Sunday-school times

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VOLUME X. PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY AT ONE DOLLAR AND FIFTY CENTS A YEAR.--PHILADELPHIA, JANUARY 25, 1868.
NUMBER L
THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL TIMES,
A Weekly Religious Paper.
All letters containing articles for publication, or re¬
lating to the editorial management of the paper, should
be addressed
Editors Sunday-School Times,
Philadelphia.
All communications relating to the business manage¬
ment of the journal, or containing remittances for sub¬
scriptions; also orders for books, and inquiries in regard
to the best publications for Sabbath-schools, should be
■addressed
J. O. GARRIGUES & CO.,
148 South Fourth Street,
Philadelphia, Pa.
{For Terms of Subscription, see Fourth Page.]
For The Snnday-School Times.
THE LORD REIGNETH.
By Mrs. McCokaughy.
I
■    k   PLACE has been swept once by a whirl-
xl. wind, and on every side are marks of
its fury. Here are stately buildings laid in
ruins, there are noble trees uprooted by its
power, or wrenched from their trunks by its
giant grasp. If a traveller viewing such a
scene should go from one object to another,
and ingeniously study out some second cause
to account for the destruction, entirely leav¬
ing the whirlwind out of sight, how idle we
should think his labor. "Why deny the whirl¬
wind when the proofs of it are so overwhelm¬
ing on every side ? The house may have been
old, or badly built, the tree may have grown
uusymmetrically, or there may have been a
worm at the root; it was the whirlwind after
all that swept them down.
But is not this much like the labor of those
who are forever striving to keep God out of
sight in the events which happen to men ?
The second causes are so plain and easy to
be understood, while the hand of God is
veiled from sight. Yet to the thoughtful
heart which has been enlightened by grace,
the marks of the whirlwind are not more
plain, than the prints of God's footsteps on
the earth. The more intimate our commu¬
nion with him, the more shall we see of his
wondrous workings in the affairs of men.
The unbeliever sneers at such a belief, as he
would at a superstition of the dark ages, yet
above and around him on every side God's
sovereignty wraps him like a mantle. He is
mercifully upheld, even while scoffing at the
power that gives him breath.
Vve all come short in our acknowledgment
of God in all his works. While we profess
our belief in it, in general, we lose sight of it
in particular. It may be said of us, as of his
people of old—" They regard not the work of
the Lord, nor the operation of his hands."
We may mark our progress in spiritual
things very much by this test. Do we think
more and more of God as we go on our daily
way? Do we see his hand guiding us when
we are undecided ? Do we feel that he helps
ns over the hard places, and that he is with
us in all the little cares and worries of life,
ready to take off our burden, or better still,
to walk along by our side and bear it with us ?
Do not say only, " It was that sweet hymn,
so sweetly sung, that cheered my heart; it
was that bright bird alighting near my win¬
dow and pouring forth such a gush of song
that lifted my heart into the sunshine;" but
say " It was my loving Father above who put
the hymn into the heart of the singer, and
who sent the bright-winged bird."
It was he, who in love, sent the lingering
illness just when you had planned such a
bright summer among distant friends. It
was hard at the time to bear it; harder still
to look at the trunks all packed for the
j ourney, and remember the bright anticipations
which had given speed to the willing fingers.
The tempter may have suggested the mur¬
muring thought, " Can God love me and yet
so cross my brightest plans ? would I so bit¬
terly disappoint a friend I loved?" These
were the words which a dear, tried young
disciple used in circumstances much like
these. Yet God revealed himself to her so
graciously in that sick room, that she was
more than comforted. She was led to regard
it as one of the great blessings of her life.
She saw her Father's hand in it. She felt
that among the dear, worldly friends, with
whom she was to pass the summer, her Chris¬
tian steadfastness would have been severely
tried. Doubtless he knew that she was yet
too weak in the faith to bear the exposure.
He would shield her from the dangers of
flattery and all worldly follies, by the walls
of that sick room. But whatever he took
from her, he more than made amends by
giving her himself. Here she had time to
polish her armor and to gird herself anew.
She considered the works of the Lord, as she
had never done before.
Surely we are his clay and he is mould¬
ing us as he will. We are not left to blindly
work out our own destiny. Oh, what mind can
conceive the chaos that would follow, if God
should withdraw his hand for a single day
from his universe ! What a scene would the
orphaned world become, with no restraint on
tne wicked, no protection for the righteous !
."T,^e Lord veisneth! Let the earth re¬
joice." We cannot impress too early on the
minds of children the truth, that God takes
care of sparrows, and that even " the hairs of
our head are all numbered."
God has determined that every one shall
die a malefactor who dies without a Media¬
tor.
For The Sunday-School Times.
THE SPIRITUAL MIND.
THE evidences of a spiritual mind are these :
delight in prayer, a spiritual thirsting for
the Word of God, self-denial for Christ, a
patient bearing of injuries, different views of
the world and affliction, and active labor for
Christ. These are the new things which
grow out of the root of grace. If any man be
in Christ, he is a new creature; old things
are passed away ; behold, all things are be¬
come new. You must be more than in the
church or near the historical Jesus; you
must be temples of the Holy Spirit and have
a living union with Christ; you must be, not
a bundle of new resolutions, but new crea¬
tures in Christ. Old things must pass away,
old tastes, desires and pursuits; the old
shrinking from the exercise of prayer, the
old distaste for the Word of God, the old in¬
dulgence of self, the old desire for revenging
injuries, the old delight in the ways of the
world, the old indifference concerning the
spiritual welfare of men. All things must
become new. The Sabbath must be a delight,
and the sanctuary a place of pleasure. The
songs of Zion must be sweeter than the mirth
of the wicked. You must be different from
the men of the world. When the stranger
goes into your families he must be able to see
that they differ from the households of the
world. See to it lest ye be in the church and
out of Christ. How long will ye sleep, 0
spiritual slumberers! Be not deceived. Be
up and doing. Strive for the spiritual mind.
Behold the five foolish virgins slumbering
until the midnight cry was made, "The
bridegroom cometh." In the midst of the
confusion which follows they raise the
wretched cry, "Give us of your oil, for our
lamps are gone out." See to it lest ye have
the mere lamp of profession. The bride¬
groom is drawing near. Already the lamps
of the bridal procession are glintingwn the
darkness. Let it not be your unhappy lot to
be compelled to exclaim, in the midst of the
gathering of the last multitude, "Give us ef
your oil," " The harvest is past, the summer
is ended, and we are not saved." The angels
are being sent forth to gather out the tares
for the burning. It were better for some pro¬
fessors of religion if they had never been
born. What deep soul-sadness is gathered
up in the words, Our lamps are gone out.
There is no oil in our vessels. The day of
|-grace is ended. The door is closed, and you
stand without, knocking in vain. No wedding
garment, no preparation for the marriage
festival. No spiritual mindedness. No soul-
capacity for the joy and praises of Heaven.
Professor of religion, your opportunities are
passing away. The midnight cry will soon
be heard. Go to Christ for oil. Put on the
new man. Rest not satisfied with anything
short of the spiritual mind. If any man have
not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
You must be living branches in the true vine.
Work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling. Strive to enter in at the strait
gate. 0, how many find their way into the
visible church and are satisfied with the re¬
spectable proprieties of an outward profes¬
sion. vHow sad it is to see a man in the
church who shows by all his actions that he
is out of Christ. 0, that the joy and vigor of
the new birth may flow through the collapsed
veins of a dead profession. Be live, spiritual
men in Christ. A. H. H.
For The Sunday-School Times.
NOT STRMGERS, BUT FELLOW-CITIZENS,
I WAS in the city for a few hours, and
dropped into the morning prayer-meeting.
It was a precious season. All felt that Jesus
was present. He spoke peace to many hearts.
He spoke through the lips and faces of his dis¬
ciples. Truly, I thought as I looked upon the
scene,—"Then were the disciples glad when
they saw the Lord." After the meeting
closed, the congregation slowly dispersed, as
if loath to leave so sweet, a place.
As I left my slip, a young man who had
just been speaking of Jesus, grasped my hand
and said—"How do you do? What a pre¬
cious season we have had." I did not know
him, and was abowt to say so, but he read the
reply on my lips, and said quickly—"Iknow
you never saw me before, but I know by your
looks that you love the Lord Jesus; and so we
are not strangers." After a few more wosds
we parted; but as I walked on through the
crowded street I kept saying to myself—"No
more strangers, but fellow-citizens."
At a meeting of the American  Board of
Commissioners for Foreign Missions, I sat by
a lady with a pleasant, earnest, face.    It did
not take  long for me to see that she was a
sister in Christ.    During a stirring appeal to
Christian hearts, our eyes met, and each read
the  thoughts of the other.    At intervals in
the discourse we spoke a few words of Chris-
: tian fellowship,  and soon  felt  we were no
I longer strangers.    We sat side by side at our
j Saviour's table.    From her hands I took the
; precious emblems.    When the whole congre-
j gation joined in a parting hymn, she said—
"What a heavenly sitting together this has
been.    Will the music above be sweeter?    I
trust we two shall meet there."    We clasped
hands and looked into each other's faces, sure
that we should know them in the New Jeru¬
salem, though ignorant of earthly names, and
destined to meet here no more.    Then we
parted,  and   I   thought   again—"No more
strangers, but fellow-citizens—one in Christ."
The memory of that short, sweet Christian
fellowship has   gladdened me  many times
since, and I often look forward to meeting
my stranger friend in heaven; for is not
Christ our elder brother, and will he not
bring us together to sit down again at his
feast ?
Oh, kinsmen in Christ, be not so afraid of
each other. Wait not always for the formal
introduction when Christ's love will make you
acquainted. We lose much, as we journey
by the way, by this cold formality. Let us
remember, "we are one in Christ Jesus."
May.
For The Sunday-School Times.
"Past Feeling."
TN his epistle to the Ephesians the apostle
J- Paul speaks of certain persons, " other
Gentiles," who had reached a point in their
experience when they were "past feeling."
Many others since his day have arrived at
the same stage of experience. In every un¬
converted sinner's case there is danger of
coming to that pass. This is surely the sad¬
dest pass to which a sinful mortal can come,
to be " past feeling" on the subject of reli¬
gion, the subject of all others in which it be¬
hooves every man to be most deeply inte¬
rested.
The writer remembers how some remarks
with regard to this dreadful condition of
heart had the effect of leading him a long
time ago to think about his neglect of Christ
and the salvation of his soul. A returned
missionary was making an address in a
prayer-meeting which was attended by many
of the students of Jefferson college. He
mentioned the case of an old man who had so
long resisted the truth of God and grieved
the Holy Spirit that he no longer felt any
concern for his spiritual welfare. He was
" past feeling." The mention of this startled
the writer, and he went from that meeting
fearing that he had already gone so far that
his case was also hopeless, but determined to
seek the mercy of God.
In the West thirty or forty years ago lead
was so expensive that persons who practiced
shooting at a mark were accustomed to split up
the block of wood into which they had fired,
in order to get the bullets to use again, but
they found that after melting the lead a few
times it became entirely worthless. It has a
similar effect upon the heart to be melted
again and again under the preaching of the
gospel. To quench those feelings which the
Spirit of God awakens hardens the heart, and
ultimately leads to the condition of being al¬
together "past feeling."
Reader, take heed in timeJ That time Is
now. S. E. B.
For The Sunday-School Times.
JUST ONCE.
SOMEHOW, I can hardly tell in what way,
we began in our Sunday-school lesson
lately to talk about theatres and theatre-
going.
One of my boys asked me if I thought it
was wrong to attend a theatre. I told him I
did, and gave my reasons. Then came the
question,
" Is it wrong to go just once, to see what it is 9"
I said I thought it was.
"But many church members do go," was
the reply. " They say they go to see what
the evil is, that they may warn others, though
I guess they have as much curiosity as any of
us, and go because they like it."
"All this does not make it right," I said.
Robert looked into my face with a ques¬
tioning look, but said nothing..
" What is it, Robert ?" I said, " for I see a
question in your eyes."
"Well, teacher, if you won't think it im¬
pertinent, I wanted to ask if you ever went to
the theatre."
I stopped a moment ere I answered this
home-thrust—stopped, thinking how happy I
was that I had been so little tempted in this
respect.    At length I answered—
" No, I never went to a theatre, and I never
mean to do so. I don't believe I shall be
sorry in heaven."
" I'm glad of it," Robert said.
" Glad of what ?"
"Why, glad that you have never beeu to
the theatre. If you had said 'yes' after all
your talk to us, it would have done me no
good. I should have thought, ' Well, I'll go
once to see what it is like, but now I promise
you I never will go, God helping me.'"
How thankful I was that my feet had been
kept from the way of evil. More than ever I
felt, if theatre-going is a sin, then it is wrong
for me, for all, to go just once.        S. R. M.
TO-MORROW.
TO-MORROW! Eloquent advocate ! robed
as a king's counsel, holding the devil's
brief! The sermon's swift antidote, the
preacher's most formidable respondent, never
at a loss for a reply. To-morrow ! Skillful
fencer, warding off so dexterously the best-
aimed blows. To-morrow! prompt physi¬
cian, dulling the sense of pain by sweet but
deadly narcotics; quieting the pangs of con¬
science, and closing up so comfortably the
wounds of the sword of truth. To-morrow!
Accomplished musician, soothing the soul to
slumber by endless variations on a single
string. Delusive phantom, ever beckoning
the traveller onward, downward, to the pre¬
cipice's very brink. Courteous traitor, smil¬
ing assassin, Satan's chief recruiting ser¬
geant, paving with good intentions the road
to hell!—Rev. Neivman Hall, D. D.
If sinners cast not away their sins for God's
sake, God will cast them away for their sins'
sake.
For The Sunday-School Times.
WILLIAM B. BRADBURY.
A Tribute,
Br   M.   E.   M.
Whire the golden censers swing
Cljose beside the throne above,
Wht*re the saints sweet incense fling,
At the feet of him they love ;
Wh»ire the choral songs ascend,
Where the harps forever ring,
Sounding praises without end
Tjk our Prophet, Priest, and King!
Brother, there thy rest shall be,
Through thine immortality.
Earijh to earth, and dust to dust,
Iyihe lowly grave to-day ;
S.incp its chain thy spirit burst,
Molders now the useless clay!
Sealed unto a long repose
'Neath the sunshine and the snow,
Till .T,ij»e's last great day shall close,
And the Archangel's trumpet blow,
Brother, then thy dust shall rise,
Swift translated to the skies !
Never more thy minstrel hand
Here shall wake the solemn strain
Winning to the better land
With each silver-sweet refrain;
Nevei* more thy throbbing heart
Pour its passion out in prayer;
For the music of its art
Fihdeth purer utterance where,
Brother, all thy troubles cease,
And thy soul hath perfect peace.
Didst thou meet a little band
Clustering near the pearly gate ?
Thereour angel children stand,
Once who left us desolate,
With their robes as white as snow,
With their eyes so starry bright,
Beckoning thee which way to go,
Daziled with the wondrous light;
Brother, 'twas a golden chain,
One eild touching earth again:
For we faltered in the hymn
Thai we sang at home to-day,
And o*ir children's eyes grew dim
For \he dear one passed away ;
Thinking not how they at home,
Whejie no shadows cloud the sky,
Who h-tve to the kingdom come,
Welcomed thee, oh! friend on high.
Brothel, oh! not all alone
Didst i'lou kneel before the throne.
ii   %%*■.•*■ v- ... -,
Oh ! my Master, when thy call
Bids me lay my work aside,
When the mists of evening fall,
When no more I may abide
Here, where pilgrims toil along,
Grant that entering into rest,
Not a stranger in the throng,
I may be a welcome guest,
As a child come home to stay,
In my Father's house for aye.
Brother, thus thy rest shall be,
Clothed in immortality.
For The Sunday School Times.
Within, Without,
THERE was a gathering of happy children
in our'mission-rooms on Christmas morn¬
ing, waiting to receive the gifts commemora¬
tive of that great Gift, whose praises, too,
they had come to sing. The contagion of joy
communicated itself as well to the parents and
teachers present as to the scholars. Little
faces, pinched with hunger, were radiant with
smiles, and seemed to forget that the day was
cold and their garments poor and insufficient,
for the shadows of their darkened homes had
not followed them here. Yet some on that
bright morning were standing without. They
had declined the terms on which the invita¬
tion had been extended, and by want of
punctuality and by a disregard of the rules,
had lost their share of happiness for that hour.
The entire scene was suggestive of the para¬
ble of our Lord, in which he describes the
two great representative classes of this pro¬
bationary life. The wise, who accept the
invitation to the marriage supper, extended
to all, and the foolish, who are left in the
darkness without; and I looked again upon
the happy faces within, and observed the
contrasts there.
Here was a respectful, intelligent youth,
whose teacher must study well in order to
answer his earnest questions on the Sabbath.
There another, whose teacher had labored
long and patiently to lodge one truth in the
unreceptive memory. Some, it had been a
pleasure to teach. Others had occasioned
untold anxiety and pain. Yet to-day they
were on an equal footing. All were alike
welcome. What was it that had opened the
doors so quickly to these, while others so
nearly resembling them had been excluded ?
The youngest could have told me that it was
the printing on a bit of card, which each pre¬
sented at the door. It was the invitation
given by their superintendent to each, and
this sent my thoughts away, away, to the
golden city, with its walla of precious stones
and gates of pearl, and to the feast within, to
which every nation and kindred and people
is invited.
What shall entitle me to entrance there?
Shall it be a certificate, carried in the hand?
Shall it be a shibboleth learned in some of
the schools of earth ? Not these; but a pass¬
port to be so woven into the life, that the
angel at the gate can read it clearly on the
forehead of each who would gain admittance
there—even, this: "The Lord our righteous¬
ness."   It n this that glitters as a coronet
upon the brow of those who now walk the
streets of the golden city.
Are we, with undivided hearts, employed
in weaving this watchword into our lives?
"When once the Master of the house is risen
up and hath shut the door," shall one of us
be left standing in the darkness without? Or
shall one of the children of our schools fail to
obtain an entrance there because of our un¬
faithfulness or culpable neglect ?       Iona.
For The Sunday-School Times.
THE BURIED GRAIN.
WE are too often discouraged if ripened
. fruit do«s not follow immediately upon
our seed sowing, and we are tempted to think
that our labor has all been lost. But not so
does the husbandman work. " He waiteth
for the precious fruit, and hath long patience,
until he receive the early and latter rain."
I have seen a little plot of waving wheat,
which grew originally from seed taken from
the cerements of a mummy, where it had been
buried some thousands of years. If God so
cared for these little grain germs as to keep
them alive through all these centuries, will
he suffer his still more precious word to be
lost ? "It shall not return unto me void. It
shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."
An old man, not a Christian, sat down in
his field one day to rest; and, as is the custom
with the aged, his mind wandered back to
earlier days. Among the many scenes which
passed in review before him, was one in which
he sat as a worshipper in the parish church
of his old home across the sea. He was but
a lad then, but he could never forget the
solemn discourse which the good John Flavel
had preached that day, from the text: "If
any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let
him be anathema, maranatha." As he raised
his hands in conclusion, to pronounce tbe
benediction, he said, with much feeling:
"How can I bless this whole assembly, when
every one that loveth not the Lord Jesus
Christ is anathema, maranatha!" So solemn
and affecting was the appeal, that a gentle¬
man of rank wa*s overpowered by his emo¬
tions, and fell senseless to the floor. It was
eighty-five years since those words were
spoken, and here was an old man of a hun¬
dred years meditating upon them, thou¬
sands of miles away from the scene. " I
have never loved the Lord Jesus," he
mused ; " and what must be my future lot?"
In the deepest distress, he cried unto the
Lord, whose willing ear was open even to
one who had sinned against him for a hun¬
dred years. The seed sown so long before,
sprang up at last, and bore rich fruit for
sixteen years, when it was gathered into the
heavenly garner. J. E. L.
For The Sunday-School Times.
IMPROVING OPPORTUNITIES.
TRAVELLING in the cars not long since,
engrossed with thoughts of the friends I
was about to visit and the friends I. had left
behind, I was interrupted by a pleasant voice
saying, "Come into the next car and sing.
We are going to have some singing in there."
Looking up I saw a young man standing near
with a pile of singing books in his hand.
Supposing he was some agent or book peddler
who took this way of advertising his wares,
I put myself on my dignity and answered
"no, I don't give concerts," and then turned
impatiently from the questioner.
Soon the sound of sweet Sunday-school
songs was heard through the open door—and
I learned that my supposed book peddler was
one who was active in every good word and
work, whose name is familiar to all friends
of the Young Men's Christian Association.
I was afterwards informed that he often
took this way of interesting travellers, that he
might afterwards speak to them of Jesus.
How rebuked I felt. My assumed dignity
had hardly allowed me a civil word for a
Christian stranger, while he was embracing
every opportunity to speak for his Master. As
I listened again to these words coming through
the open door, " Stand up, stand up for
Jesus," I learned a lesson I hope not to
forget; a lesson of improved opportunities.
J. H. M.
CHRIST A TEACHER.
A CELEBRATED philosopher of antiquity,
who was accustomed to receive large
sums from his pupils in return for his in¬
structions, was one day accosted by an indi¬
gent youth, who requested admission into the
number of his disciples. "And what," said
the sage, "will you give me in return?"
"I will give you myself," was the reply.
"I accept the gift," answered the sage, " aud
engage to restore you to yourself, at some
future period, much more valuable than you
are at present." In similar language does
our great Teacher address those who apply
to him for instruction, conscious that they
are unable to purchase his instructions, and
offering to give him themselves. He will
readily accept the gift, he will educate them
for heaven, and will at length restore them
to themselves, incomparably more wise, more
happy, and more valuable than when he re¬
ceived them.
For The Sunday-gchcol Time*.
CHRIST'S LITTLE ONES.
By Melicent Irwin.
rTlHE little children with their unquestion-
■*- ing faith, their out-reaching warm-heart¬
edness, their untrained, unoccupied, hungry
minds, the little children from sumptuous jet
lonely homes, where mamma is too busy and
sisters are too absorbed in society's pursuit*
to give loving companionship to and take in¬
terest in them, and where servants are capri¬
cious and humor foolishly or censure unspar¬
ingly as the mood may be,—these little chil¬
dren in this day of Sunday-school work are
especially yours, teacher.
There are others beside those already
mentioned, the half fed, half clothed, dark
minded little ones of want and sin, who, if
it be possible, have greater claim upon us, aa
even more peculiarly Christ's own in propor¬
tion to their need. There is work.for all and
need of the work of all.
The precious Saviour is doing a great deal
for his little ones at this present time. He
who took them lovingly in his arms when he
was upon earth, is taking them into very
sweet nearness to himself again through many
instrumentalities. Gifted minds toil as never
before to bring rich stores of knowledge down
to the child's comprehension through the
printed page. These works, now in posses¬
sion of nearly every child of happy home-
influences in the land, would have beeu con¬
sidered miracles of beauty a few years since.
Teachers of the day schools are instructed
how to teach as never before : the great aim
is to simplify knowledge for the assimilation:
| of the young mind, scarcely conscious of its?
dawning powers. And heavenly truth, min¬
istering eternal life, is delegated not to a
select few, but to all who love it, to teach
to the little ones, Christ's own, gathered
in from every quarter.
If a friend going abroad, or unable, through,
illness, to care for the precious children of
the household, gives them into your care with,
relieved heart and restful trust, does not
heart-dew spring to your eye, and not only
for their dear sakes, but for his, do you not,
under every circumstance, respond more
heartily to the trust ? Thus the Saviour
trusts this little ones to the Sunday-school
laborers of the present day.
How in our own cases is the call responded
to ? There is work to be done aside from the
hearing of recitations and explaining of pas¬
sages of Scripture in a pleasant and commo¬
dious room, where the earnestness of one class
kindles that of another. There is work that
must be done alone; the studying of the
truth and of the clearest means of presenta¬
tion; the persistent seeking of a blessing
through the divinely appointed means of
prayer; and the personal seeking of indi¬
viduals in their own homes, together with the
cultivation of sympathy with their needs?
temporal and spiritual; all this is solitary
work, and we need, sometimes in moments
of weakness, to hug close the recollection,
that those sought and cared for are Christ's
very own, the care of them being delegated
by him to us ; we need this inciting remem¬
brance as a strengthening power.
Let us suppose for a moment that our
dearest friend is abroad, and that his own.
children are in suffering and want, that he
delegates to us the office of seeking them out,
that he supplies us with means for their re¬
lief, and that he considers each act of love
towards them as rendered directly to himself;
are not obstacles merely stimulating powers
to our enthusiasm ? Are not those hitherto
unknown to us, at once, through their rela¬
tionship to him, become objects of interest
and tender solicitude ? Does not the regard
and affection entertained towards him, and
longing for expression, find grateful and de¬
lightful action in ministering to the helpless
ones of his love ?
It is good to remind ourselves that the pre¬
cious Saviour thus accepts as done to himself
all offices that we may perform for those less.
favored than ourselves in knowledge and cir¬
cumstances; aud particularly does he receive
that which is done for the little children of
his love. He reached out to them, he " took
them in his arms and blessed them," when he
was upon earth. He is unchangeable. He
loves them, reaches out his arms to them
still. He delegates to all who love him the
office of bringing them to him, and he accepts
as done unto himself all good that is done to.
them. Ah the blessedness that shall come to
those who have labored, when through the
testimony of babes good shall be pronounced
to have been done even to the Lord himself.
To think of the love of Christ is like trying
to conceive of existence which has no begin¬
ning, and of power which can make some¬
thing of nothing. Tongue cannot describe it,
finite minds cannot conceive of it, angels
faint under it, and those who know most of it
can only say, with inspiration, that it passeth
knowledge.
For The Sunday-School Times.
BE.
THAT you may succeed in the great work
of winning souls to Jesus, filling your
own heart with joy and peace, and decking
your heavenly crown with the richest of dia¬
dems,
Pious.
Prayerful.
Patient.
Persevering.
Trusting.
Faithful.
Punctual.
Earnest.
Working.
Studious.
Friendly.
Loving.
SeDUIUS-
God shows mercy to the full, and yet re-
[ mains full of meroy.
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