Sunday-school times

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PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY AT ONE DOLLAR AND FIFTY GENTS A YEAR.—PHILADELPHIA, AUGUST 19, 1865
NUMBER 33.
THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL TIMES,
A Weekly Religions Paper.
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Editors Sunday-School Times,
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For tha Sunday-School Tuuea
Doiug for Jesus**
A  Missionary   Sermon.
By   the   Rev.  Riohabd   Newton,  D. D.
Children's Sermons, No. 5—Pabt II.
THE first reason why we &hould*do all that
we can for Jesus is, because he has done so
much for us.
The second reason why we shoidd do so is, be¬
cause of the honor of doing for him.
When Queen Victoria rides to the house of
parliament on some great occasion, she wears
her royal robes, and the splendid crown of
England, all sparkling with its rich jewelry,
and she looks very grand. Suppose that you
were in the crowd admitted to the house of
parliament on one of those occasions.
You are standing not very far from the Queer.
By-and-by she looks towards you, and beck¬
ons you to come to her. You go up to the
throne where she is sitting, and she asks you
to get her a drink of water. (Of course the
Queen never would do anything of the kind,
for there are lords and ladies appointed to
wait upon her, and get for her everything she
wants. But I am fust supposing a case for
the sake of illustration. And when we are
supposing a case we have a. right to say any¬
thing that we please.) You hand the Queen a
drink in a golden cup, upon a golden waiter.
When she has done drinking she asks you to
please stand there and fan her. You stand
there and fan her till the business in parliament
is finished, and the Queen retires. Now, with
our plain American uotions, you might not
think so much of this, but if you were an
Englioh boy cr girl you wtraW-fchrHksrWbn--
derful deal of it. You had done something
for the Queen that she had asked you to do.
You would think that a great honor. Your
name would be published in the papers the
next day, as the boy or girl who fanned the
Queen when she was in the house of parlia¬
ment. People in England think it the great¬
est honor they can have to get near the Queen
and do anything for her. But what is Queen
Victoria, or what are all the monarchs in the
world put together, in comparison with Jesus?
Jesus is our King. He is the King of heaven
as well as of earth. The angels worship him.
He is the owner and ruler of all the worlds
in the universe. Who can tell what an honor
it is to be permitted to do anything for him ?
But when we have done anything for his poor,
suffering people, Jesus saye to us, "You have
done it unto me." Thia is real honor; it is
" the honor that cometh from God."
Some years ago there was a distinguished
military officer in England whose name was
Sir Ralph Abercrombie. He was a: pious man,
a member of the Presbyterian church. When
residing at the old family residence in Scot¬
land, he was appointed an elder in the parish
church in which he worshipped. One of the
duties of an elder in the Presbyterian church
is, on communion days, to carry the bread
and wine from the minister and put them into
the hands of the members. When this brave
and distinguished soldier heard of his appoint¬
ment to this office, he wrote a note to his mi¬
nister in these words :
" Reverend Sir—I have been entrusted by
my king with many honorable and important
offices in my profession as a soldier, and his
majesty has been pleased to reward my ser¬
vices with distinguished honors; but to be
permitted to put the bread and wine, the
tokens of my Saviour's dying love, into the
hands of one of the least of his followers, I
consider to be the highest honor I can receive
on this side of heaven." And the reason why
this brave soldier thought it such an honor
was. because he was doiDg it for Jesus.
Some years ago an humble but faithful
minister of the gospel went to Washington,
and called on the President. He did not call
to aek an office, but to seethe President. That
President was a Christian man. He and this
good minister had been brought together some
years before, under circumstances which made
them love each other very much and to become
real, warm-hearted friends for life. The Pre¬
sident received him very kindly, and insisted
on bi^ coming to stay at the White House
while he was in Washington. He was put to
lodge- in the room in which General Harrison
and General Taylor had died while they were
Presidents. There the President would some¬
times come to see him towards midnight, and
they would sit a long while talking together,
not about politics, but about religion—about
Jesus and his love, the things-he has done for
his people already, and the things he is going
to do tor them hereafter.
Oae morning, when the minister was going
♦Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866,
by J. 0. Garrigues A Co., in the Clerk's office of
the District Court of the United States for the Eastere
District of Pennsylvania.
out, the President told him he was going to
have a public reception at twelve o'clock,
when great crowds of people wculd come to
see him, and asked him to stay and help him
receive his company, Of course he did so
He returned to the library, and waited till near
neon. Then the President called for him, and
they walked together towards the splendid
East Room, in which the President is accus¬
tomed to receive his company. A great num¬
ber of people were already on the outside of
the house, waiting for the hour of admission.
The President and his friend, the humble
minister, were walking up and downthe room,
arm iu arm, each occupied with his own
thoughts. The minister was thinking of the
exalted position of the man at his side. He
was saying to himself, he is called to preside
over a vast and powerful country. Now he is
waiting for the entrance of some of the great¬
est and most distinguished people in the land,
who are coming to honor him by paying bim
their respects. What a happy man he must
bet He has reached the highest position in
the world. There is no nobler office than to
be the President of a great and prosperous
nation. The minister had not said a word.
He had only been quietly thinking these
thoughts. But the President seemed to un¬
derstand what he was thinking about, for he
kindly laid his arm en his friend's shoulder
and said : "Yet after all, my friend, the man
who preaches the gospel and wins men to heaven
has the highest office on earth." But the reason
why the office of the ministry is so honorable
is that it is an office, all the service of which
is done unto Jesus. But when others, who
are not ministers, do anything for Jesus, they
share in the same honor. When we make our
offerings to help the poor, the sick, the sor¬
rowing, or send the gospel to the heathen, we
seem to hear our Saviour say, " Ye have done
it unto me." There is great honor in this.
We should do what we can for Jesus because
cf the honor of doing for him. ,
Another reason why we should do for Jesus is,
because of the pleasure of doing for him.
When we love anybody very much, there is
no greater pleasure in the world tban to be
doing anything we can for that person. When
a mother hj&s a dear little baby to attend to,
she feela4jjBHkctly happy when nursing and
dressing rt^Bcking it to sleep, and doing
every thing fat it that she can. The baby may
be very crosf* and fretful, it may cry and
scream ever so mu|h, but the mother pets it
and fondles it, and haver gets tired of doing
fbrii. Yon go-to-tbwtSaother and ask hrer"to
go out on a pleasure party and leave her baby
with you, and if she is a real, true mother, she
will say to you, " Thank you, but I'd rather
not go. My greatest pleasure is to be with
my dear child and take care of it." And if
that mother is very poor and has to work hard
all day, how gladly she will do that work, be¬
cause she feels that she is doing it for her
darling child. And when she comes home at
night and takes the baby up in her arms, and
he looks up into those loving eyes and smiles,
she presses him to her bosom, and 0 what
pleasure she has when she thinks that what
she has been doing all day she has been doing
for that dear child. What a blessed thing it
is that God has made a mother's love for her
children so very strong. Our mothers have
so many things that are hard and disagreeable
to do for us, when we are little, that nothing
but their great love for us would lead them
to do those things. But a mother's love makes
everything that she does for her child a plea¬
sure.
And so it is with husbands and wives, and
brothers and sisters, when they really love
one another. You know we read in the Bible
about Jacob. When he was a young man he
went to make a visit to his uncle Laban, and
stayed there a long time. While he was
there he fell in love with his cousin Rachel,
who was a remarkably beautiful girl. Jacob
asked his uncle Laban if he might marry Ra¬
chel and have her for his wife. In those
Eastern countries it was customary then, and
is so still, for a young man, when he asked of
a father permission to marry his daughter, to
make a valuable present to the father. But
Jacob was a poor young man. He had a rich
father indeed, but he had set out to make his
own fortune, and was not willing to go and
ask bis father's help. He had no money to
give his uncle Laban; so he offered to work
for him for seven years as a shepherd. The
life of a shepherd in those days was very hard
and toilsome. He had to be out day and
night, winter and summer, taking care of his
flocks. And seven years were a long while to
keep on working all the time. And yet we
read that those seven long years seemed "but
a few days to Jacob, because of his love for
Rachel." When he was tired with his hard
work, when he was exposed to the heat of
summer or to the cold of winter, he .would think
to himself, " I am doiug this for my dear Ra¬
chel," and that thought would lighten his
labor and make everything he did a pleasure.
But no mother ever loved a child, nor hus¬
band ever loved a wife, as Jesus loves all his
people. And when we learn to know him
truly, we shall love him better than we love
any one else. And if we do love him so, this
will make it a pleasure for us to do anything
for him.
Some time ago a missionary meeting was
held at a small town iu England. At the close
of the meeting a poor widow woman, one of
the very poorest in the parish, went up to the
minister and offered him a sovereign, i. e., a
gold piece worth about five dollars. The
minister knew tbe deep poverty of her condi¬
tion, and declined to receive it.   He told her
she should not think of giving so much, for
he knew Bhe could not afford it. The poor
woman looked sad, and seemed to be greatly
disappointed.    "Ohl eir," she said, "I have
often given copper to my Saviour; and two^bering that " When a man's ways please the
or three times I have bad the pleasure of
giving silver; but it has been my earnest- de¬
sire to have the great happiness of giving some
gold to Je3us, once before I die. I have long
been engaged in saving every little mite that
I could spare that I might gire this sovereign
to Jesus to-night. 0, sir, you must take it
for Jesus' sake!"
Of course the minister could not resist such
an appeal.   He took tbe widow's gold, and
best refutation of any reports the envious or
malicious may circulate to the disadvantage
of any one. He can commit all hia interests
into the Lord's hands in well doing, remem-
Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at
peace with him." L. L.
by the judicious management of this peace-, ** a11 times, not only when the sun shines,
maker. It was a very good sign for the place |<but when the temPest lowers. Sometimes
lhaUhissfiw ja*£ice could not make a stt^PW path of duty i* rugged and- fiUed^ish
For the Sunday-School Times.
Following tbe Lord Fully*
IT is very useful to study those characters
on which infinite truth has stamped a value
; which revolving ages cannot diminish nor
impair. Such are Enoch, Noah, Abraham,
{Job, David, Daniel, and many others who
that poor woman went to her humble home j Bnine n^e fltara in the Book of God. Whilst
that night, feeling that Bhe was one of the inking this survey we cannot but notice th?
happiest persons in town. She had done§jeMed testimony whioh God gave to Caleb,
what she could. She had given the best 8he-prumt 14. 2a. He is there Baid to be "a man
had—a golden sovereign—the only one she |0f another spirit" from the unbelieving Israel-
had, to her Saviour. She had done it unto |ite8 ar<mD(i him. and to have " followed the
Jesus, and she felt perfectly happy in doing it.Jjj0rd fally>» at a time when a dreadful rebel-
We ought to do all we can for Jesus because £iion ti0ok place among the professed people of
of the pleasure it affords. »God.
j   To follow the Lord fully is indeed a great
For the Sunday-School Times.   '»york; and yet nothing less than this will
Blessed are the Peacemakers* /bring us to heaven.   The work is the Lord's.
THERE was once an old judge in a county r B? 8race are ve saved, through faith; and
town, who, when any little matters were,^** no* of yourselves, it is the gift of
brought before him for adjustment always r^od." The faith of Caleb was the gift of God;
managed to make the most of them. He would land nis privilege in being favored with a
put on his magnifying glasses forthwith, and fruitful possession in the land of Canaan, in
small grievances were soon made to appear of consequence of it, was of grace and not of
mountain size. The case was kept in court idebt. This strictly applies to us in a spiritual
as long as it could be, and as much ill-feelingjg^se.
as possiblo stirred up on both sides. If an«|| To follow the Lord fully, we must have a
other suit or two grew out of the original it lively foith "». tne pipmises of God, made to
was all the better in the old judge's estima- WB through Jesus Christ. We must renounce
tion. As might be expected there was an-jp°th our sins and our own supposed right-
abundance of quarrelling and fighting in the\jj8°iMa*8S| ^d look in humble faith to Jesus
community, and even the more respectable for pardon and salvation. We must have "a
class of citizens were continually going to &ood h°Pe through grace"—« a hope full of
law with each other. Half the people were' immortality." We must renounce all self-
noton speaking terms with the other half, dependence and all creature dependence. We
But with it alt the old judge grew rich, andjmust be *nUn8 t0 bear tbe cr0SB«to deny
seemed to prosper on the evils he took so i ourselves, and to do anything for Jesus.   We
much pains to foment
But at length the people grew tired of his j
administration, and   put another man into V^ver desir0UB» witb child-like simplicity, to do
office. He was of exactly the opposite cha¬
racter, and dealt with all cases in as sum¬
mary a manner as justice would allow. Se¬
rious offenders were suitably punished, but
neighborhood quarrels were quickly settled^
must lie passive in the hands of the Lord,
while actively engaged in his service, being
and to suffer the will of our heavenly Father.
If this be to follow the Lord fully, then may
we indeed be prostrate before him in shame
and confusion of face. -
To follow the Lord fully we must follow him
port for himself out of the office, but was ob¬
liged to go into another business. From being
a most turbulent little town it became a plea¬
sant, peaceful village; good order prevailed in
the streets, and interminable law suits became
a thing unknown. As the public morals im¬
proved the old judge sank lower and lower in
public esteem, until no one regarded him with
respect or confidence. The peacemaker, on the
contrary, was constantly gaining ground, and
has prospered of the Lord in all his temporal
affairs.
The condition of the community in the two
administrations well illustrates the influence
which one man may exert for good or evil in
any society. No place can afford the risk of
putting a bad man in office. The evils which
follow do not stop with generations imme¬
diately associated with him', but are handed
down to children's children. "Blessed are
the peacemakers," in whatever walk of life
they may be found. What higher honor could
be laid upon them than that which our Saviour
confers when he says, " for they shall be
called the children of God." J. E. L.
For the Sunday-School Times.
OPEN WINDOWS.
THE home of a certain philosopher had win¬
dows so low that passers-by might look
in. An architect offered for a certain conside¬
ration to build them up so that he might live
more secluded.
" I will give you more," said the owner, "to
make them down to the floor." He desired to
live so that the world might look in upon him
at all hours.
If we would all live with more open win¬
dows, it would be the better for oar souls'
health. We have-so many thoughts and pur¬
poses to conceal, so many acts we would not
for the world have known to others, which are
precisely opposed to our every-day intercourse
with them, that we are kept in continual
worry lest some inadvertence will reveal our
true case to them. The most pretentious are
always the most anxious and suspicious.
One is really very poor and obliged to prac¬
tice many economies behind the scenes. Yet
before the world the appearance must always
be made iu stage costume, glittering with
tinsel and paste jewels. Why not throw open
the windows and be content to appear what
we really are ? We may be poor as a beggar
in this world's goods, and yet as rich as a
prince in the true riches.
Open windows would save us from a thou¬
sand anxieties, lest some one should see in.
We should not have so many matters to be
constantly explaining away, often at the ex¬
pense of strict truthfulness. We should not
be so anxious to know what others say of us.
If we walk conscientiously we can afford to
let them fay what they will. We stand upon
high ground and cannot descend from it for
every trifling consideration.
A good man was asked why he did not an¬
swer some false charges that were made against
him, when he made answer that " he did not
keep a clerk, and his own time was occupied
with other matters."
An upright, straightforward course is the
dangers; yet, if we draw back in the day of
trouble, we cannot follow the Lord fully. We
must not chose our path, but " run with pa¬
tience the race which is set before us." We
must still keep in the narrow way, however
few may walk in it, and however unfashion¬
able it may be among the rich and learned of
earth, ever remembering that the promise of
eternal life is made to those only who are
found in the King's highway of holiness.
To follow the Lord fully we must confess
him with courage and constancy before an
unbelieving world. Caleb was "valiant for
the truth." He believed in God, and dared to
profess his faith and allegiance in the face of
the whole congregation, when "they bade
stone him with stones," like another Stephen.
Thus he experienced the truth of this divine
declaration, " Tbem that honor me I will
honor."
To follow the Lord fully, we must cleave to
.him in seasons of general defection. Here
Caleb proved that he was a man of another
spirit from those around him, by cleaving
steadfastly to God. Thus did tbe apostles,
when on many forsaking Jesus, be said to
them, "And will ye also go away?" Peter
replied, " Lord, to whom shall we go ? thou
hast the words of eternal life."
This entire surrender of the heart to God is
the work of the divine Spirit, for " a man can
have nothing except it be given him from
heaven." Nothing short of this will bring us
to glory. Nothing short of this will give true
assurance, peace and joy. It is the want of
this undivided state of heart which causes so
much unsteadiness in the walk, and so much
unhappiness in the experience of many pro¬
fessors.
But how great is the happiness of the hum¬
ble followers of Jesus 1 Their sins are blotted
out. Their souls are beautified with salva¬
tion. Their one desire is to promote the glory
of their God and Saviour. They have their
conflicts and they have their comforts. God
is their Father. Angels minister to them, and
all things work together for their good. They
may have to pass through deep waters, bat
underneath are the everlasting arms. They
may often groan, being burdened, but in
heaven all their tears shall be wiped away.
There they shall follow the Lamb whitherso¬
ever he goeth. There tbey Bhall experience
tbe eternal blessedness of that gracious pro¬
mise, "He that overcometh shall inherit all
things; and I will be his God, and he shall
be my son." S. A.
A happ7 home and a Eunny childhood are
an inspiration for good and a protection against
evil. Scolding and peevishness lacerate aud
sear the affections, and deaden the sensibili¬
ties. Of 180 unruly boys now on the school
ship in Boston harbor, three-fourths are or¬
phans who know little of a mother's prayers
and caresses, and the remainder largely have
disordered hornet.
For the Sunday-School Times.
Children's Consecration Hymn*
Tune—" Worthy, Worthy is the Lamb."
Come and let us sweetly sing
Praises to onr Saviour-King,
Hearts and voices gladly bring
To praise his name.
Jesus is the children's Friend,
Loving, faithful to the end,
Richest gifts from him descend,
Joy and peace.
Once from heaven to earth he came,
Suffered pain, contempt, and blame,
Died upon a cross of shame,
Crowned with thorns.
(     'Twas our .nnful spu^s to sn(ve, »
Thus his precious blood he gave;
Ransomed now from sin's dark grave,
We may siDg.
Oh what boundless grace and love!
Passing all our thoughts above,
Fear and unbelief remove
At the cross.
Blessed Jesus! loving, kind!
Thee we'd early seek and find,
And our souls in cov'nant bind
Thine to be.
For our sins we deeply grieve,
But thy promise we believe,
" Him that cometh I receive."
Lord, we come.
We would love thee more and more,
Serve thee truly evermore,
Till thy mercy we adore
In heaven above.
Eta.
.   i    , .
For the Sunday-School Times.
MISERLY CHRISTIANS.
WHAT a strange'passion is tbe lust of ac¬
cumulation, the love of gold for its own
sake. When it becomes the master passion of
the soul what a fool it makes of the man who
has yielded himself to its powers. Some of
the accredited instances of the folly of such
men almost exceed belief. We are told of one
man, the possessor of immense wealth, who,
in severe weather, lay abed to keep himself
warm that he might save the expense of fuel!
When he washed, which was seldom, he dried
himself in the sun, as a towel was too expen¬
sive a luxury for his use!
There have no doubt been Christians, who
might justly be charged with a miserly use of
their worldly possessions; but it is nol of this
class that we would now speak. All true
Christians possess at tbeir spiritual birthright
another kind of treasure. How rich, how
ample are the spiritual possessions of each
humble believer. In Jesus are hid all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and Jesus
is his. Gifts and graces whose price is above
rubies, are the fruits of the Spirit, and that
Spirit is God's gift to him. The exceeding
great and precious promises are his. Be¬
lieving prayer is the key by which he may
enter into the rich treasure house, and find
there au abundant supply for all his needs.
On that key is engraved, " Ask, and it shall
be given you."
We despise the man who, having an abun¬
dance of this world's wealth, refuses to use it
for his own comfort and welfare and the
benefit of his fellow beings. What shall be
said of him who having access to sach wealth
of spiritual treasures neglects to use them
to promote his own growth in grace, know¬
ledge and virtue, and the highest interests of
his fellow men? Alas, is it not too true that
the number of Christians who are parsimo¬
nious in the use of their spiritual wealth is
very large? How strong, how fruitfal they
would be if they would freely use all that God
has eo freely given to them; but now they are
weak and sickly, and ready to faint. Surely
it is the duty of every Christian to 6ee that he
is not a miser in the use of his spiritual pos¬
sessions. Repair daily and hourly to the gos¬
pel treasury. Take and freely use all the
rich gifts which have been purchased for you
by your Saviour's death, and you shall be
blessed and be a blessing to others.
Mayflower.
TRUST.
The child leans on its parent's breast,
Leaves there its cares, and is at rest;
The bird sits singing by his nest,
And tells aloud
His trust in God, and so is blest
'Neath every cloud.
He hath no store, he sows no seed;
Yet sings aloud, and doth not heed;
By flowing streams or grassy mead,
He sings to shame
Men, who forgot, in fear of need,
A Father's name.
The heart that trusts forever sings;
And feels as lightes it had wings;
A well of peace within it springs;
Come good or ill,
Whate'er to-day, to-morrow brings,
It is his will!       —Isaac Williams.
He that thinks he hath no need of Christ
hath too high thought of himself;  he that
thinks Christ cannot save him, hath too low I
thoughts of Christ. I
Faith is a certain image of eternity. All
things are present to it—things past and
things to come. Faith converses with angels
and antedates the hymns of glory. Every
man that has this grace is as certain there
are glories for him, if he perseveres in duty,
as if he had heard and sung the blessed
thanksgiving song for the blessed sentence of
doomsday.—Jeremy Taylor.
For the Sunday-School Tfanta.
LINE UPON LINE.
By the Rev. J. T. Crane, D. D-
IT is said that the mother of John Wesley
was once teaching a child some little les¬
son, and the little one, slow to perceive, or
careless in his attention, disappointed her, and
compelled many repetitions of the task. At
last her husband interrupted her employment
by. asking, somewhat petulantly, how she
could have the patience to tell that boy tho
same thing twenty times over. " Because,"
she replied, " if I tell him nineteen times only
I shall lose all my labor."
Her principle of action accords with the
nature of the hy man mind and heart. There
is 'force in repetition. It detains the thing
before the mind; and that which was at first
but dimly seen, grows clear by a long and
steady look. Nor is this all. That which
otherwise would soon have faded from the
memory becomes fixed by recurring to it again
and again. And still another effect follows.
When the mind dwells long and steadily upon
it, a great truth makes its weight felt upon
the heart and the couscieuce.
And, to borrow the language of St. John,
" here is the patience and faith of the saints."
Here, under God, is the hope of the parent and
the teacher. Our daily duty is often mere re¬
petition. We are sometimes teupted to think
that we accomplish nothing. Our children
study the lessons which we set them; they
seem to listen to our admonitions; and yet,
as we watch them from day to day, they ap¬
pear to make little progress, perhaps none at
all, in the things of personal salvation. The
visible effect is so small that we are tempted I
to lose courage, and" are seady to conclude that
our labor is lost.
Courage, faint heart. What one lesson
cannot finish it may begin. A ceaseless drop¬
ping of water will wear even adamant. Throw
a pile of sand against a strong fence, and the.
first day may not show a hair's breadth of
leaning; yet iu time it will bow before the
steady pressure and fall. So there is such a
thing as the steady pressure of truth upon tho
soul, a pressure which we may hope to see-
overthrow sin. Wo act upon this principle
in many cases. When we teach a little child
to say its infantile prayer, we do not expect it
to be followed by the descending fires as sud¬
denly as was the prophet's. We do not look,
for any great visible good to follow at once.
Wejift- it thai we. may. implant among the
child's first thoughts, a sense of dependence
on God, and of accountability to him, and
that we may lay early the foundation of a de¬
votional habit.
In fact, our own devotions involve the same
principle. We often utter our thanksgivings
when our gratitude is more a conviction of
the mind than an emotion of the heart. Wo
offer our petitions when we are not conscious
of any special sorrow or fear pressing upon
us, and demanding instant help from above.
We rise from our knees conscious that we
have tried to lay an acceptable sacrifice upon
the divine altar, and this consciousness often
ssems to be the only present effect. Our wor¬
ship, nevertheless, is not in vain. Thus we
grow in grace. Every act of honest devotion
is as a golden wing, beating the air in upward
flight, lifting us above the shadows of earth
into the light of God. While we adore, and
pray, and strive, day after day, faith increases,
hope brightens, love grows warm, experience
ripens, and the soul goes on " from strength
to strength."
Here, then, lies the duty, as well as the
hope, of the parent and the teacher. We need
not fear that we accomplish nothing, simply
because the result of each day's care and toil
is not at once seen. If we surround the child
with a religious atmosphere, if we keep the
youthful mind in close contact with divine
truth, if we daily lay upon the young heart
the claims of God and the love of Christ, if we
give our children spiritual food with the daily
bread, we may rationally hope for final suc¬
cess. " For," as saith the prophet, " precept
must be upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line." And only
when we obey is it lawful for us to hope.
We should give as we receive, cheerfully,
quickly, and without hesitation ; for there is
no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers.
AN ASTRONOMER'S PRAYER.
" fllHOU who, by the light of nature, hast
JL kindled in us the longing after the
light of thy grace, in order to raise us to the
light of thy glory, thanks to thee, Creator and
Lord, that thou lettest me rejoice in thy
works. Lo 1 I have done the work of my life
with that power of intellect which thou hast
given. I have recorded to men the glory of
thy works, as far as my mind could compre¬
hend their infinite majesty. My senses were
awake to search, as far as I could, with purity
and faithfulness. If I, a worm before thine
eyes, and born in the bonds of sin, have
brought forth anything that is unworthy of
thy counsels, inspire me with thy Spirit, that
I may correct it. If, by the wonderful beauty-
of thy works, I have been led into boldness;,
if I have sought my own honor among men
as I advanced in the work which was des¬
tined to thine honor, pardon me in kindness
and charity, and by thy grace grant that my
teaching may be to tby glory and the welfare
of all men. Praise ye the Lord, ye heavenly
harmonies; and ye that understand the new
harmonies, praise the Lord I Praise God, O
my soul, as long as I live 1 From him, through
him, and in him, is all—the material as well
as the spiritual; all that we know, and all
that we know not yet, for there is much to do
that is undone."—Conclusion of "Kepler's Har¬
mony of the World."