roberts to her husband4 ,i never do feel as if we kept ,sunday as we ought4 ,my dear1 you have been saying so ever since we were married1 and ,i do not see what you are going to do about it4 ,for my part ,i do not see why we do not do as well as people in general4 ,we do not visit1 nor receive company1 nor read improper books4 ,we go to church1 and send the children to ,sunday-school1 and so the greater part of the day is spent in a religious way4 ,then out of church we have the children's ,sunday-school books1 and one or two religious newspapers4 ,i think that is quite enough4 ,but1 somehow1 when ,i was a child1 my mother--said ,mrs4 ,roberts1 hesitating4 ,oh1 my dear1 your mother must not be considered an exact pattern for these days4 ,people were too strict in your mother's time2 they carried the thing too far1 altogether2 everybody allows it now4 ,mrs4 ,roberts was silenced1 but not satisfied4 ,a strict religious education had left just conscience enough on this subject to make her uneasy4 ,these worthy people had a sort of general idea that ,sunday ought to be kept1 and they intended to keep it2 but they had never taken the trouble to investigate or inquire as to the most proper way1 nor was it so much an object of interest that their weekly arrangements were planned with any reference to it4 ,mr4 ,roberts would often engage in business at the close of the week1 which he knew would so fatigue him that he would be weary and listless on ,sunday2 and ,mrs4 ,roberts would allow her family cares to accumulate in the same way1 so that she was either wearied with efforts to accomplish it before the ,sabbath1 or perplexed and worried by finding everything at loose ends on that day4 ,they had the idea that ,sunday was to be kept when it was perfectly convenient1 and did not demand any sacrifice of time or money4 ,but if stopping to keep the ,sabbath in a journey would risk passage money or a seat in the stage1 or1 in housekeeping1 if it would involve any considerable inconvenience or expense1 it was deemed a providential intimation that it was a work of necessity and mercy to attend to secular matters4 ,to their minds the fourth command read thus3 ,remember the ,sabbath day to keep it holy when it comes convenient1 and costs neither time nor money4 ,as to the effects of this on the children1 there was neither enough of strictness to make them respect the ,sabbath1 nor of religious interest to make them love it2 of course1 the little restraint there was proved just enough to lead them to dislike and despise it4 ,children soon perceive the course of their parents' feelings1 and it was evident to the children of this family that their father and mother generally found themselves hurried into the ,sabbath with hearts and minds full of this world1 and their conversation and thoughts were so constantly turning to worldly things1 and so awkwardly drawn back by a sense of religious obligation1 that the ,sabbath appeared more obviously a clog and a fetter than it did under the strictest rgime of ,puritan days4 ,,sketch ,,second ,the little quiet village of ,camden stands under the brow of a rugged hill in one of the most picturesque parts of ,new ,england2 and its regular1 honest1 and industrious villagers were not a little surprised and pleased that ,mr4 ,james1 a rich man1 and pleasant-spoken withal1 had concluded to take up his residence among them4 ,he brought with him a pretty1 genteel wife1 and a group of rosy1 romping1 but amiable children2 and there was so much of good nature and kindness about the manners of every member of the family1 that the whole neighborhood were prepossessed in their favor4 ,mr4 ,james was a man of somewhat visionary and theoretical turn of mind1 and very much in the habit of following out his own ideas of right and wrong1 without troubling himself particularly as to the appearance his course might make in the eyes of others4 ,he was a supporter of the ordinances of religion1 and always ready to give both time and money to promote any benevolent object2 and though he had never made any public profession of religion1 or connected himself with any particular set of ,christians1 still he seemed to possess great reverence for ,god1 and to worship him in spirit and in truth1 and he professed to make the ,bible the guide of his life4 ,mr4 ,james had been brought up under a system of injudicious religious restraint4 ,he had determined1 in educating his children1 to adopt an exactly opposite course1 and to make religion and all its institutions sources of enjoyment4 ,his aim1 doubtless1 was an appropriate one2 but his method of carrying it out1 to say the least1 was one which was not a safe model for general imitation4 ,in regard to the ,sabbath1 for example1 he considered that1 although the plan of going to church twice a day1 and keeping all the family quiet within doors the rest of the time1 was good1 other methods would be much better4 ,accordingly1 after the morning service1 which he and his whole family regularly attended1 he would spend the rest of the day with his children4 ,in bad weather he would instruct them in natural history1 show them pictures1 and read them various accounts of the works of ,god1 combining all with such religious instruction and influence as a devotional mind might furnish4 ,when the weather permitted1 he would range with them through the fields1 collecting minerals and plants1 or sail with them on the lake1 meanwhile directing the thoughts of his young listeners upward to ,god1 by the many beautiful traces of his presence and agency1 which superior knowledge and observation enabled him to discover and point out4 ,these ,sunday strolls were seasons of most delightful enjoyment to the children4 ,though it was with some difficulty that their father could restrain them from loud and noisy demonstrations of delight1 and he saw with some regret that the mere animal excitement of the stroll seemed to draw the attention too much from religious considerations1 and1 in particular1 to make the exercises of the morning seem like a preparatory penance to the enjoyments of the afternoon1 nevertheless1 when ,mr4 ,james looked back to his own boyhood1 and remembered the frigid restraint1 the entire want of any kind of mental or bodily excitement1 which had made the ,sabbath so much a weariness to him1 he could not but congratulate himself when he perceived his children looking forward to ,sunday as a day of delight1 and found himself on that day continually surrounded by a circle of smiling and cheerful faces4 ,his talent of imparting religious instruction in a simple and interesting form was remarkably happy1 and it is probable that there was among his children an uncommon degree of real thought and feeling on religious subjects as the result4 ,the good people of ,camden1 however1 knew not what to think of a course that appeared to them an entire violation of all the requirements of the ,sabbath4 ,the first impulse of human nature is to condemn at once all who vary from what has been commonly regarded as the right way2 and1 accordingly1 ,mr4 ,james was unsparingly denounced1 by many good people1 as a ,sabbath breaker1 and infidel1 and an opposer to religion4 ,such was the character heard of him by ,mr4 ,richards1 a young clergyman1 who1 shortly after ,mr4 ,james fixed his residence in ,camden1 accepted the pastoral charge of the village4 ,it happened that ,mr4 ,richards had known ,mr4 ,james in college1 and1 remembering him as a remarkably serious1 amiable1 and conscientious man1 he resolved to ascertain from himself the views which had led him to the course of conduct so offensive to the good people of the neighborhood4 ,this is all very well1 my good friend1 said he1 after he had listened to ,mr4 ,james's eloquent account of his own system of religious instruction1 and its effects upon his family1 ,i do not doubt that this system does very well for yourself and family2 but there are other things to be taken into consideration besides personal and family improvement4 ,do you not know1 ,mr4 ,james1 that the most worthless and careless part of my congregation quote your example as a respectable precedent for allowing their families to violate the order of the ,sabbath8 ,you and your children sail about on the lake1 with minds and hearts1 ,i doubt not1 elevated and tranquilized by its quiet repose2 but ,ben ,dakes1 and his idle1 profane army of children1 consider themselves as doing very much the same thing when they lie lolling about1 sunning themselves on its shore1 or skipping stones over its surface the whole of a ,sunday afternoon4 ,let every one answer to his own conscience1 replied ,mr4 ,james4 ,if ,i keep the ,sabbath conscientiously1 ,i am approved of ,god2 if another transgresses his conscience1 'to his own master he standeth or falleth4' ,i am not responsible for all the abuses that idle or evil-disposed persons may fall into1 in consequence of my doing what is right4 ,let me quote an answer from the same chapter1 said ,mr4 ,richards4 ',let no man put a stumbling-block1 or an occasion to fall1 in his brother's way3 let not your good be evil spoken of4 ,it is good neither to eat flesh nor drink wine1 nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth1 or is offended1 or made weak4' ,now1 my good friend1 you happen to be endowed with a certain tone of mind which enables you to carry through your mode of keeping the ,sabbath with little comparative evil1 and much good1 so far as your family is concerned2 but how many persons in this neighborhood1 do you suppose1 would succeed equally well if they were to attempt it8 ,if it were the common custom for families to absent themselves from public worship in the afternoon1 and to stroll about the fields1 or ride1 or sail1 how many parents1 do you suppose1 would have the dexterity and talent to check all that was inconsistent with the duties of the day8 ,is it not your ready command of language1 your uncommon tact in simplifying and illustrating1 your knowledge of natural history and of ,biblical literature1 that enable you to accomplish the results that you do8 ,and is there one parent in a hundred that could do the same8 ,now1 just imagine our neighbor1 ',squire ,hart1 with his ten boys and girls1 turned out into the fields on a ,sunday afternoon to profit withal3 you know he can never finish a sentence without stopping to begin it again half a dozen times4 ,what progress would he make in instructing them8 ,and so of a dozen others ,i could name along this very street here4 ,now1 you men of cultivated minds must give your countenance to courses which would be best for society at large1 or1 as the sentiment was expressed by ,st4 ,paul1 ',we that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak1 and not to please ourselves1 for even ,christ pleased not himself4' ,think1 my dear sir1 if our ,saviour had gone only on the principle of avoiding what might be injurious to his own improvement1 how unsafe his example might have proved to less elevated minds4 ,doubtless he might have made a ,sabbath day fishing excursion an occasion of much elevated and impressive instruction2 but1 although he declared himself ',lord of the ,sabbath day1' and at liberty to suspend its obligation at his own discretion1 yet he never violated the received method of observing it1 except in cases where superstitious tradition trenched directly on those interests which the ,sabbath was given to promote4 ,he asserted the right to relieve pressing bodily wants1 and to administer to the necessities of others on the ,sabbath1 but beyond that he allowed himself in no deviation from established custom4 ,mr4 ,james looked thoughtful4 ,i have not reflected on the subject in this view1 he replied4 ,but1 my dear sir1 considering how little of the public services of the ,sabbath is on a level with the capacity of younger children1 it seems to me almost a pity to take them to church the whole of the day4 ,i have thought of that myself1 replied ,mr4 ,richards1 and have sometimes thought that1 could persons be found to conduct such a thing1 it would be desirable to institute a separate service for children1 in which the exercises should be particularly adapted to them4 ,i should like to be minister to a congregation of children1 said ,mr4 ,james warmly4 ,well1 replied ,mr4 ,richards1 give our good people time to get acquainted with you1 and do away the prejudices which your extraordinary mode of proceeding has induced1 and ,i think ,i could easily assemble such a company for you every ,sabbath4 ,after this1 much to the surprise of the village1 ,mr4 ,james and his family were regular attendants at both the services of the ,sabbath4 ,mr4 ,richards explained to the good people of his congregation the motives which had led their neighbor to the adoption of what1 to them1 seemed so unchristian a course2 and1 upon reflection1 they came to the perception of the truth1 that a man may depart very widely from the received standard of right for other reasons than being an infidel or an opposer of religion4 ,a ready return of cordial feeling was the result2 and as ,mr4 ,james found himself treated with respect and confidence1 he began to feel1 notwithstanding his fastidiousness1 that there were strong points of congeniality between all real and warm-hearted ,christians1 however different might be their intellectual culture1 and in all simplicity united himself with the little church of ,camden4 ,a year from the time of his first residence there1 every ,sabbath afternoon saw him surrounded by a congregation of young children1 for whose benefit he had1 at his own expense1 provided a room1 fitted up with maps1 ,scriptural pictures1 and every convenience for the illustration of ,biblical knowledge2 and the parents or guardians who from time to time attended their children during these exercises often confessed themselves as much interested and benefited as any of their youthful companions4 ,,sketch ,,third ,it was near the close of a pleasant ,saturday afternoon that ,i drew up my weary horse in front of a neat little dwelling in the village of ,n4 ,this1 as near as ,i could gather from description1 was the house of my cousin1 ,william ,fletcher1 the identical rogue of a ,bill ,fletcher1 of whom we have aforetime spoken4 ,bill had always been a thriving1 push-ahead sort of a character1 and during the course of my rambling life ,i had improved every occasional opportunity of keeping up our early acquaintance4 ,the last time that ,i returned to my native country1 after some years of absence1 ,i heard of him as married and settled in the village of ,n41 where he was conducting a very prosperous course of business1 and shortly after received a pressing invitation to visit him at his own home4 ,now1 as ,i had gathered from experience the fact that it is of very little use to rap one's knuckles off on the front door of a country house without any knocker1 ,i therefore made the best of my way along a little path1 bordered with marigolds and balsams1 that led to the back part of the dwelling4 ,the sound of a number of childish voices made me stop1 and1 looking through the bushes1 ,i saw the very image of my ,cousin ,bill ,fletcher1 as he used to be twenty years ago2 the same bold forehead1 the same dark eyes1 the same smart1 saucy mouth1 and the same who-cares-for-that toss to his head4 ,there1 now1 exclaimed the boy1 setting down a pair of shoes that he had been blacking1 and arranging them at the head of a long row of all sizes and sorts1 from those which might have fitted a two-year-old foot upward1 there1 ,i've blacked every single one of them1 and made them shine too1 and done it all in twenty minutes2 if anybody thinks they can do it quicker than that1 ,i'd just like to have them try2 that's all4 ,i know they couldn't1 though1 said a fair-haired little girl1 who stood admiring the sight1 evidently impressed with the utmost reverence for her brother's ability2 and1 ,bill1 ,i've been putting up all the playthings in the big chest1 and ,i want you to come and turn the lock--the key hurts my fingers4 ,poh6 ,i can turn it easier than that1 said the boy1 snapping his fingers2 have you got them all in8 ,yes1 all2 only ,i left out the soft bales1 and the string of red beads1 and the great rag baby for ,fanny to play with--you know mother says babies must have their playthings ,sunday4 ,oh1 to be sure1 said the brother very considerately2 babies can't read1 you know1 as we can1 nor hear ,bible stories1 nor look at pictures4 ,at this moment ,i stepped forward1 for the spell of former times was so powerfully on me1 that ,i was on the very point of springing forward with a ,halloo1 there1 ,bill6 as ,i used to meet the father in old times2 but the look of surprise that greeted my appearance brought me to myself4 ,is your father at home8 said ,i4 ,father and mother are both gone out2 but ,i guess1 sir1 they will be home in a few moments3 won't you walk in8 ,i accepted the invitation1 and the little girl showed me into a small and very prettily furnished parlor4 ,there was a piano with music-books on one side of the room1 some fine pictures hung about the walls1 and a little1 neat centre-table was plentifully strewn with books4 ,besides this1 the two recesses on each side of the fireplace contained each a bookcase with a glass locked door4 ,the little girl offered me a chair1 and then lingered a moment1 as if she felt some disposition to entertain me if she could only think of something to say2 and at last1 looking up in my face1 she said in a confidential tone1 ,mother says she left ,willie and me to keep house this afternoon while she was gone1 and we are putting up all the things for ,sunday1 so as to get everything done before she comes home4 ,willie has gone to put away the playthings1 and ,i'm going to put up the books4 ,so saying1 she opened the doors of one of the bookcases1 and began busily carrying the books from the centre-table to deposit them on the shelves1 in which employment she was soon assisted by ,willie1 who took the matter in hand in a very masterly manner1 showing his sister what were and what were not ,sunday books with the air of a person entirely at home in the business4 ,robinson ,crusoe and the many-volumed ,peter ,parley were put by without hesitation2 there was1 however1 a short demurring over a ,north ,american ,review1 because ,willie said he was sure his father read something one ,sunday out of it while ,susan averred that he did not commonly read in it1 and only read in it then because the piece was something about the ,bible2 but as nothing could be settled definitively on the point1 the review was laid on the table1 like knotty questions in ,congress4 ,then followed a long discussion over an extract book1 which1 as usual1 contained all sorts1 both sacred1 serious1 comic1 and profane2 and at last ,willie1 with much gravity1 decided to lock it up1 on the principle that it was best to be on the safe side1 in support of which he appealed to me4 ,i was saved from deciding the question by the entrance of the father and mother4 ,my old friend knew me at once1 and presented his pretty wife to me with the same look of exultation with which he used to hold up a string of trout or an uncommonly fine perch of his own catching for my admiration1 and then looking round on his fine family of children1 two more of which he had brought home with him1 seemed to say to me1 ,there6 what do you think of that1 now8 ,and1 in truth1 a very pretty sight it was--enough to make any one's old bachelor coat sit very uneasily on him4 ,indeed1 there is nothing that gives one such a startling idea of the tricks that old ,father ,time has been playing on us1 as to meet some boyish or girlish companions with half a dozen or so of thriving children about them4 ,my old friend1 ,i found1 was in essence just what the boy had been4 ,there was the same upright bearing1 the same confident1 cheerful tone to his voice1 and the same fire in his eye2 only that the hand of manhood had slightly touched some of the lines of his face1 giving them a staidness of expression becoming the man and the father4 ,very well1 my children1 said ,mrs4 ,fletcher1 as1 after tea1 ,william and ,susan finished recounting to her the various matters that they had set in order that afternoon2 ,i believe now we can say that our week's work is finished1 and that we have nothing to do but rest and enjoy ourselves4 ,oh1 and papa will show us the pictures in those great books that he brought home for us last ,monday1 will he not8 said little ,robert4 ,and1 mother1 you will tell us some more about ,solomon's temple and his palaces1 won't you8 said ,susan4 ,and ,i should like to know if father has found out the answer to that hard question ,i gave him last ,sunday8 said ,willie4 ,all will come in good time1 said ,mrs4 ,fletcher4 ,but tell me1 my dear children1 are you sure that you are quite ready for the ,sabbath8 ,you say you have put away the books and the playthings2 have you put away1 too1 all wrong and unkind feelings8 ,do you feel kindly and pleasantly towards everybody8 ,yes1 mother1 said ,willie1 who appeared to have taken a great part of this speech to himself2 ,i went over to ,tom ,walter's this very morning to ask him about that chicken of mine1 and he said that he did not mean to hit it1 and did not know he had till ,i told him of it2 and so we made all up again1 and ,i am glad ,i went4 ,i am inclined to think1 ,willie1 said his father1 that if everybody would make it a rule to settle up all their differences before ,sunday1 there would be very few long quarrels and lawsuits4 ,in about half the cases1 a quarrel is founded on some misunderstanding that would be got over in five minutes if one would go directly to the person for explanation4 ,i suppose ,i need not ask you1 said ,mrs4 ,fletcher1 whether you have fully learned your ,sunday-school lessons8 ,oh1 to be sure1 said ,william4 ,you know1 mother1 that ,susan and ,i were busy about them through ,monday and ,tuesday1 and then this afternoon we looked them over again1 and wrote down some questions4 ,and ,i heard ,robert say his all through1 and showed him all the places on the ,bible ,atlas1 said ,susan4 ,well1 then1 said my friend1 if everything is done1 let us begin ,sunday with some music4 ,thanks to the recent improvements in the musical instruction of the young1 every family can now form a domestic concert1 with words and tunes adapted to the capacity and the voices of children2 and while these little ones1 full of animation1 pressed round their mother as she sat at the piano1 and accompanied her music with the words of some beautiful hymns1 ,i thought that1 though ,i might have heard finer music1 ,i had never listened to any that answered the purpose of music so well4 ,it was a custom at my friend's to retire at an early hour on ,saturday evening1 in order that there might be abundant time for rest1 and no excuse for late rising on the ,sabbath2 and1 accordingly1 when the children had done singing1 after a short season of family devotion1 we all betook ourselves to our chambers1 and ,i1 for one1 fell asleep with the impression of having finished the week most agreeably1 and with anticipations of very great pleasure on the morrow4 ,early in the morning ,i was roused from my sleep by the sound of little voices singing with great animation in the room next to mine1 and1 listening1 ,i caught the following words3-- ,awake6 awake6 your bed forsake1 ,to ,god your praises pay2 ,the morning sun is clear and bright2 ,with joy we hail his cheerful light4 ,in songs of love ,praise ,god above-- ,it is the ,sabbath day6 ,the last words were repeated and prolonged most vehemently by a voice that ,i knew for ,master ,william's4 ,now1 ,willie1 ,i like the other one best1 said the soft voice of little ,susan2 and immediately she began3-- ,how sweet is the day1 ,when1 leaving our play1 ,the ,saviour we seek6 ,the fair morning glows ,when ,jesus arose-- ,the best in the week4 ,master ,william helped along with great spirit in the singing of this tune1 though ,i heard him observing1 at the end of the first verse1 that he liked the other one better1 because it seemed to step off so kind o' lively2 and his accommodating sister followed him as he began singing it again with redoubled animation4 ,it was a beautiful summer morning1 and the voices of the children within accorded well with the notes of birds and bleating flocks without--a cheerful1 yet ,sabbath-like and quieting sound4 ,blessed be children's music6 said ,i to myself2 how much better this is than the solitary tick1 tick1 of old ,uncle ,fletcher's tall mahogany clock6 ,the family bell summoned us to the breakfast room just as the children had finished their hymn4 ,the little breakfast parlor had been swept and garnished expressly for the day1 and a vase of beautiful flowers1 which the children had the day before collected from their gardens1 adorned the centre-table4 ,the door of one of the bookcases by the fireplace was thrown open1 presenting to view a collection of prettily bound books1 over the top of which appeared in gilt letters the inscription1 ,sabbath ,library4 ,the windows were thrown open to let in the invigorating breath of the early morning1 and the birds that flitted among the rose-bushes without seemed scarcely lighter and more buoyant than did the children as they entered the room4 ,it was legibly written on every face in the house1 that the happiest day in the week had arrived1 and each one seemed to enter into its duties with a whole soul4 ,it was still early when the breakfast and the season of family devotion were over1 and the children eagerly gathered round the table to get a sight of the pictures in the new books which their father had purchased in ,new ,york the week before1 and which had been reserved as a ,sunday's treat4 ,they were a beautiful edition of ,calmet's ,dictionary1 in several large volumes1 with very superior engravings4 ,it seems to me that this work must be very expensive1 ,i remarked to my friend1 as we were turning the leaves4 ,indeed it is so1 he replied2 but here is one place where ,i am less withheld by considerations of expense than in any other4 ,in all that concerns making a show in the world1 ,i am perfectly ready to economize4 ,i can do very well without expensive clothing or fashionable furniture1 and am willing that we should be looked on as very plain sort of people in all such matters2 but in all that relates to the cultivation of the mind1 and the improvement of the hearts of my children1 ,i am willing to go to the extent of my ability4 ,whatever will give my children a better knowledge of1 or deeper interest in1 the ,bible1 or enable them to spend a ,sabbath profitably and without weariness1 stands first on my list among things to be purchased4 ,i have spent in this way one third as much as the furnishing of my house costs me4 ,on looking over the shelves of the ,sabbath ,library1 ,i perceived that my friend had been at no small pains in the selection4 ,it comprised all the popular standard works for the illustration of the ,bible1 together with the best of the modern religious publications adapted to the capacity of young children4 ,two large drawers below were filled with maps and ,scriptural engravings1 some of them of a very superior character4 ,we have been collecting these things gradually ever since we have been at housekeeping1 said my friend2 the children take an interest in this library1 as something more particularly belonging to them1 and some of the books are donations from their little earnings4 ,yes1 said ,willie1 ,i bought ,helon's ',pilgrimage' with my egg money1 and ,susan bought the ',life of ,david1' and little ,robert is going to buy one1 too1 next ,new ,year4 ,but1 said ,i1 would not the ,sunday-school library answer all the purpose of this8 ,the ,sabbath-school library is an admirable thing1 said my friend2 but this does more fully and perfectly what that was intended to do4 ,it makes a sort of central attraction at home on the ,sabbath1 and makes the acquisition of religious knowledge and the proper observance of the ,sabbath a sort of family enterprise4 ,you know1 he added1 smiling1 that people always feel interested for an object in which they have invested money4 ,the sound of the first ,sabbath-school bell put an end to this conversation4 ,the children promptly made themselves ready1 and as their father was the superintendent of the school1 and their mother one of the teachers1 it was quite a family party4 ,one part of every ,sabbath at my friend's was spent by one or both parents with the children in a sort of review of the week4 ,the attention of the little ones was directed to their own characters1 the various defects or improvements of the past week were pointed out1 and they were stimulated to be on their guard in the time to come1 and the whole was closed by earnest prayer for such heavenly aid as the temptations and faults of each particular one might need4 ,after church in the evening1 while the children were thus withdrawn to their mother's apartment1 ,i could not forbear reminding my friend of old times1 and of the rather anti-sabbatical turn of his mind in our boyish days4 ,now1 ,william1 said ,i1 do you know that you were the last boy of whom such an enterprise in ,sabbath-keeping as this was to have been expected8 ,i suppose you remember ,sunday at 'the old place'8 ,nay1 now1 ,i think ,i was the very one1 said he1 smiling1 for ,i had sense enough to see1 as ,i grew up1 that the day must be kept thoroughly or not at all1 and ,i had enough blood and motion in my composition to see that something must be done to enliven and make it interesting2 so ,i set myself about it4 ,it was one of the first of our housekeeping resolutions1 that the ,sabbath should be made a pleasant day1 and yet be as inviolably kept as in the strictest times of our good father2 and we have brought things to run in that channel so long that it seems to be the natural order4 ,i have always supposed1 said ,i1 that it required a peculiar talent1 and more than common information in a parent1 to accomplish this to any extent4 ,it requires nothing1 replied my friend1 but common sense1 and a strong determination to do it4 ,parents who make a definite object of the religious instruction of their children1 if they have common sense1 can very soon see what is necessary in order to interest them2 and1 if they find themselves wanting in the requisite information1 they can1 in these days1 very readily acquire it4 ,the sources of religious knowledge are so numerous1 and so popular in their form1 that all can avail themselves of them4 ,the only difficulty after all is1 that the keeping of the ,sabbath and the imparting of religious instruction are not made enough of a home object4 ,parents pass off the responsibility on to the ,sunday-school teacher1 and suppose1 of course1 if they send their children to ,sunday-school1 they do the best they can for them4 ,now1 ,i am satisfied1 from my experience as a ,sabbath-school teacher1 that the best religious instruction imparted abroad still stands in need of the coperation of a systematic plan of religious discipline and instruction at home2 for1 after all1 ,god gives a power to the efforts of a parent that can never be transferred to other hands4 ,but do you suppose1 said ,i1 that the common class of minds1 with ordinary advantages1 can do what you have done8 ,i think in most cases they could1 if they begin right4 ,but when both parents and children have formed habits1 it is more difficult to change than to begin right at first4 ,however1 ,i think all might accomplish a great deal if they would give time1 money1 and effort towards it4 ,it is because the object is regarded of so little value1 compared with other things of a worldly nature1 that so little is done4 ,my friend was here interrupted by the entrance of ,mrs4 ,fletcher with the children4 ,mrs4 ,fletcher sat down to the piano1 and the ,sabbath was closed with the happy songs of the little ones2 nor could ,i notice a single anxious eye turning to the window to see if the sun was not almost down4 ,the tender and softened expression of each countenance bore witness to the subduing power of those instructions which had hallowed the last hour1 and their sweet1 birdlike voices harmonized well with the beautiful words3-- ,how sweet the light of ,sabbath eve6 ,how soft the sunbeam lingering there6 ,those holy hours this low earth leave1 ,and rise on wings of faith and prayer4 ,,religious ,,poems ,,st4 ,,catherine ,,borne ,,by ,,angels#f #f ,according to this legend1 ,catherine was a noble maiden of ,alexandria1 distinguished alike by birth1 riches1 beauty1 and the rarest gifts of genius and learning4 ,in the flower of her life she consecrated herself to the service of her ,redeemer1 and cheerfully suffered for his sake the loss of wealth1 friends1 and the esteem of the world4 ,banishment1 imprisonment1 and torture were in vain tried to shake the constancy of her faith2 and at last she was bound upon the torturing-wheel for a cruel death4 ,but the angels descended1 so says the story1 rent the wheel1 and bore her away1 through the air1 far over the sea1 to ,mount ,sinai1 where her body was left to repose1 and her soul ascended with them to heaven4 ,slow through the solemn air1 in silence sailing1 ,borne by mysterious angels1 strong and fair1 ,she sleeps at last1 blest dreams her eyelids veiling1 ,above this weary world of strife and care4 ,lo how she passeth6--dreamy1 slow1 and calm3 ,scarce wave those broad1 white wings1 so silvery bright2 ,those cloudy robes1 in star-emblazoned folding1 ,sweep mistily athwart the evening light4 ,far1 far below1 the dim1 forsaken earth1 ,the foes that threaten1 or the friends that weep2 ,past1 like a dream1 the torture and the pain3 ,for so ,he giveth his beloved sleep4 ,the restless bosom of the surging ocean ,gives back the image as the cloud floats o'er1 ,hushing in glassy awe his troubled motion2 ,for one blest moment he complains no more4 ,like the transparent golden floor of heaven1 ,his charmd waters lie as in a dream1 ,and glistening wings1 and starry robes unfolding1 ,and serious angel eyes far downward gleam4 ,o restless sea6 thou seemest all enchanted ,by that sweet vision of celestial rest2 ,where are the winds and tides thy peace that haunted1-- ,so still thou seemest1 so glorified and blest6 ,ah1 sea6 to-morrow1 that sweet scene forgotten1 ,dark tides and tempests shall thy bosom rear2 ,and thy complaining waves1 with restless motion1 ,shall toss their hands in their old wild despair4 ,so o'er our hearts sometimes the sweet1 sad story ,of suffering saints1 borne homeward crowned and blest1 ,shines down in stillness with a tender glory1 ,and makes a mirror there of breathless rest4 ,for not alone in those old ,eastern regions ,are ,christ's beloved ones tried by cross and chain2 ,in many a house are his elect ones hidden1 ,his martyrs suffering in their patient pain4 ,the rack1 the cross1 life's weary wrench of woe1 ,the world sees not1 as slow1 from day to day1 ,in calm1 unspoken patience1 sadly still1 ,the loving spirit bleeds itself away4 ,but there are hours when1 from the heavens unfolding1 ,come down the angels with the glad release2 ,and we look upward1 to behold in glory ,our suffering loved ones borne away to peace4 ,ah1 brief the calm6 the restless wave of feeling ,rises again when the bright cloud sweeps by1 ,and our unrestful souls reflect no longer ,that tender vision of the upper sky4 ,espousd ,lord of the pure saints in glory1 ,to whom all faithful souls affianced are1 ,breathe down thy peace into our restless spirits1 ,and make a lasting1 heavenly vision there4 ,so the bright gates no more on us shall close2 ,no more the cloud of angels fade away2 ,and we shall walk1 amid life's weary strife1 ,in the calm light of thine eternal day4 ,,the ,,charmer ,socrates4 ,however1 you and ,simmias appear to me as if you wished to sift this subject more thoroughly1 and to be afraid1 like children1 lest1 on the soul's departure from the body1 winds should blow it away4 ,upon this ,cebes said1 ',endeavor to teach us better1 ,socrates4 ,perhaps there is a childish spirit in our breast that has such a dread4 ,let us endeavor to persuade him not to be afraid of death1 as of hobgoblins4' ',but you must charm him every day1' said ,socrates1 'until you have quieted his fears4' ',but whence1 ,o ,socrates1' he said1 'can we procure a skillful charmer for such a case1 now you are about to leave us8' ',greece is wide1 ,cebes1' he said1 'and in it surely there are skillful men2 and there are many barbarous nations1 all of which you should search1 seeking such a charmer1 sparing neither money nor toil4'--,last words of ,socrates1 as narrated by ,plato in the ,phoedo4 ,we need that charmer1 for our hearts are sore ,with longings for the things that may not be1 ,faint for the friends that shall return no more1 ,dark with distrust1 or wrung with agony4 ,what is this life8 and what to us is death8 ,whence came we8 whither go8 and where are those ,who1 in a moment stricken from our side1 ,passed to that land of shadow and repose8 ,and are they all dust8 and dust must we become8 ,or are they living in some unknown clime8 ,shall we regain them in that far-off home1 ,and live anew beyond the waves of time8 ,o man divine6 on thee our souls have hung2 ,thou wert our teacher in these questions high2 ,but ah6 this day divides thee from our side1 ,and veils in dust thy kindly guiding eye4 ,where is that ,charmer whom thou bidst us seek8 ,on what far shores may his sweet voice be heard8 ,when shall these questions of our yearning souls ,be answered by the bright ,eternal ,word8 ,so spake the youth of ,athens1 weeping round1 ,when ,socrates lay calmly down to die2 ,so spake the sage1 prophetic of the hour ,when earth's fair morning star should rise on high4 ,they found ,him not1 those youths of soul divine1 ,long seeking1 wandering1 watching on life's shore2 ,reasoning1 aspiring1 yearning for the light1 ,death came and found them--doubting as before4 ,but years passed on2 and lo6 the ,charmer came1 ,pure1 simple1 sweet1 as comes the silver dew1 ,and the world knew him not1--he walked alone ,encircled only by his trusting few4 ,like the ,athenian sage1 rejected1 scorned1 ,betrayed1 condemned1 his day of doom drew nigh2 ,he drew his faithful few more closely round1 ,and told them that his hour was come--to die4 ,let not your heart be troubled1 then ,he said1 ,my ,father's house hath mansions large and fair2 ,i go before you to prepare your place1 ,i will return to take you with me there4 ,and since that hour the awful foe is charmed1 ,and life and death are glorified and fair2 ,whither ,he went we know1 the way we know1 ,and with firm step press on to meet him there4 ,,knocking ,behold1 ,i stand at the door and knock4 ,knocking1 knocking1 ever knocking8 ,who is there8 ',tis a pilgrim1 strange and kingly1 ,never such was seen before2-- ,ah1 sweet soul1 for such a wonder ,undo the door4 ,no1--that door is hard to open2 ,hinges rusty1 latch is broken2 ,bid ,him go4 ,wherefore1 with that knocking dreary ,scare the sleep from one so weary8 ,say ,him1--no4 ,knocking1 knocking1 ever knocking8 ,what6 ,still there8 ,o sweet soul1 but once behold ,him1 ,with the glory-crownd hair2 ,and those eyes1 so strange and tender1 ,waiting there2 ,open6 ,open6 ,once behold ,him1-- ,him1 so fair4 ,ah1 that door6 ,why wilt ,thou vex me1 ,coming ever to perplex me8 ,for the key is stiffly rusty1 ,and the bolt is clogged and dusty2 ,many-fingered ivy-vine ,seals it fast with twist and twine2 ,weeds of years and years before ,choke the passage of that door4 ,knocking6 knocking6 ,what6 still knocking8 ,he still there8 ,what's the hour8 ,the night is waning1-- ,in my heart a drear complaining1 ,and a chilly1 sad unrest6 ,ah1 this knocking6 ,it disturbs me1 ,scares my sleep with dreams unblest6 ,give me rest1 ,rest1--ah1 rest6 ,rest1 dear soul1 ,he longs to give thee2 ,thou hast only dreamed of pleasure1 ,dreamed of gifts and golden treasure1 ,dreamed of jewels in thy keeping1 ,waked to weariness of weeping2-- ,open to thy soul's one ,lover1 ,and thy night of dreams is over1-- ,the true gifts ,he brings have seeming ,more than all thy faded dreaming6 ,did she open8 ,doth she8 ,will she8 ,so1 as wondering we behold1 ,grows the picture to a sign1 ,pressed upon your soul and mine2 ,for in every breast that liveth ,is that strange1 mysterious door2-- ,though forsaken and betangled1 ,ivy-gnarled and weed-bejangled1 ,dusty1 rusty1 and forgotten2-- ,there the piercd hand still knocketh1 ,and with ever-patient watching1 ,with the sad eyes true and tender1 ,with the glory-crownd hair1-- ,still a ,god is waiting there4 ,,the ,,old ,,psalm ,,tune ,you asked1 dear friend1 the other day1 ,why still my charmd ear ,rejoiceth in uncultured tone ,that old psalm tune to hear8 ,i've heard full oft1 in foreign lands1 ,the grand orchestral strain1 ,where music's ancient masters live1 ,revealed on earth again1-- ,where breathing1 solemn instruments1 ,in swaying clouds of sound1 ,bore up the yearning1 trancd soul1 ,like silver wings around2-- ,i've heard in old ,st4 ,peter's dome1 ,where clouds of incense rise1 ,most ravishing the choral swell ,mount upwards to the skies4 ,and well ,i feel the magic power1 ,when skilled and cultured art ,its cunning webs of sweetness weaves ,around the captured heart4 ,but yet1 dear friend1 though rudely sung1 ,that old psalm tune hath still ,a pulse of power beyond them all ,my inmost soul to thrill4 ,those halting tones that sound to you1 ,are not the tones ,i hear2 ,but voices of the loved and lost ,there meet my longing ear4 ,i hear my angel mother's voice1-- ,those were the words she sung2 ,i hear my brother's ringing tones1 ,as once on earth they rung2 ,and friends that walk in white above ,come round me like a cloud1 ,and far above those earthly notes ,their singing sounds aloud4 ,there may be discord1 as you say2 ,those voices poorly ring2 ,but there's no discord in the strain ,those upper spirits sing4 ,for they who sing are of the blest1 ,the calm and glorified1 ,whose hours are one eternal rest ,on heaven's sweet floating tide4 ,their life is music and accord2 ,their souls and hearts keep time ,in one sweet concert with the ,lord1-- ,one concert vast1 sublime4 ,and through the hymns they sang on earth ,sometimes a sweetness falls ,on those they loved and left below1 ,and softly homeward calls1-- ,bells from our own dear fatherland1 ,borne trembling o'er the sea1-- ,the narrow sea that they have crossed1 ,the shores where we shall be4 ,o sing1 sing on1 belovd souls6 ,sing cares and griefs to rest2 ,sing1 till entrancd we arise ,to join you 'mong the blest ,,the ,,other ,,world ,it lies around us like a cloud1 ,a world we do not see2 ,yet the sweet closing of an eye ,may bring us there to be4 ,its gentle breezes fan our cheek2 ,amid our worldly cares1 ,its gentle voices whisper love1 ,and mingle with our prayers4 ,sweet hearts around us throb and beat1 ,sweet helping hands are stirred1 ,and palpitates the veil between ,with breathings almost heard4 ,the silence1 awful1 sweet1 and calm1 ,they have no power to break2 ,for mortal words are not for them ,to utter or partake4 ,so thin1 so soft1 so sweet1 they glide1 ,so near to press they seem1 ,they lull us gently to our rest1 ,they melt into our dream4 ,and in the hush of rest they bring ',tis easy now to see ,how lovely and how sweet a pass ,the hour of death may be2-- ,to close the eye1 and close the ear1 ,wrapped in a trance of bliss1 ,and1 gently drawn in loving arms1 ,to swoon to that--from this1-- ,scarce knowing if we wake or sleep1 ,scarce asking where we are1 ,to feel all evil sink away1 ,all sorrow and all care4 ,sweet souls around us6 watch us still2 ,press nearer to our side2 ,into our thoughts1 into our prayers1 ,with gentle helpings glide4 ,let death between us be as naught1 ,a dried and vanished stream2 ,your joy be the reality1 ,our suffering life the dream4 ,,mary ,,at ,,the ,,cross ,now there stood by the cross of ,jesus his mother4 ,o wondrous mother6 since the dawn of time ,was ever love1 was ever grief1 like thine8 ,o highly favored in thy joy's deep flow1 ,and favored1 even in this1 thy bitterest woe6 ,poor was that home in simple ,nazareth ,where1 fairly growing1 like some silent flower1 ,last of a kingly race1 unknown and lowly1 ,o desert lily1 passed thy childhood's hour4 ,the world knew not the tender1 serious maiden1 ,who through deep loving years so silent grew1 ,full of high thought and holy aspiration1 ,which the o'ershadowing ,god alone might view4 ,and then it came1 that message from the highest1 ,such as to woman ne'er before descended1 ,the almighty wings thy prayerful soul o'erspread1 ,and with thy life the ,life of worlds was blended4 ,what visions then of future glory filled thee1 ,the chosen mother of that ,king unknown1 ,mother fulfiller of all prophecy ,which1 through dim ages1 wondering seers had shown6 ,well did thy dark eye kindle1 thy deep soul ,rise into billows1 and thy heart rejoice2 ,then woke the poet's fire1 the prophet's song1 ,tuned with strange burning words thy timid voice4 ,then1 in dark contrast1 came the lowly manger1 ,the outcast shed1 the tramp of brutal feet2 ,again behold earth's learnd and her lowly1 ,sages and shepherds1 prostrate at thy feet4 ,then to the temple bearing--hark again ,what strange conflicting tones of prophecy ,breathe o'er the child foreshadowing words of joy1 ,high triumph blent with bitter agony6 ,o highly favored thou in many an hour ,spent in lone musings with thy wondrous ,son1 ,when thou didst gaze into that glorious eye1 ,and hold that mighty hand within thine own4 ,blest through those thirty years1 when in thy dwelling ,he lived a ,god disguised with unknown power2 ,and thou his sole adorer1 his best love1 ,trusting1 revering1 waited for his hour4 ,blest in that hour1 when called by opening heaven ,with cloud and voice1 and the baptizing flame1 ,up from the ,jordan walked th' acknowledged stranger1 ,and awe-struck crowds grew silent as ,he came4 ,blessd1 when full of grace1 with glory crowned1 ,he from both hands almighty favors poured1 ,and1 though ,he had not where to lay his head1 ,brought to his feet alike the slave and lord4 ,crowds followed2 thousands shouted1 ,lo1 our ,king6 ,fast beat thy heart4 ,now1 now the hour draws nigh3 ,behold the crown1 the throne1 the nations bend6 ,ah1 no6 fond mother1 no6 behold ,him die6 ,now by that cross thou tak'st thy final station1 ,and shar'st the last dark trial of thy ,son2 ,not with weak tears or woman's lamentation1 ,but with high1 silent anguish1 like his own4 ,hail6 highly favored1 even in this deep passion2 ,hail6 in this bitter anguish thou art blest1-- ,blest in the holy power with ,him to suffer ,those deep death-pangs that lead to higher rest4 ,all now is darkness2 and in that deep stillness ,the ,god-man wrestles with that mighty woe2 ,hark to that cry1 the rock of ages rending1-- ',tis finished6 ,mother1 all is glory now6 ,by sufferings mighty as his mighty soul ,hath the ,redeemer risen forever blest2 ,and through all ages must his heart-belovd ,through the same baptism enter the same rest4 ,,the ,,inner ,,voice ,come ye yourselves into a desert place and rest awhile2 for there were many coming and going1 so that they had no time so much as to eat4 ',mid the mad whirl of life1 its dim confusion1 ,its jarring discords and poor vanity1 ,breathing like music over troubled waters1 ,what gentle voice1 ,o ,christian1 speaks to thee8 ,it is a stranger1--not of earth or earthly2 ,by the serene1 deep fullness of that eye1-- ,by the calm1 pitying smile1 the gesture lowly1-- ,it is thy ,saviour as ,he passeth by4 ,come1 come1 ,he saith1 ,o soul oppressed and weary1 ,come to the shadows of my desert rest1 ,come walk with me far from life's babbling discords1 ,and peace shall breathe like music in thy breast4 ,art thou bewildered by contesting voices1-- ,sick to thy soul of party noise and strife8 ,come1 leave it all1 and seek that solitude ,where thou shalt learn of me a purer life4 ,when far behind the world's great tumult dieth1 ,thou shalt look back and wonder at its roar2 ,but its far voice shall seem to thee a dream1 ,its power to vex thy holier life be o'er4 ,there shalt thou learn the secret of a power1 ,mine to bestow1 which heals the ills of living2 ,to overcome by love1 to live by prayer1 ,to conquer man's worst evils by forgiving4 ,,abide ,,in ,,me1 ,,and ,i ,,in ,,you ,,the ,,soul',s ,,answer ,that mystic word of thine1 ,o sovereign ,lord1 ,is all too pure1 too high1 too deep for me2 ,weary of striving1 and with longing faint1 ,i breathe it back again in prayer to thee4 ,abide in me1 ,i pray1 and ,i in thee2 ,from this good hour1 ,o leave me nevermore2 ,then shall the discord cease1 the wound be healed1 ,the lifelong bleeding of the soul be o'er4 ,abide in me2 o'ershadow by thy love ,each half-formed purpose and dark thought of sin2 ,quench1 e'er it rise1 each selfish1 low desire1 ,and keep my soul as thine1 calm and divine4 ,as some rare perfume in a vase of clay ,pervades it with a fragrance not its own1 ,so1 when thou dwellest in a mortal soul1 ,all heaven's own sweetness seems around it thrown4 ,abide in me3 there have been moments blest ,when ,i have heard thy voice and felt thy power2 ,then evil lost its grasp1 and passion1 hushed1 ,owned the divine enchantment of the hour4 ,these were but seasons1 beautiful and rare2 ,abide in me1 and they shall ever be4 ,fulfill at once thy precept and my prayer1-- ,come1 and abide in me1 and ,i in thee4 ,,the ,,secret ,thou shalt keep them in the secret of thy presence from the strife of tongues4 ,when winds are raging o'er the upper ocean1 ,and billows wild contend with angry roar1 ',tis said1 far down beneath the wild commotion1 ,that peaceful stillness reigneth evermore4 ,far1 far beneath1 the noise of tempest dieth1 ,and silver waves chime ever peacefully2 ,and no rude storm1 how fierce soe'er he flieth1 ,disturbs the sabbath of that deeper sea4 ,so to the soul that knows thy love1 ,o ,purest1 ,there is a temple peaceful evermore6 ,and all the babble of life's angry voices ,die in hushed stillness at its sacred door4 ,far1 far away the noise of passion dieth1 ,and loving thoughts rise ever peacefully2 ,and no rude storm1 how fierce soe'er he flieth1 ,disturbs that deeper rest1 ,o ,lord1 in thee4 ,o rest of rests6 ,o peace serene1 eternal6 ,thou ever livest and thou changest never2 ,and in the secret of thy presence dwelleth ,fullness of joy1 forever and forever4 ,,think ,,not ,,all ,,is ,,over ,think not1 when the wailing winds of autumn ,drive the shivering leaflets from the tree1-- ,think not all is over3 spring returneth1 ,buds and leaves and blossoms thou shalt see4 ,think not1 when the ,earth lies cold and seald1 ,and the weary birds above her mourn1-- ,think not all is over3 ,god still liveth1 ,songs and sunshine shall again return4 ,think not1 when thy heart is waste and dreary1 ,when thy cherished hopes lie chill and sere1-- ,think not all is over3 ,god still loveth1 ,he will wipe away thy every tear4 ,weeping for a night alone endureth1 ,god at last shall bring a morning hour2 ,in the frozen buds of every winter ,sleep the blossoms of a future flower4 ,,lines ,,to ,,the ,,memory ,,of ,,annie1 ,,who ,,died ,,at ,,milan1 ,,june #f1 #ahfj ,jesus saith unto her1 ,woman1 why weepest thou8 whom seekest thou8 ,she1 supposing him to be the gardener1 saith unto him1 ,sir1 if thou have borne him hence1 tell me where thou hast laid him4--,,john ,,xx4 #ae4 ,in the fair garden of celestial peace ,walketh a ,gardener in meekness clad2 ,fair are the flowers that wreathe his dewy locks1 ,and his mysterious eyes are sweet and sad4 ,fair are the silent foldings of his robes1 ,falling with saintly calmness to his feet2 ,and when he walks1 each floweret to his will ,with living pulse of sweet accord doth beat4 ,every green leaf thrills to its tender heart1 ,in the mild summer radiance of his eye2 ,no fear of storm1 or cold1 or bitter frost1 ,shadows the flowerets when their sun is nigh4 ,and all our pleasant haunts of earthly love ,are nurseries to those gardens of the air2 ,and his far-darting eye1 with starry beam1 ,watcheth the growing of his treasures there4 ,we call them ours1 o'erwept with selfish tears1 ,o'erwatched with restless longings night and day2 ,forgetful of the high1 mysterious right ,he holds to bear our cherished plants away4 ,but when some sunny spot in those bright fields ,needs the fair presence of an added flower1 ,down sweeps a starry angel in the night3 ,at morn1 the rose has vanished from our bower4 ,where stood our tree1 our flower1 there is a grave6 ,blank1 silent1 vacant1 but in worlds above1 ,like a new star outblossomed in the skies1 ,the angels hail an added flower of love4 ,dear friend1 no more upon that lonely mound1 ,strewed with the red and yellow autumn leaf1 ,drop thou the tear1 but raise the fainting eye ,beyond the autumn mists of earthly grief4 ,thy garden rosebud bore1 within its breast1 ,those mysteries of color1 warm and bright1 ,that the bleak climate of this lower sphere ,could never waken into form and light4 ,yes1 the sweet ,gardener hath borne her hence1 ,nor must thou ask to take her thence away2 ,thou shalt behold her in some coming hour1 ,full-blossomed in his fields of cloudless day4 ,,the ,,crocus ,beneath the sunny autumn sky1 ,with gold leaves dropping round1 ,we sought1 my little friend and ,i1 ,the consecrated ground1 ,where1 calm beneath the holy cross1 ,o'ershadowed by sweet skies1 ,sleeps tranquilly that youthful form1 ,those blue unclouded eyes4 ,around the soft1 green swelling mound ,we scooped the earth away1 ,and buried deep the crocus-bulbs ,against a coming day4 ,these roots are dry1 and brown1 and sere2 ,why plant them here8 he said1 ,to leave them1 all the winter long1 ,so desolate and dead4 ,dear child1 within each sere dead form ,there sleeps a living flower1 ,and angel-like it shall arise ,in spring's returning hour4 ,ah1 deeper down--cold1 dark1 and chill-- ,we buried our heart's flower1 ,but angel-like shall he arise ,in spring's immortal hour4 ,in blue and yellow from its grave ,springs up the crocus fair1 ,and ,god shall raise those bright blue eyes1 ,those sunny waves of hair4 ,not for a fading summer's morn1 ,not for a fleeting hour1 ,but for an endless age of bliss1 ,shall rise our heart's dear flower4 ,,consolation ,,written ,,after ,,the ,,second ,,battle ,,of ,,bull ,,run ,and ,i saw a new heaven and a new earth3 for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away2 and there was no more sea4 ,ah1 many-voiced and angry6 how the waves ,beat turbulent with terrible uproar6 ,is there no rest from tossing1--no repose8 ,where shall we find a haven and a shore8 ,what is secure from the land-dashing wave8 ,there go our riches1 and our hopes fly there2 ,there go the faces of our best beloved1 ,whelmed in the vortex of its wild despair4 ,whose son is safe8 whose brother1 and whose home8 ,the dashing spray beats out the household fire2 ,by blackened ashes weep our widowed souls ,over the embers of our lost desire4 ,by pauses1 in the fitful moaning storm1 ,we hear triumphant notes of battle roll4 ,too soon the triumph sinks in funeral wail2 ,the muffled drum1 the death march1 shakes the soul6 ,rocks on all sides1 and breakers6 at the helm ,weak human hand and weary human eyes4 ,the shout and clamor of our dreary strife ,goes up conflicting to the angry skies4 ,but for all this1 ,o timid hearts1 be strong2 ,be of good cheer1 for1 though the storm must be1 ,it hath its ,master3 from the depths shall rise ,new heavens1 new earth1 where shall be no more sea4 ,no sea1 no tossing1 no unrestful storm6 ,forever past the anguish and the strife2 ,the poor old weary earth shall bloom again1 ,with the bright foliage of that better life4 ,and war1 and strife1 and hatred1 shall be past1 ,and misery be a forgotten dream4 ,the ,shepherd ,god shall lead his peaceful fold ,by the calm meadows and the quiet stream4 ,be still1 be still1 and know that he is ,god2 ,be calm1 be trustful2 work1 and watch1 and pray1 ,till from the throes of this last anguish rise ,the light and gladness of that better day4 ,,only ,a ,,year ,one year ago1--a ringing voice1 ,a clear blue eye1 ,and clustering curls of sunny hair1 ,too fair to die4 ,only a year1--no voice1 no smile1 ,no glance of eye1 ,no clustering curls of golden hair1 ,fair but to die6 ,one year ago1--what loves1 what schemes ,far into life6 ,what joyous hopes1 what high resolves1 ,what generous strife6 ,the silent picture on the wall1 ,the burial stone1 ,of all that beauty1 life1 and joy ,remain alone6 ,one year1--one year1--one little year1 ,and so much gone6 ,and yet the even flow of life ,moves calmly on4 ,the grave grows green1 the flowers bloom fair1 ,above that head2 ,no sorrowing tint of leaf or spray ,says he is dead4 ,no pause or hush of merry birds1 ,that sing above1 ,tells us how coldly sleeps below ,the form we love4 ,where hast thou been this year1 beloved8 ,what hast thou seen8 ,what visions fair1 what glorious life1 ,where thou hast been8 ,the veil6 the veil6 so thin1 so strong6 ',twixt us and thee2 ,the mystic veil6 when shall it fall1 ,that we may see8 ,not dead1 not sleeping1 not even gone1 ,but present still1 ,and waiting for the coming hour ,of ,god's sweet will4 ,lord of the living and the dead1 ,our ,saviour dear6 ,we lay in silence at thy feet ,this sad1 sad year6 ,,below ,loudly sweep the winds of autumn ,o'er that lone1 belovd grave1 ,where we laid those sunny ringlets1 ,when those blue eyes set like stars1 ,leaving us to outer darkness4 ,o the longing and the aching6 ,o the sere deserted grave6 ,let the grass turn brown upon thee1 ,brown and withered like our dreams6 ,let the wind moan through the pine-trees ,with a dreary1 dirge-like whistle1 ,sweep the dead leaves on its bosom1-- ,moaning1 sobbing through the branches1 ,where the summer laughed so gayly4 ,he is gone1 our boy of summer1-- ,gone the light of his blue eyes1 ,gone the tender heart and manly1 ,gone the dreams and the aspirings1-- ,nothing but the mound remaineth1 ,and the aching in our bosoms1 ,ever aching1 ever throbbing3 ,who shall bring it unto rest8 ,,above ,a ,,vision ,coming down a golden street ,i beheld my vanished one1 ,and he moveth on a cloud1 ,and his forehead wears a star2 ,and his blue eyes1 deep and holy1 ,fixed as in a blessd dream1 ,see some mystery of joy1 ,some unuttered depth of love4 ,and his vesture is as blue ,as the skies of summer are1 ,falling with a saintly sweep1 ,with a sacred stillness swaying2 ,and he presseth to his bosom ,harps of strange and mystic fashion1 ,and his hands1 like living pearls1 ,wander o'er the golden strings4 ,and the music that ariseth1 ,who can utter or divine it8 ,in that strange celestial thrilling1 ,every memory of sorrow1 ,every heart-ache1 every anguish1 ,every fear for the to-morrow1 ,melt away in charmd rest4 ,and there be around him many1 ,bright with robes like evening clouds1-- ,tender green and clearest amber1 ,crimson fading into rose1 ,robes of flames and robes of silver1-- ,and their hues all thrill and tremble ,with a living light of feeling1 ,deepening with each heart's pulsation1 ,till in vivid trance of color ,that celestial rainbow glows4 ,how they float and wreathe and brighten1 ,bending low their starry brows1 ,singing with a tender cadence1 ,and their hands1 like spotless lilies1 ,folded on their prayerful breasts4 ,in their singing seem to mingle ,tender airs of bygone days2-- ,mother-hymnings by the cradle1 ,mother-moanings by the grave1 ,songs of human love and sorrow1 ,songs of endless love and rest2-- ,in the pauses of that music ,every throb of sorrow dies4 ,o my own1 my heart's belovd1 ,vainly have ,i wept above thee8 ,would ,i call thee from thy glory ,to this world's impurity8-- ,lo6 it passeth1 it dissolveth1 ,all the vision melts away2 ,but as if a heavenly lily ,dropped into my aching breast1 ,with a healing sweetness laden1 ,with a mystic breath of rest1 ,i am charmed into forgetting ,autumn winds and dreary grave4 ,,lines ,,suggested ,,by ,,the ,,death ,,of ,,the ,,wife ,,of ,,moses ,,stuart1 ,,of ,,andover1 ,,mass4 ,how quiet1 through the hazy autumn air1 ,the elm-boughs wave with many a gold-flecked leaf6 ,how calmly float the dreamy mantled clouds ,through these still days of autumn1 fair and brief6 ,our ,andover stands thoughtful1 fair1 and calm1 ,waiting to lay her summer glories by ,e'er the bright flush shall kindle all her pines1 ,and her woods blaze with autumn's heraldry4 ,by the old mossy wall the goldenrod ,waves as aforetime1 and the purple sprays ,of starry asters quiver to the breeze1 ,rustling all stilly through the forest ways4 ,no voice of triumph from those silent skies ,breaks on the calm1 and speaks of glories near1 ,nor bright wings flutter1 nor fair glistening robes ,proclaim that heavenly messengers are here4 ,yet in our midst an angel hath come down1 ,troubling the waters in a peaceful home2 ,and from that home1 of life's long sickness healed1 ,a saint hath risen1 where pain no more may come4 ,christ's fair elect one1 from a hidden life ,of loving deeds and words of gentleness1 ,hath passed where all are loving and beloved1 ,beyond all weariness and all distress4 ,calm1 like a lamb in shepherd's bosom borne1 ,quiet and trustful hath she sunk to rest2 ,god breathed in tenderness the sweet ,well done6 ,that scarce awoke a trance so still and blest4 ,ye who remember the long loving years1 ,the patient mother's hourly martyrdom1 ,the self-renouncing wisdom1 the calm trust1 ,rejoice for her whose day of rest is come6 ,father and mother1 now united1 stand ,waiting for you to bind the household chain2 ,the tent is struck1 the home is gone before1 ,and tarries for you on the heavenly plain4 ,by every wish repressed and hope resigned1 ,each cross accepted and each sorrow borne1 ,she dead yet speaketh1 she doth beckon you ,to tread the path her patient feet have worn4 ,each year that world grows richer and more dear ,with the bright freight washed from life's stormy shore2 ,o goodly clime1 how lovely is thy strand1 ,with those dear faces seen on earth no more6 ,the veil between this world and that to come ,grows tremulous and quivers with their breath2 ,dimly we hear their voices1 see their hands1 ,inviting us to the release of death4 ,o ,thou1 in whom thy saints above1 below1 ,are one and undivided1 grant us grace ,in patience yet to bear our daily cross1-- ,in patience run our hourly shortening race6 ,and while on earth we wear the servant's form1 ,and while life's labors ever toilful be1 ,breathe in our souls the joyful confidence ,we are already kings and priests with thee4 ,,summer ,,studies ,why shouldst thou study in the month of ,june ,in dusky books of ,greek and ,hebrew lore1 ,when the ,great ,teacher of all glorious things ,passes in hourly light before thy door8 ,there is a brighter book unrolling now2 ,fair are its leaves as is the tree of heaven1 ,all veined and dewed and gemmed with wondrous signs1 ,to which a healing mystic power is given4 ,a thousand voices to its study call1 ,from the fair hilltop1 from the waterfall1 ,where the bird singeth1 and the yellow bee1 ,and the breeze talketh from the airy tree4 ,now is that glorious resurrection time ,when all earth's buried beauties have new birth3 ,behold the yearly miracle complete1-- ,god hath created a new heaven and earth6 ,no tree that wants its joyful garments now1 ,no flower but hastes his bravery to don2 ,god bids thee to this marriage feast of joy1 ,let thy soul put the wedding garment on4 ,all fringed with festal gold the barberry stands2 ,the ferns1 exultant1 clap their new-made wings2 ,the hemlock rustles broideries of fresh green1 ,and thousand bells of pearl the blueberry rings4 ,the long1 weird fingers of the old white-pines ,do beckon thee into the flickering wood1 ,where moving spots of light show mystic flowers1 ,and wavering music fills the dreamy hours4 ,hast thou no time for all this wondrous show1-- ,no thought to spare8 ,wilt thou forever be ,with thy last year's dry flower-stalk and dead leaves1 ,and no new shoot or blossom on thy tree8 ,see how the pines push off their last year's leaves1 ,and stretch beyond them with exultant bound3 ,the grass and flowers1 with living power1 o'ergrow ,their last year's remnants on the greening ground4 ,wilt thou1 then1 all thy wintry feelings keep1 ,the old dead routine of thy book-writ lore1 ,nor deem that ,god can teach1 by one bright hour1 ,what life hath never taught to thee before8 ,see what vast leisure1 what unbounded rest1 ,lie in the bending dome of the blue sky3 ,ah6 breathe that life-born languor from thy breast1 ,and know once more a child's unreasoning joy4 ,cease1 cease to think1 and be content to be2 ,swing safe at anchor in fair ,nature's bay2 ,reason no more1 but o'er thy quiet soul ,let ,god's sweet teachings ripple their soft way4 ,soar with the birds1 and flutter with the leaf2 ,dance with the seeded grass in fringy play2 ,sail with the cloud1 wave with the dreaming pine1 ,and float with ,nature all the livelong day4 ,call not such hours an idle waste of time1-- ,land that lies fallow gains a quiet power2 ,it treasures1 from the brooding of ,god's wings1 ,strength to unfold the future tree and flower4 ,and when the summer's glorious show is past1 ,its miracles no longer charm thy sight1 ,the treasured riches of those thoughtful hours ,shall make thy wintry musings warm and bright4 ,,the ,,shepherd',s ,,carol ,o ,shepherd of ,israel1 ,thy lost flock are straying2 ,our ,helper1 our ,saviour1 ,how long thy delaying6 ,where1 ,lord1 is thy promise ,to ,david of old1 ,of the ,king and the ,shepherd ,to gather the fold6 ,cold1 cold is the night wind1 ,our hearts have no cheer1 ,our ,lord and our ,leader1 ,when wilt thou appear8 ,so sang the sad shepherds ,on ,bethlehem's cold ground ,when lo1 the bright angels ,in glory around6 ,peace1 peace1 ye dear shepherds1 ,and be of good cheer2 ,the ,lord whom ye long for ,is coming--is here6 ,in the city of ,david ,behold him appear-- ,a babe in a manger-- ,go worship him there4 ,they went and were blessd4 ,dear soul1 go thou too2 ,the ,saviour for them ,is the ,saviour for you4 ,oh1 kneel by the manger1 ,oh1 kneel by the cross2 ,accept him1 believe him1-- ,all else is but dross4 ,,hours ,,of ,,the ,,night ,,or ,,watches ,,of ,,sorrow ,i ,,midnight ,he hath made me to dwell in darkness as those that have been long dead4 ,all dark6--no light1 no ray6 ,sun1 moon1 and stars1 all gone6 ,dimness of anguish6--utter void6-- ,crushed1 and alone6 ,one waste of weary pain1 ,one dull1 unmeaning ache1 ,a heart too weary even to throb1 ,too bruised to break4 ,no longer anxious thoughts1 ,no longer hopes and fears1 ,no strife1 no effort1 no desire1 ,no tears4 ,daylight and leaves and flowers1 ,summer and song of bird6-- ,all vanished6--dreams forever gone1 ,unseen1 unheard6 ,love1 beauty1 youth1--all gone6 ,the high1 heroic vow1 ,the buoyant hope1 the fond desire1-- ,all ashes now6 ,the words they speak to me ,far off and distant seem1 ,as voices we have known and loved ,speak in a dream4 ,they bid me to submit2 ,i do1--,i cannot strive2 ,i do not question1--,i endure1 ,endure and live4 ,i do not struggle more1 ,nor pray1 for prayer is vain2 ,i but lie still the weary hour1 ,and bear my pain4 ,a guiding ,god1 a ,friend1 ,a ,father's gracious cheer1 ,once seemed my own2 but now even faith ,lies buried here4 ,this darkened1 deathly life ,is all remains of me1 ,and but one conscious wish1-- ,to cease to be6 ,,ii ,,first ,,hour ,there was darkness over all the land from the sixth hour unto the ninth hour4 ,and ,jesus cried and said1 ,my ,god1 my ,god1 why hast thou forsaken me8 ,that cry hath stirred the deadness of my soul2 ,i feel a heart-string throb1 as throbs a chord ,when breaks the master chord of some great harp2 ,my heart responsive answers1 ,why8 ,o ,lord4 ,o cross of pain6 ,o crown of cruel thorns6 ,o piercing nails6 ,o spotless ,sufferer there6 ,wert thou forsaken in thy deadly strife8 ,then canst thou pity me in my despair4 ,take my dead heart1 ,o ,jesus1 down with thee ,to that still sepulchre where thou didst rest2 ,lay it in the fair linen's spicy folds1 ,as a dear mother lays her babe to rest4 ,i am so worn1 so weary1 so o'erspent1 ,to lie with thee in that calm trance were sweet2 ,the bitter myrrh of long-remembered pain ,may work in me new strength to rise again4 ,this dark and weary mystery of woe1 ,this hopeless struggle1 this most useless strife1-- ,ah1 let it end6 ,i die with thee1 my ,lord1 ,to all ,i ever hoped or wished from life4 ,i die with thee3 thy fellowship of grief1 ,thy partnership with mortal misery1 ,the weary watching and the nameless dread1-- ,let them be mine to make me one with thee4 ,thou hast asked1 ,why8 and ,god will answer thee1 ,therefore ,i ask not1 but in peace lie down1 ,for the three days of mystery and rest1 ,till comes the resurrection and the crown4 ,,iii ,,second ,,hour ,they laid hold upon one ,simon a ,cyrenian1 and on him they laid the cross1 that he might bear it after ,jesus4 ,along the dusty thoroughfare of life1 ,upon his daily errands walking free1 ,came a brave1 honest man1 untouched by pain1 ,unchilled by sight or thought of misery4 ,but lo6 a crowd3--he stops1--with curious eye ,a fainting form all pressed to earth he sees2 ,the hard1 rough burden of the bitter cross ,hath bowed the drooping head and feeble knees4 ,ho6 lay the cross upon yon stranger there1 ,for he hath breadth of chest and strength of limb4 ,straight it is done2 and heavy laden thus1 ,with ,jesus' cross1 he turns and follows him4 ,unmurmuring1 patient1 cheerful1 pitiful1 ,prompt with the holy sufferer to endure1 ,forsaking all to follow the dear ,lord1-- ,thus did he make his glorious calling sure4 ,o soul1 whoe'er thou art1 walking life's way1 ,as yet from touch of deadly sorrow free1 ,learn from this story to forecast the day ,when ,jesus and his cross shall come to thee4 ,o in that fearful1 that decisive hour1 ,rebel not1 shrink not1 seek not thence to flee1 ,but1 humbly bending1 take thy heavy load1 ,and bear it after ,jesus patiently4 ,his cross is thine4 ,if thou and he be one1 ,some portion of his pain must still be thine2 ,thus only mayst thou share his glorious crown1 ,and reign with him in majesty divine4 ,master in sorrow6 ,i accept my share ,in the great anguish of life's mystery4 ,no more1 alone1 ,i sink beneath my load1 ,but bear my cross1 ,o ,jesus1 after thee4 ,,iv ,,third ,,hour ,,the ,,mystery ,,of ,,life ,let my heart calm itself in thee4 ,let the great sea of my heart1 that swelleth with waves1 calm itself in thee4--,,st4 ,,augustine',s ,,manual4 ,life's mystery--deep1 restless as the ocean-- ,hath surged and wailed for ages to and fro2 ,earth's generations watch its ceaseless motion1 ,as in and out its hollow moanings flow4 ,shivering and yearning by that unknown sea1 ,let my soul calm itself1 ,o ,christ1 in thee6 ,life's sorrows1 with inexorable power1 ,sweep desolation o'er this mortal plain2 ,and human loves and hopes fly as the chaff ,borne by the whirlwind from the ripened grain4 ,ah6 when before that blast my hopes all flee1 ,let my soul calm itself1 ,o ,christ1 in thee6 ,between the mysteries of death and life ,thou standest1 loving1 guiding1 not explaining2 ,we ask1 and thou art silent2 yet we gaze1 ,and our charmed hearts forget their drear complaining4 ,no crushing fate1 no stony destiny1 ,o ,lamb that hast been slain1 we find in thee6 ,the many waves of thought1 the mighty tides1 ,the ground-swell that rolls up from other lands1 ,from far-off worlds1 from dim1 eternal shores1 ,whose echo dashes on life's wave-worn strands1 ,this vague1 dark tumult of the inner sea ,grows calm1 grows bright1 ,o risen ,lord1 in thee6 ,thy piercd hand guides the mysterious wheels2 ,thy thorn-crowned brow now wears the crown of power2 ,and when the dread enigma presseth sore1 ,thy patient voice saith1 ,watch with me one hour4 ,as sinks the moaning river in the sea ,in silver peace1 so sinks my soul in thee6 ,v ,,fourth ,,hour ,,the ,,sorrows ,,of ,,mary ,,dedicated ,,to ,,the ,,mothers ,,who ,,have ,,lost ,,sons ,,in ,,the ,,late ,,war ,i slept1 but my heart was waking1 ,and out in my dreams ,i sped1 ,through the streets of an ancient city1 ,where ,jesus1 the ,lord1 lay dead4 ,he was lying all cold and lowly1 ,and the sepulchre was sealed1 ,and the women that bore the spices ,had come from the holy field4 ,there is feasting in ,pilate's palace1 ,there is revel in ,herod's hall1 ,where the lute and the sounding instrument ,to mirth and merriment call4 ,i have washed my hands1 said ,pilate1 ,and what is the ,jew to me8 ,i have missed my chance1 said ,herod1 ,one of his wonders to see4 ,but why should our courtly circle ,to the thought give further place8 ,all dreams1 save of pleasure and beauty1 ,bid the dancers' feet efface4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 ,i saw a light from a casement1 ,and entered a lowly door1 ,where a woman1 stricken and mournful1 ,sat in sackcloth on the floor4 ,there ,mary1 the mother of ,jesus1 ,and ,john1 the belovd one1 ,with a few poor friends beside them1 ,were mourning for ,him that was gone4 ,and before the mother was lying ,that crown of cruel thorn1 ,wherewith they crowned that gentle brow ,in mockery that morn4 ,and her ears yet ring with the anguish ,of that last dying cry1-- ,that mighty appeal of agony ,that shook both earth and sky4 ,o ,god1 what a shaft of anguish ,was that dying voice from the tree6-- ,from ,him the only spotless1-- ,why hast ,thou forsaken me8 ,and was he of ,god forsaken8 ,they ask1 appalled with dread2 ,is evil crowned and triumphant1 ,and goodness vanquished and dead8 ,is there1 then1 no ,god in ,jacob8 ,is the star of ,judah dim8 ,for who would our ,god deliver1 ,if he would not deliver him8 ,if ,god could not deliver1--what hope then8 ,if he would not1--who ever shall dare ,to be firm in his service hereafter8 ,to trust in his wisdom or care8 ,so darkly the ,tempter was saying1 ,to hearts that with sorrow were dumb2 ,and the poor souls were clinging in darkness to ,god1 ,with hands that with anguish were numb4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 ,in my dreams came the third day morning1 ,and fairly the day-star shone2 ,but fairer1 the solemn angel1 ,as he rolled away the stone4 ,in the lowly dwelling of ,mary1 ,in the dusky twilight chill1 ,there was heard the sound of coming feet1 ,and her very heart grew still4 ,and in the glimmer of dawning1 ,she saw him enter the door1 ,her ,son1 all living and real1 ,risen1 to die no more6 ,her ,son1 all living and real1 ,risen no more to die1-- ,with the power of an endless life in his face1 ,with the light of heaven in his eye4 ,o mourning mothers1 so many1 ,weeping o'er sons that are dead1 ,have ye thought of the sorrows of ,mary's heart1 ,of the tears that ,mary shed8 ,is the crown of thorns before you8 ,are there memories of cruel scorn8 ,of hunger and thirst and bitter cold ,that your belovd have borne8 ,had ye ever a son like ,jesus ,to give to a death of pain8 ,did ever a son so cruelly die1 ,but did he die in vain8 ,have ye ever thought that all the hopes ,that make our earth-life fair1 ,were born in those three bitter days ,of ,mary's deep despair8 ,o mourning mothers1 so many1 ,weeping in woe and pain1 ,think on the joy of ,mary's heart ,in a ,son that is risen again4 ,have faith in a third-day morning1 ,in a resurrection-hour2 ,for what ye sow in weakness1 ,he can raise again in power4 ,have faith in the ,lord of that thorny crown1 ,in the ,lord of the piercd hand2 ,for he reigneth now o'er earth and heaven1 ,and his power who may withstand8 ,and the hopes that never on earth shall bloom1 ,the sorrows forever new1 ,lay silently down at the feet of ,him ,who died and is risen for you4 ,,vi ,,day ,,dawn ,the dim gray dawn1 upon the eastern hills1 ,brings back to light once more the cheerless scene2 ,but oh6 no morning in my ,father's house ,is dawning now1 for there no night hath been4 ,ten thousand thousand now1 on ,zion's hills1 ,all robed in white1 with palmy crowns1 do stray1 ,while ,i1 an exile1 far from fatherland1 ,still wandering1 faint along the desert way4 ,o home6 dear home6 my own1 my native home6 ,o ,father1 friends6 when shall ,i look on you8 ,when shall these weary wanderings be o'er1 ,and ,i be gathered back to stray no more8 ,o ,thou1 the brightness of whose gracious face ,these weary1 longing eyes have never seen1-- ,by whose dear thought1 for whose belovd sake1 ,my course1 through toil and tears1 ,i daily take1-- ,i think of thee when the myrrh-dropping morn ,steps forth upon the purple eastern steep2 ,i think of thee in the fair eventide1 ,when the bright-sandaled stars their watches keep4 ,and trembling ,hope1 and fainting1 sorrowing ,love1 ,on thy dear word for comfort doth rely2 ,and clear-eyed ,faith1 with strong forereaching gaze1 ,beholds thee here1 unseen1 but ever nigh4 ,walking in white with thee1 she dimly sees1 ,all beautiful1 these lovely ones withdrawn1 ,with whom my heart went upward1 as they rose1 ,like morning stars1 to light a coming dawn4 ,all sinless now1 and crowned and glorified1 ,where'er thou movest move they still with thee1 ,as erst1 in sweet communion by thy side1 ,walked ,john and ,mary in old ,galilee4 ,but hush1 my heart6 ',tis but a day or two ,divides thee from that bright1 immortal shore4 ,rise up6 rise up6 and gird thee for the race6 ,fast fly the hours1 and all will soon be o'er4 ,thou hast the new name written in thy soul2 ,thou hast the mystic stone ,he gives his own4 ,thy soul1 made one with him1 shall feel no more ,that she is walking on her path alone4 ,,vii ,,when ,i ,,awake ,i ,,am ,,still ,,with ,,thee ,still1 still with ,thee1 when purple morning breaketh1 ,when the bird waketh and the shadows flee2 ,fairer than morning1 lovelier than the daylight1 ,dawns the sweet consciousness1 ,i am with ,thee6 ,alone with ,thee1 amid the mystic shadows1 ,the solemn hush of nature newly born2 ,alone with ,thee in breathless adoration1 ,in the calm dew and freshness of the morn4 ,as in the dawning o'er the waveless ocean ,the image of the morning star doth rest1 ,so in this stillness ,thou beholdest only ,thine image in the waters of my breast4 ,still1 still with ,thee6 as to each new-born morning ,a fresh and solemn splendor still is given1 ,so doth the blessed consciousness1 awaking1 ,breathe1 each day1 nearness unto ,thee and heaven4 ,when sinks the soul1 subdued by toil1 to slumber1 ,its closing eye looks up to ,thee in prayer2 ,sweet the repose beneath the wings o'ershading1 ,but sweeter still to wake and find ,thee there4 ,so shall it be at last1 in that bright morning ,when the soul waketh and life's shadows flee2 ,o in that hour1 fairer than daylight dawning1 ,shall rise the glorious thought1 ,i am with ,thee6 ,,pressed ,,flowers ,,from ,,italy ,a ,,day ,,in ,,the ,,pamfili ,,doria ,though the hills are cold and snowy1 ,and the wind drives chill to-day1 ,my heart goes back to a spring-time1 ,far1 far in the past away4 ,and ,i see a quaint old city1 ,weary and worn and brown1 ,where the spring and the birds are so early1 ,and the sun in such light goes down4 ,i remember that old-times villa1 ,where our afternoons went by1 ,where the suns of ,march flushed warmly1 ,and spring was in earth and sky4 ,out of the mouldering city1 ,mouldering1 old1 and gray1 ,we sped1 with a lightsome heart-thrill1 ,for a sunny1 gladsome day1-- ,for a revel of fresh spring verdure1 ,for a race 'mid springing flowers1 ,for a vision of plashing fountains1 ,of birds and blossoming bowers4 ,there were violet banks in the shadows1 ,violets white and blue2 ,and a world of bright anemones1 ,that over the terrace grew1-- ,blue and orange and purple1 ,rosy and yellow and white1 ,rising in rainbow bubbles1 ,streaking the lawns with light4 ,and down from the old stone pine-trees1 ,those far-off islands of air1 ,the birds are flinging the tidings ,of a joyful revel up there4 ,and now for the grand old fountains1 ,tossing their silvery spray1 ,those fountains so quaint and so many1 ,that are leaping and singing all day4 ,those fountains of strange weird sculpture1 ,with lichens and moss o'ergrown1 ,are they marble greening in moss-wreaths8 ,or moss-wreaths whitening to stone8 ,down many a wild1 dim pathway ,we ramble from morning till noon2 ,we linger1 unheeding the hours1 ,till evening comes all too soon4 ,and from out the ilex alleys1 ,where lengthening shadows play1 ,we look on the dreamy ,campagna1 ,all glowing with setting day1-- ,all melting in bands of purple1 ,in swathings and foldings of gold1 ,in ribands of azure and lilac1 ,like a princely banner unrolled4 ,and the smoke of each distant cottage1 ,and the flash of each villa white1 ,shines out with an opal glimmer1 ,like gems in a casket of light4 ,and the dome of old ,st4 ,peter's ,with a strange translucence glows1 ,like a mighty bubble of amethyst ,floating in waves of rose4 ,in a trance of dreamy vagueness ,we1 gazing and yearning1 behold ,that city beheld by the prophet1 ,whose walls were transparent gold4 ,and1 dropping all solemn and slowly1 ,to hallow the softening spell1 ,there falls on the dying twilight ,the ,ave ,maria bell4 ,with a mournful1 motherly softness1 ,with a weird and weary care1 ,that strange and ancient city ,seems calling the nations to prayer4 ,and the words that of old the angel ,to the mother of ,jesus brought1 ,rise like a new evangel1 ,to hallow the trance of our thought4 ,with the smoke of the evening incense1 ,our thoughts are ascending then ,to ,mary1 the mother of ,jesus1 ,to ,jesus1 the ,master of men4 ,o city of prophets and martyrs1 ,o shrines of the sainted dead1 ,when1 when shall the living day-spring ,once more on your towers be spread8 ,when ,he who is meek and lowly ,shall rule in those lordly halls1 ,and shall stand and feed as a shepherd ,the flock which his mercy calls1-- ,o then to those noble churches1 ,to picture and statue and gem1 ,to the pageant of solemn worship1 ,shall the meaning come back again4 ,and this strange and ancient city1 ,in that reign of ,his truth and love1 ,shall be what it seems in the twilight1 ,the type of that ,city above4 ,,the ,,gardens ,,of ,,the ,,vatican ,sweet fountains1 plashing with a dreamy fall1 ,and mosses green1 and tremulous veils of fern1 ,and banks of blowing cyclamen1 and stars1 ,blue as the skies1 of myrtle blossoming1 ,the twilight shade of ilex overhead ,o'erbubbling with sweet song of nightingale1 ,with walks of strange1 weird stillness1 leading on ',mid sculptured fragments half to green moss gone1 ,or breaking forth amid the violet leaves ,with some white gleam of an old world gone by4 ,ah6 strange1 sweet quiet6 wilderness of calm1 ,gardens of dreamy rest1 ,i long to lay ,beneath your shade the last long sigh1 and say1 ,here is my home1 my ,lord1 thy home and mine2 ,and ,i1 having searched the world with many a tear1 ,at last have found thee and will stray no more4 ,but vainly here ,i seek the ,gardener ,that ,mary saw4 ,these lovely halls beyond1 ,that airy1 sky-like dome1 that lofty fane1 ,is as a palace whence the king is gone ,and taken all the sweetness with himself4 ,turn again1 ,jesus1 and possess thine own6 ,come to thy temple once more as of old6 ,drive forth the money-changers1 let it be ,a house of prayer for nations4 ,even so1 ,amen6 ,amen6 ,,st4 ,,peter',s ,,church ,,holy ,,week1 ,,april1 #ahfj ,o fairest mansion of a ,father's love1 ,harmonious6 hospitable6 with thine arms ,outspread to all1 thy fountains ever full1 ,and1 fair as heaven1 thy misty1 sky-like dome ,hung like the firmament with circling sweep ,above the constellated golden lamps ,that burn forever round the holy tomb4 ,most meet art thou to be the ,father's house1 ,the house of prayer for nations4 ,come the time ,when thou shalt be so6 when a liberty1 ,wide as thine arms1 high as thy lofty dome1 ,shall be proclaimed1 by thy loud singing choirs1 ,like voice of many waters6 ,then the ,lord ,shall come into his temple1 and make pure ,the sons of ,levi2 then1 as once of old1 ,the blind shall see1 the lame leap as an hart1 ,and to the poor the ,gospel shall be preached1 ,and ,easter's silver-sounding trumpets tell1 ,the ,lord is risen indeed1 to die no more4 ,hasten it in its time4 ,amen6 ,amen6 ,,the ,,miserere ,not of the earth that music6 all things fade2 ,vanish the pictured walls6 and1 one by one1 ,the starry candles silently expire6 ,and now1 ,o ,jesus6 round that silent cross ,a moment's pause1 a hush as of the grave4 ,now rises slow a silver mist of sound1 ,and all the heavens break out in drops of grief2 ,a rain of sobbing sweetness1 swelling1 dying1 ,voice into voice inweaving with sweet throbs1 ,and fluttering pulses of impassioned moan1-- ,veiled voices1 in whose wailing there is awe1 ,and mysteries of love and agony1 ,a yearning anguish of celestial souls1 ,a shiver as of wings trembling the air1 ,as if ,god's shining doves1 his spotless birds1 ,wailed with a nightingale's heart-break of grief1 ,in this their starless night1 when for our sins ,their sun1 their life1 their love1 hangs darkly there1 ,like a slain lamb1 bleeding his life away6