This Advice Is Just as Important to You as It Is to the Baby.
In the proper bringing up of a child there is nothing absolutely more important than this one thing—to teach it to eat slowly. Every groom knows and observes the rule, in the care of a horse, that rapid eating is fatal to digestion.
There are all sorts of patent mangers to prevent the horse swallowing his oats too quickly. The man who has no patent manger knows enough, when necessary, to put a stone in the manger, scattering the oats around it, so that the horse may be compelled to eat slowly. If the horse's inclination is to gulp down water too fast, the careful man will put a big sponge in the water, compelling slow drinking.
A child's appetite—when he is allowed to eat rapidly—is always in excess of his actual needs unless the child is in bad health. The reason for this is extremely simple. The child craves food because his body requires to manufacture new tissue. He is growing, and he must not only replace the used-up tissues that his daily life destroys, but he must make new flesh, new muscles, new bone, and new blood every day, adding to his weight and size.
The sensation of hunger is not the craving of an empty stomach, satisfied as soon as the stomach is filled. It is a craving that is felt by the nerves all over the body. This craving can not possibly be satisfied until the stomach has begun the work of transforming the food into blood, flesh, muscles, etc. Consequently the sensation which we call hunger persists long after the child or grown person has rapidly absorbed as much food as it really needs—hence the almost universal practice of overeating.
A million foolish parents urge their children to eat a great deal, and always let them eat as much as they want to. Yet all of these know that a famished man taken off a wreck will eat himself to death if allowed to do so. The very hungry child goes to the same excess only in a lesser degree. The great safeguard against that excess in eating which kills ninety per cent of men before their time, and which accounts for ninety-nine per cent of children's diseases, is slow eating.
Nearly all children eat too rapidly. They do so by nature. Slow eating is a matter of education. But too often the mother or the nurse teaches the child the habit of eating fast. When the baby is little, it is fed one spoonful at a time. Before it has time to half chew or even gulp down the first teaspoonful of food, another is held to its lips. Of course it swallows what it has in its mouth, and seizes upon the next mouthful. The habit thus inculcated by foolish adults often ruins the child permanently.
Four factors count in the healthy assimilation of food, factors which parents and nurses should remember. Assuming the food to be properly prepared, thoroughly cooked, and wisely selected, there comes: First, the work of the teeth, which prepares the food for easy digestion.
Second, the action of the saliva, with which the food must be thoroughly mixed in order to minimize the necessary work of the gastric juices in the stomach.
Third, the work of the stomach itself.
Fourth, and most important, a proper supply of blood and of heat.
Force your child to chew slowly and thoroughly every mouthful. If nothing else will do, compel him, at frequent intervals, to lay down his knife and fork that the importance of prolonged chewing may be impressed upon him. Incidentally you may tell him that Gladstone, who was a very great man, and could chop down trees at eighty years of age, chewed every mouthful at least twenty-five times.
Don't allow your child to gulp down water or any other liquid with his solid food. If you allow him to drink while he eats, the salivary glands will not act. They will not need to act; for he will be able to swallow his food easily when it is made moist by water.
You can't do anything to help along the unconscious process which goes on in the stomach. But you can do everything to help that process by attending to the fourth necessity, which demands blood and the heat of the blood in the stomach.
Allow no child after eating to take violent exercise, to study, or even to read an exciting book: The brain has first call upon the service of the heart, and as soon as the brain is excited, the blood leaves the stomach and goes to the head. The muscles also, when too violently exerted, draw the blood away from the stomach. It is absolutely impossible for a child or a grown person to digest properly, or to get strength and vitality from what he eats, unless, for at least a half hour after eating, the stomach be allowed to monopolize the blood supply.
Children should be kept quiet in some way, especially very young children, after they have eaten. In the case of very young babies, nature attends to this mercifully by making them go to sleep as soon as they have absorbed their milk. Older children ought not to go to sleep directly after eating, for physiological reasons which may be explained at some other time. But they ought to be quiet and calm.
Every word that is said here applies to grown-up people, of whom not one in a hundred has ever been taught to apply to himself such common-sense care as is bestowed on a second-class horse.—San Francisco Examiner.
LITERARY NOTICES.
“ECCLESIASTICAL EMPIRE.” By Alonzo Trévier Jones, author of “Two Republics,” “Empires of the Bible,” “The Great Empires of Prophecy,” “The Rights of the People,” etc., etc. Bound in cloth, 874 pp., 27 chapters, five maps, price $2.50.
Historical writers are frequently disposed to relate in an interesting way only the salient facts, and leave the student to draw his own lesson. There are exceptions to this, but usually the lessons are quite general, and the moralizing concerning times far away. Not so, however, with the work before us. The aim is to make history valuable, not alone or primarily to teach us of the past, but to bring its lessons to the present, to show that the causes which produced certain effects in the past will produce like effects, other things being favorable, now. This one volume covers the great salient features of Mosheim, Neander, Schaff, and others, and brings the history and its lessons right down to our own time. Beginning with the first apostasy in the Christian church, the author sketches its workings among the various kingdoms into which the great Roman Empire was divided, the influence and work of the great councils, the Papal Supremacy, the Papal Empire, its attitude toward God’s law, the Reformation, its principles and works in England, in Bohemia, in Germany; and the attitude of Protestants toward the principles of the Reformation in America and elsewhere to-day. The book is of immense value. We wish that its great value had been helped by a good index. It has quite a full table of contents, but is more than a book for the student; it is a book of reference, and it needs, deserves, nay more, demands, good alphabetical indexes. Yet, notwithstanding this defect, and others mechanical which we might name, we devoutly pray that its shadow may never grow less till its work is done.
“THE LIFE OF ST. PAUL HARMONIZED IN SCRIPTURE LANGUAGE.” Compiled by Rev. S. W. Pratt. 12mo, cloth. Price, 75 cents. New York and London: Funk & Wagnalls Company.
We are not to understand by this title that the life of Paul was out of harmony. It was not from the time that the Master keyed it to the divinest of melodies, so far as we know. What is meant by the title is that the compiler has brought together in harmonious arrangement what the Sacred Record says of Paul’s life and work at any time or place in chronological order. The plan has been to construct, after the inductive method, a complete Scriptural life of Paul, following in general the record of Luke in the Acts, and presenting in addition thereto, and in chronological order, whatever the apostle himself has written in his Epistles concerning the same facts and events, and whatever he has written about other parts of his life and work. The book will prove a timely suggestive help in the study of the International Sunday-school lessons for the first six months of this year.
“OUR COUNTRY: THE MARVEL OF NATIONS. Its Past, Present, and Future, and What the Scriptures Say of It.” By Uriah Smith, author of “Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation,” “Here and Hereafter,” etc. Third edition. Nicely bound in cloth, with side and back cover designs in black and white, profusely illustrated, two colored plates, 324 pp., price, cloth, $1.25; gilt edges, $1.50. Review and Herald, Battle Creek, Mich., Chicago, Toronto.
“The Marvel of Nations” is a household word in a large circle of acquaintances. And those who have read and perhaps reread the old edition will be glad to know that it has been revised, enlarged, and brought up to date. The new, or third edition, is also more extensively illustrated than its predecessors. The fact that 244,000 copies of the former editions have been sold will pave the way for a large circulation in its present form. The primary object of the work is to show that the United States Government is a subject of prophecy, and to show its place in prophecy. In doing so it has been necessary to portray the beginning and the growth of this “marvel of nations” in its political and material aspects. It also shows clearly, from the prophecies and the history to date, what we are to expect from developments in the near future.
“THE CRY OF THE TWO-THIRDS.” By S. R. Graham Clark. James H. Earle & Co., 178 Washington Street, Boston.
This book is written by an earnest, Christian, temperance woman in behalf of those who are going down by drink. It is a passionate appeal, in story form, dedicated “to the young man over whom no mother weeps.” We fear that the mighty needs set forth in the book will be lost in the pathos awakened by the romance of its incidents.
“A MANUAL FOR HOME AND CHURCH SCHOOLS.” By Prof. C. C. Lewis, Principal of Keene (Texas) Academy, and educational secretary and superintendent of church-schools for the northwestern and southwestern conferences of Seventh-day Adventists; with an introduction by Prof. E. A. Sutherland, President of Emmanuel Missionary College, Berrien Springs, Mich. Bound in cloth, 192 pages, price 50 cents. Review and Herald, Battle Creek, Mich., Chicago, Toronto.
This “Manual” has been called out by the general inauguration of this new system of schools among our people, and details the requirements quite fully, under six general departments: I. General Principles. II. The Home School. III. The Church School. IV. The Intermediate School. V. Hints and Helps. VI. Practical Problems. It would be impossible to give in a notice all the excellent points contained; for it is a “manual,” and such a work must needs be a compilation of itemized instruction and directions concerning a great variety of points upon which information is desired. Only the book itself can give these details. All who are interested, or who ought to be interested, in the organization and conduct of such schools should get the book.
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Angels of God
“Angels of God.” (Spanish.) A collection of five Bible readings on the following subjects: 1. The Angels of God. 2. Satan and His Work. 3. Christ the Resurrection and the Life. 4. The Second Chapter of Daniel. 5. Signs of the Coming of Christ. Two illustrations; paper; price, 6 cents. Address, Pacific Press Publishing Co., Oakland, Cal.
WORK TO BE DONE IN BRAZIL.
By W. H. Thurston
[From Mission Board Correspondence.]
The Brazilian Government legalizes and protects lotteries in all parts of the country, and the purchase and sale of lottery-tickets is one of the chief subjects of popular interest. The cities of Brazil, especially Rio de Janeiro, seem to be a paradise for lottery-ticket sellers and newsboys. These run through the streets, making a great clamor, and hover at the regular starting and stopping-places of the street cars, full of enthusiastic business enterprise.
It is time now to flood these cities, and in fact the whole country, with papers and literature containing the Gospel, pure and simple. To this end we are laboring. This people have not had the privileges and educational advantages that the people of many other countries have been blessed with; but they are not to be excluded from the privileges of the Gospel and of salvation on that account. There is no respect of persons with God, and the call is still ringing in our ears, “Come over and help us.”
It is true enough that persecution and mob violence are still in vogue there; but the Gospel work is onward, and many people are waiting for the message of peace.
I do not think there is any other country where there have been as many outbreaks and so much violence used against this advent message, during the same length of time, as in Brazil, and I believe there is no other country where the message has made greater progress during the same length of time.
Paul, speaking of the persecutions in his day, said, “But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the Gospel.” It has been the same in Brazil.
There have been at least eight outbreaks of violence by the people in Brazil against the message since we began work there seven years ago, and in some cases the laborers were seriously dealt with and imprisoned. But in every case the spread of the Gospel and the conversion of souls have been the results. To the Lord be all the praise.
Missionary Traveling.
In many places the people receive the message with gladness. The call to believers everywhere is to “look on the fields [the world]; for they are white already to harvest.” “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth laborers into His harvest.”
This is the prayer which we are instructed to pray, and we should remember that prayer does not take the place of duty. It is our duty to pray, and it is our duty to do as well as to pray. When the Lord calls, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” it is not for us to say, “Here is Brother Brown; send him;” but ring it out loud and clear, “Here am I; send me.”
It is frequently the case that many questions come up right at this juncture. Some ask if it is cold, and some ask if it is hot; while others would prefer a medium climate. Some would like to know if it is sickly or healthy, and if they can ride a wheel there.
We do not find Abraham asking any such questions. When God called, he responded. The apostles were not very inquisitive as to their fields of labor. No; it was enough for them to know that they were called, and they went forth like men, regardless of the circumstances and the consequences.
W. H. Thurston.
LIVING TESTIMONY.
Our life is more than our words. When Jesus said, “Ye are the salt of the earth;” “ye are the light of the world,” He was probably not thinking of the testimony we should utter, but of the life we should live. That passage follows the Beatitudes. We are salt and light, if we are meek and merciful, pure in heart, and peace-makers. Our words are finally useful only in so far as they express and interpret our lives, and so give consciousness and clearness to the unconscious impressions men have gained of us. If our words do not formulate what we are, or at least what we long to be, they are a deceit for others and a snare for ourselves. Thunder makes a noise, but lightning is the real force, and the cause of the thunder. The lightning of our life must precede the reverberations of our words.—Anon.
A SERVICE IN ST. SOPHIA.
It is the hour of evening worship in St. Sophia, Constantinople’s proudest mosque. The visitor has been shown to a place in one of the high galleries overlooking the nave. Here, sitting on one of the “rough benches provided for the discomfort of foreign visitors,” and surveying the scene around him, he can “begin to realize the grandeur of the idea that ruled the building of this temple.” He reads the purpose of the architect in the lines of columns, “stretching away in unnumbered succession;” in the noble arches, dimly penetrated by the soft light from thousands of tiny lamps; and in the “vast interior, without visible support for the majestic sweep of its mighty dome.”
The service is in keeping with the place where it is celebrated. The following description is condensed from Dr. Dwight’s “Constantinople and Its Problems” (Fleming H. Revell Co., Chicago):—
Four or five thousand people are ranged in long lines side to side upon the matted floor of the mosque. A white-turbaned old man is seated in front of the congregation, facing the mihrab (the niche which marks the direction of Mecca). The congregation below is so far away as to seem in another world. Standing there before God are old and young, rich and poor, flaxen-haired Slav, rotund Turk, and swarthy Arab, all differences of age, race, and social rank melted away by approach to the throne of the Almighty.
“God is most great, God is most great,” shrilly proclaims the monotone of the Imam from the distant altar-place of the apse. Like the rustling of leaves in a wind-tossed forest is the rustle of the multitudes muttering, “God is most great,” while all together, as one man, bring their foreheads to the ground in adoration. Again the congregation rise and stand, with inaudible utterance following the Imam and the choir through the noble prayer which forms the first chapter of the Koran: “In the name of God the merciful and the compassionate! Praise God the Lord of all creatures, the merciful, the King of the day of judgment. Thee do we worship; of Thee do we ask assistance. Lead us in the right way, in the way of those to whom Thou hast been gracious; not of those with whom Thou art wroth nor of those who wander from Thee.”
While the sentences of the Muslim litany are uttered, all the people together reverently bow, then kneel, and then bring their foreheads to the ground in utter prostration. The solemn fitness of the words of adoration, the silence of the mass of people, following the words of the white-haired leader, the absolute union of the long lines of men shoulder to shoulder in their bowings, kneelings, and prostrations, fairly compels admission that that stately building is now quite as much the house of God as when it echoed with the chant of the Greek liturgy.
Such is the worship in St. Sophia—
“... when the day is done,
And the foreheads of Islam are bowed as one!”
It may perhaps be as sincere and acceptable as was the Greek liturgy; for there is little to choose between two sets of lifeless forms. In the case of the Moslems it is well known that religion is an outward13affair, in which a regard for character-building or true worship has no place. Dr. Dwight thus sketches the character of many “pious” frequenters of mosques:—
One may often see in Asia a man who hesitates no more before committing robbery than before picking a ripe plum from a tree; a man who can kill a neighbor of another faith with as clear a conscience as if he were wishing him, “Good morning”; a man whose experience enables him to tell to a hair the number of blows with a sand-bag that will kill and the number that will merely stun; a man who will as a matter of course take advantage of a woman accidentally left unprotected within his reach; and who nevertheless can wax eloquent over the beauty of love to God, and suffer from scruples about eating mutton that is not known to have been slaughtered in the canonical manner.
Such are the effects of a complete divorce of morals from religion, a religion that teaches that “to please God it is enough to follow carefully the prescribed observances.” There are millions of people who have been trained under the influence of a religion that consists of creed, form, and ceremonies, and contains no vital principle to touch the heart and the life. How shall the missionary reach them with the living truth of the Gospel as it is in Christ Jesus?
WE PASS BUT ONCE.
We pass this way but once.
There's work divine for thee;
On every hand
The needy stand,
And sigh for sympathy.
We pass this way but once.
In love's sweet accents tell
Of constant joy
Without alloy
In hearts where Christ doth dwell.
We pass this way but once.
Does life's sojourn seem drear?
Then fill thy days
With gladsome praise;
God wills thy sojourn here.
We pass this way but once.
Then truth's blest cause defend;
With hero's might
Stand for the right;
'Twill triumph in the end.
We pass this way but once.
Live nobly while you may;
Rising above
Earth's groveling love,
Seek realms of endless day.
We pass this way but once.
Wage well thy warfare now;
Beyond the strife
Bright crowns of life
Await the victor's brow.
—Anon.
THE BOXERS AND AFTER.
By C. W. Pruitt
Encouraging Facts.
Not one of our stations in the North China mission but was affected by the Boxers. In Pingtu and Saichow, Christians were imprisoned. One Tungchow member was beaten to death. In Hwanghein the Boxer tension was distressing.
Naturally there was a great variety of experiences. The Christians lost heavily from a financial point of view, the Boxers desiring plunder as much as to annoy the Christians.
The aftermath has been:—
1. The Christians have been indemnified locally for their losses.
2. Provision has been made for the family of the man who was beaten to death.
3. The people are disgusted with the Boxers.
4. The churches are all crowded with heathen every Sunday, eager to get some light on this mighty power. The people have never been so approachable in all my experience with them.
5. Christian life has been deepened. This was most manifested at our recent association, when the brethren could hardly tear themselves away from talking about Sen Hway Te, their only martyr. If they were heathen, they would canonize him at once.
Again, there is a maturity about the looks of the men and women who went through those perilous times. The lines are deepened and softened. There was a reliance on God, the like of which they had never witnessed before.
There are two perils facing our North China work at the present moment:—
1. The Christian victory has given Christians too great a name for power. Evil persons are constantly wishing to enter our churches for the sake of the power. The doors can scarcely be guarded with never so watchful a vigilance.
2. The coming of so many foreigners into the land, and the springing up of institutions to foster the new learning, make demands upon our trained men so that our workers scatter, and we lack that concentration needed for the best results. On the other hand, let us hope the mass will be more rapidly leavened by this means.
There are two things I wish to say about the Christians during the uprising:—
1. One is that the work went on in many places with scarcely abated interest.
2. The bravery shown by some of the Christians would have done credit to Americans and adds luster to the page of Chinese history.
God overruled it. He was preparing his workers for a great harvest.—C. W. Pruitt.
OUR WORK AND WORKERS.
January 18 four members were added to the church at Olean, N. Y.
The baptism of five candidates in San Luis Valley, Col., is noted by Brother M. Mackintosh.
Arrangements are being made for the erection of a new house of worship at Hillsdale, Wis.
A Sabbath-school of fifteen members has been organized at Knox, Ind., by Brother Lewis Büchtel.
Meetings held at Grey Eagle, Minn., by Brother J. O. Peet, have resulted so far in the conversion of four to “the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”
The new church edifice at Salida, Col., was dedicated January 26, by Brother C. McReynolds, president of Southwestern Union Conference, assisted by Dr. W. W. Hills.
The proceedings of the ninth session of the South African Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, issued in a neat pamphlet, indicate a good progress in the work of that field, notwithstanding the war-disturbed condition of the country.
Reporting to the Bulletin, Brother L. F. Starr reports the addition of four members to the church at Council Bluffs, Iowa, and one to the church at Atlantic. Also that church-schools have been organized at Council Bluffs and Onawa.
It is encouraging to know that the Helping Hand Mission in Melbourne, Australia, is now self-supporting, and doing excellent work. A choir composed of boys and girls from the church-school, and a missionary brass band of thirty pieces, composed of employees in the Echo office, assist in the services.
“Teaching the Scriptures, praying in families,—this is the work of the evangelist, and this is to be mingled with preaching. If it is omitted, preaching will, to a great extent, be a failure. Come close to the people by personal efforts. Teach them that the love of God must come into the sanctuary of the home life.”—Testimony for the Church, Vol. 6.
In one place in French Switzerland, Brother B. G. Wilkinson notes that ten persons have accepted the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Reporting to the Missionary Magazine, he says: “My visit to Italy has been very profitable. I can see that the field is ripe, and it ought to be entered at once. The language is not difficult, nothing like the French, and the people are open to hear the truth.”
Of a trip through Russia, Brother J. T. Boettcher says they found the people ready to listen to the truth. He says: “Very many are receiving the truth, and in southern Russia a German brother was ordained for the work among the natives. The German brethren appreciated the work done for them. A number came 175 miles to attend meetings. Some of these had not accepted the faith before coming to the meetings.”
Brother G. W. Reaser writes us under dates of December 10 and 16, from Natal, that he is holding a most interesting series of meetings in Maritzburg; that he has never had a better company of listeners; and eight good souls have accepted the truth. Good help has been given by medical missionaries and Bible-workers. The British have been very kind in granting permits to visit the Boer prisoners, and in this way work is being done for them; but literature is greatly needed. He hopes soon to go to Johannesburg to organize the Sabbath-keepers there, at least into a working company. While living expenses are very high in South Africa, railway expenses are very reasonable. He refers, as an illustration, to a round trip of 71 miles (142 both ways) costing only about $2.20. The government owns the railways, and the profits are large. Writing to the Missionary Magazine, Brother Reaser notes the dedication of a new church in Maritzburg, the first church of our denomination in that district. One of the high-court judges encouraged the enterprise in a material way, and, with his family, had attended meetings in the new edifice.
At Bridgetown, Barbados, B. W. I., Brother W. A. Sweany baptized fourteen candidates during the week of prayer. Writing to the Minnesota Worker of the school conducted by Sister Sweany, he says:—
We wrestled over the matter of books for weeks, and were almost in despair; for we have no fund here for such purposes, and felt unable to buy them ourselves. But we felt that the school must have the books, so we ordered about $50 worth on our own responsibility, and had them to begin the new term last Monday. Such a delighted lot of scholars you never saw. We are confident that the providence of God, which we know placed this burden upon us, will enable us to bear it. We only charge 5 cents a week tuition, and many of our people are unable to pay this, so it is purely a missionary enterprise. We have never felt such a deep interest in, or burden for, any other one enterprise as we do in this. We have a class of five young ladies, each of whom we hope soon to see enter some branch of the Lord’s work. In fact, they are already taking hold of it in various ways. And native workers is one of the greatest needs of this field. These girls are all attending the school in addition to the work of earning their own living, which is almost a life-and-death struggle here. Some of them get up at 2 o’clock A.M. to work and study. We had a most successful and interesting entertainment during the holidays. It was held in the church, and consisted of songs, recitations, and Scripture exercises expressing some phase of the truth of God. The church was packed, and crowds stood at doors and windows. The blessing and presence of God was so real as to be recognized by all, and it was universally declared to be the best thing of the kind any one present had seen, and all schools here hold them.
A RULE THAT WORKED BOTH WAYS.
A CHINAMAN once applied for the position of cook in a family in an American city. The lady of the house and most of the family were members of a fashionable church, and they were determined to look well after the character of the servants. So when John Chinaman appeared at the door, he was asked,—
“Do you drink whisky?”
“No,” said he, “I Clistian man.”
“Do you play cards?”
“No, I Clistian man.”
He was employed, and gave great satisfaction. He did his work well, was honest, upright, correct, and respectful. After some weeks the lady gave a “progressive euchre” party, and had wines at the table. John Chinaman was called upon to serve the party, and did so with grace and acceptability. But next morning he waited on the lady, and he wished to quit work.
“Dear me! what is the matter?” she inquired.
John Chinaman answered,—
“Ah! I Clistian man; told you so before, no heathen. I no workee for Melican heathen!”—Sel.
PERIODICALS WANTED.
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LET US UNSAY IT.
By Editor
In the Signs of February 5, on this page, we printed the following:—
A Warning.
Brother E. H. Rees, Box 614, Williamsport, Pa., sends us a warning, cautioning all our people, and others we suppose, against one L. Schmidt, a German of medium height, smooth face, slightly cross-eyed, of pleasing address, who passes as an S. D. A. missionary, selling Bibles, SIGNS, tracts, etc.; that he is using religion as a garb to cover wickedness; and that in every place he leaves a stench and reproach behind him. He was last seen in Harrisburg, Pa. State papers are requested to copy.
We are not among those who believe that editors are infallible. They make mistakes. We believe that it was our mistake to publish this “warning.” By this we do not question the motives or action of Brother Rees. That is wholly between him and God. The things which he stated, but which we did not publish, concerning the sins of L. Schmidt, we do not question, for the man himself has confessed them. But we have since learned something of the man; his early education and environments, his hard life up to a recent date, the struggles he has had, the attempts to overcome and live down the past; and how the evils he has wrought have been reported against him everywhere he has gone. We have learned from his own pen, in answer to a letter, the sad account, with no self-justification. And we believe it. He is still hoping to overcome, trusting in Christ Jesus; and let us plead with those who may meet both this and him. Try to help him onto firmer ground, to a better grasp of eternal life, to a clearer hope in Christ Jesus. “But he may have deceived you in his tale of woe and repentance.” Possibly, he may be much worse than we conceive. He may be an arrant hypocrite. Yet we would rather make a thousand mistakes in supposing him sincere than cause one little one to stumble, one broken reed to break. May he look to God, may he lay hold of the arm of the mighty One; nay, more, may he so put himself in God’s hands, that he shall be made in very deed a new creation in Christ Jesus, in which all the reproach shall be rolled away, and all things shall be new in Him.
