Earlier text: QUESTIONS ON IMMORTALITYWhat Shall I Do To Be Saved?
By Cutler
“MEN and brethren, what shall we do?” This was the eager question of a large company of people at Jerusalem who were “pricked to the heart.” Their consciences were aroused under plain preaching to them as sinners who had “crucified and slain” the Messiah. They felt keenly. But the apostle Peter did not stop to commend them for feeling so tenderly, or to exhort them to deepen their emotions. He endeavored to lift the whole matter of their salvation out of the vapory region of emotion, and to base it on the solid ground of principle. It is a sad mischief to thousands in our congregations that they feel so much and do so little. They melt under eloquent preaching, perhaps shed tears. (So they do over a pathetic novel.) Their consciences are touched. They make good resolutions, and then go home, and straightway forget what manner of persons they have been. This is a most dangerous and damaging process. My friend, don’t you know that to weep over sin, and then not to quit the sin—to have a good feeling, and not to carry it out into practice—does you a most serious harm? It is a wrong upon the Holy Spirit, and a most terrible wrong to yourself. It hardens your heart most fearfully. The most difficult persons in our congregations to deal with are those emotional people who have wept and resolved a hundred times, and yet have never lifted a finger to obey Christ. I am afraid that their tears in this world are but a prelude to bitterer tears in perdition. Hell is full of weepers. Even Satan himself may be wrung with intense and inconceivable anguish. It is well to feel. But it is not enough to feel. An ounce of faith is worth a ton of feeling. But what answer does Peter make to his awakened and anxious auditors? Does he tell them that they have no natural ability to do their duty? Does he address them as “poor sinners,” more to be pitied than to be blamed? Does he offer to pray for them, and thus lead them to cling to his skirts, instead of clinging to the Saviour? Does he urge them to take to good reading, or even to come often and hear him preach the gospel? No, indeed! All such inventions and devices he leaves to modern pretenders and false guides in divinity. His auditors demanded to know what they should do; and he gives them at once a piece of work—of thorough work for the heart and the daily life. He knows that sinners must “work out their own salvation,” even while God was “working in them to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Peter’s answer to their question begins with one short word, that flashes like a saber, and cuts like a saber too: “RE-PENT”! “Oh! but,” they might say, “we are penitent; we feel sorely; we are pierced to the heart.” Very true. But feeling keenly is not always repentance. For, if so, then every inebriate would be repentant; no man suffers keener self-loathing and misery than does a drunkard while he is sober. Repentance is an infinitely deeper thing than sorrow, or suffering, or dread of a wrath to come. It is the taking a right view of sin as sinful, and then quitting it. I look at a glass of exhilarating drink which I hold in my hand, and say to myself: “That is a poison. It has an adder in it; it is death!” and then I drop it in a moment. That is a genuine repentance of the sin of tippling; and it is the only kind of repentance that can save an inebriate. God’s grace may be operating upon the inebriate; but still he must renounce the fatal cup of his own accord and for himself. The fact that God’s Spirit awakens repentance and promotes repentance in a sinner’s heart does not alter one whit that other fact that repentance must be your own act. You must forsake your sins voluntarily. There is no merit in a Tweed’s giving up the practice of plundering when he has no longer the power to plunder. If you only give up wrong-doing reluctantly, and then hanker after your sinful practices again, that is not repentance. Evangelical repentance implies change of mind, change of purpose, change of conduct. We repeat once more that it is a taking of a right view of all sin as utterly wicked, and then quitting it. My friend, have you done this? Then you have put your foot on the first round of the ladder that leads upward and Heavenward. 2. Another vital point is unconditional submission to God. When a certain commander of a conquered fort inquired of his conqueror on what terms the fortress should be given up, the memorable reply was: “Unconditional surrender.” If you are a sinner, then your heart is a rebel fortress. It must be yielded to the Lord; yielded entirely and yielded without any conditions on your side. Do not stop to bargain with God. Put in no selfish demands. Saul of Tarsus yielded up every point when he cried out from the ground: “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” An intelligent woman, who had been in deep distress for many weeks, finally said: “Peace with God I know nothing about; but I have done quarreling with him. I am justly condemned. I have resolved to submit to God, and serve him, and do all the good I can as long as I live; and then go to hell, as I deserve.” Her pastor quietly replied: “You will find it hard work to get to hell in that way.” He said no more. The frank, honest-hearted woman soon found that her calm, willing submission to God—her willingness that God should reign while she patiently did her duty—was bringing her abiding peace and strength. She became a strong, consistent Christian. Her will yielded to God’s will. To know the will of the Lord Jesus, and to do it in his strength, is the very core of true religion. Especially I entreat you not to demand of God the ready pay of “comfort” and “joy.” Don’t stop to think about happiness. A wounded soldier must not expect any comfort until the bullet has been extracted. When the festering rifle-ball is out, he will feel better and get well. So, when the festering sin comes out of your heart, and all the wicked enmity to God, you will find true comfort; but not before. Do not be selfishly greedy of enjoyment. Paul was perfectly content to suffer hunger, and weariness, and prisons, and death, for Jesus’ sake. He was not everlastingly begging to be “happy, happy, happy,” like certain watery professors nowadays. To do Christ’s will and to save souls was his joy and crown. If Paul were living to-day, I venture to say that he would love those sweet lines of Anna L. Waring: “Lord! I would have my spirit filled
With grateful love to thee,
More careful not to serve thee much,
But to please thee perfectly.
“There are briers besetting every path,
That call for patient care;
There is a cross in every lot,
And an hourly need of prayer;
And a lowly heart that leans on Thee
Is happy anywhere.”
3. Peter did not stop with preaching repentance of sin. He pointed to Christ, and enjoined immediate confession of the Lord Jesus. To quit sin and to follow the divine Saviour was the sum and substance of the duty which Peter laid upon those anxious inquirers. This, too, is your duty. Begin at once to do the first thing which Christ bids you. At whatever point Christ is pressing you, yield! Obey! When you yield even one single point to please Christ the change is begun. When you yield one point from principle, you will be ready to yield all. To be willing to trust in Christ and to go with Christ is to be a converted man or woman. When you consent to obey Christ, and to do this at all hazards, and cost what it will, you are a Christian. As to raptures and ecstasies, it will be time enough to look for them when you get into Heaven. In these plain, practical counsels I have said nothing about prayer. For, if you are trying to do what the word of God and the Holy Spirit commands you, it must inevitably lead you to pray fervently. And, unless you actually do what the Lord requires of you, all the prayer in the universe cannot save your soul.—CUTLER, in N. Y. Independent. “REMEMBER NOT THE SINS OF MY YOUTH.”
Could I recall the years that now are flown
Forevermore;
Revive my early visions—long o'erthrown—
And hope restore,
How blest it were to mould my life anew,
And all my broken vows of youth renew! Oh! were I once again but free to choose
As in past days,
How oft the sinful path I would refuse
For sterner ways!
Content to turn aside from every road
Save that which kept me in the smile of God. But vain the dream; the strife is o'er with me;
Dark days remain;
I could not trust my heart if I were free
To choose again;
The dazzling morning might again deceive,
Life be misspent, and age be left to grieve. I would not, if I could, recall the years
That now are fled;
Their cares and pleasures, labors, hopes, and fears
For me are dead;
I ask but mercy for the weary past,
And grace to guide me gently home at last.
—Good Words. When Christians Meet in Jesus’ Name
When Christians meet in the name of Jesus, he is in their midst; and where he is, there is blessing, counsel, instruction, and consolation. But when “two or three” backsliders, hypocrites, dead heads, and dead hearts, who have nothing, do nothing, feel nothing, and know nothing, of the power and grace and work of Jesus Christ, meet together in the name of self, or sect, or party, they are no better together than when apart—nay, they are not as well: one of them alone is bad enough—two are worse, and a hundred are worse yet. Reconciling Health and Intemperance
An unfortunate gentleman expected every day to perform a miracle—namely, to reconcile health with intemperance. What shall be said of our times when such descriptions as the following are justified by the events that transpire? We should shrink back appalled before the picture, and despair of being able to tell what these things mean, did we not know that violence in the land was to be one of the characteristics of the last days. “The city of New York is under the control of its dangerous classes. Robberies, burglaries, assaults, murders, of all kinds, are rampant in its streets. At all hours of the day its citizens are likely to be attacked and stripped of their money and jewelry. At 7 o’clock in the morning, one man, reading his newspaper in the street-car, is seized by the throat and his watch wrenched from his pocket. The thief escapes, though a policeman chases him, or pretends to chase him, three blocks. The ruffians “go for a feller” whenever they see him alone, and will knock him senseless or kill him, and seem perfectly satisfied if their booty is only sufficient to buy them a glass of beer. The detectives are in league with the thieves and murderers. The police are wholly indifferent. In Brooklyn, the other night, while Palermo was having his brains knocked out, twenty-four policemen were within two blocks of the scene, stuffing ballot-boxes for one of the “Ring” candidates, whose election had been ordered by the powers that be. The hospitals are filling up with the victims of these assaults upon the life and property of the citizens. The coroners hold inquests every day upon a dozen persons who have met with violent deaths. Tammany has reduced the whole police force to a band of thieves and murderers in open or secret league with those who commit thefts and murder. The courts are worthless and rotten. It is next to impossible to convict a criminal, no matter how atrocious his crime. Those notorious for the most heinous offenses, bank robbers and desperadoes of the worst kind, walk the streets with impunity. The prisons are sink-holes of iniquity, and many of the officials are drunken and licentious. The jails swarm with vermin. Innocent witnesses are detained in the filthy cells, half or wholly frozen, while the criminals are abroad. The keepers indulge in orgies of the vilest description. The female prisoners are often debauched and outraged. These criminal classes are well organized. Their leaders and organizers live a luxurious, sensual life, are splendidly dressed, walk and ride about with impunity, and levy tribute on the community. Savings banks are robbed by the managers, and the poor, cheated depositors, made desperate by the loss of their cherished accumulations, in many cases join this horde of depredators, and increase the terror under which the respectable classes of New York are now living. These latter are demoralized. They appear to be incapable of resistance. They are paralyzed with the atrocity and audacity of this secret, terrible Ku Klux which has possession of their city, and has fairly begun the work of despoiling it. Next to Paris, in its days of frenzy, New York is nearer to anarchy than any city ever before reached. What is worse, there seems to be no effort made to save it.” —Det. Post. And New York is not the only place where such a state of things exists. In many portions of the country, as many crimes perhaps are committed within a territorial area containing as many inhabitants as the city of New York, as are perpetrated there. Here is what the Louisville Ledger of Nov. 27, 1871, says of the condition of society in Southern Indiana:— “The devil seems to be having it pretty much his own way over in Southern Indiana, if one may judge by the number and atrocity of the crimes recently committed in that section. Hangings, murders, burglaries, and highway robberies follow each other in rapid succession, and good citizens cannot but feel the tremors of fear when they reflect what apparent insecurity there is to life and property. There was the murder of the Woodward family in Orange County, in which four persons were mercilessly butchered with an ax; the attempt to murder an entire family in Lawrence County, a few miles from New Orleans; the butchery of a mother, her little son, and an infant daughter, near Tell City, in Perry County; twenty-five or thirty murders of single individuals; the outraging and murder of an old lady near Clear Spring, in Jackson County; the hanging of two men from a bridge in Orange County; the hanging of the three Renos and Charles Anderson in the New Albany jail by the Seymour mob; the taking of citizens from their beds in Harrison, Crawford, and Lawrence Counties, and beating them nearly to death with clubs and switches; the deliberate grinding of a butcher-knife by a woman, and her subsequent use of it in cutting into tidbits the body of her sister-in-law in Washington County, and dozens of other almost as shocking barbarisms, crowned with the massacre of the Park family in Clark County; and all these would indicate the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Revelator of Patmos, that Satan would be loosed for a season.” Non-Resurrectionism.
By J. H. Waggoner
I was informed recently that there was some wonder why I had not noticed the strictures in the Herald of Life on my little book entitled “Resurrection of the Unjust.” One reason is, that, having published my views I was willing to rest the question with the readers. And I am pleased with the assurance gathered from many sources, that the little book has been doing a good work. Many who were perplexed by the sophistry of the Non-Resurrectionists have been saved from that error; and some have been converted from it. I had the pleasure of forming an acquaintance with a minister, not long since, who had imbibed that view, and who had renounced it on reading that book, affirming that there was no ground left to stand upon. Knowing these things, I was not anxious to keep up a war of words. Another reason is, I do not know what they have said or written on the subject. When I was at the camp-meeting in Springfield, Mass., in 1869, a friend from New York city, and prominent believer of that faith, offered to send the Herald of Life to me if I would read it. I expressed my desire to read, and my thanks for the offer, and the paper was sent to my address. But very soon after the publication of my little work, the Herald ceased to come; and since that time I have seen but a few numbers. But I have thought it duty to notice one thing, which is the object of this present writing. I was informed by a friend from Massachusetts that J. C. Day had said that he had reviewed some of my positions but I did not notice it. Perhaps he has; I cannot deny it; nor do I know it. But this only I do know. A letter was received from J. C. Day, accusing me of garbling and perverting the words of Geo. Storrs. To this I answered as follows, immediately upon receiving it: “Battle Creek, Mich., March 2, 1870.
“Bro. J. C. Day—Dear Sir: I have just arrived here after an absence of several weeks, and Bro. Andrews has handed me your letter of Feb. 17, to him. I see that you have become somewhat excited over my little book, which is the only excuse for most that you have written. But to one thing I must call your attention. You say,
“ ‘I think he has fallen into the same error for which he complains of T. M. Preble in Eld. Haines’ paper, that is, so garbling the arguments of different writers as to keep the argument entirely out of sight, and make them teach what they never thought of teaching.’ ”
“Whether I succeeded in proving that T. M. Preble has garbled the writings of others, the readers can judge, as they have my reasons on that point. All that has nothing to do with this matter.
“But you give no reason whatever for your accusation against me. If you have any I wish to know it. Therefore I request you, 1. To point out the place or places in my work where I have so garbled the words of any writer as to falsify, or corrupt, or obscure, his meaning. 2. To point out what the writer did mean in each case where his meaning is different from that which I have imputed to him.
“I do not expect that all who oppose my work shall reason correctly or draw conclusions logically. But in matters of fact I have a right to insist that justice be done to me. I hope to hear from you soon.
And there, so far as I know, the matter rested. If Mr. Day or any other one has shown, or can show, a single point wherein I misconstrued or perverted the language of any of their writers, I would be pleased to see it. I have the opinion, given to me by one who has quite extensively preached that doctrine, that I proved the points I took against Eld. Storrs’s book. It would be a pleasure to us all to be informed what is Eld. Storrs’s present opinion of his own book on the non-resurrection of the wicked. He is decidedly progressive; but we do not know how far he has progressed. Having become a Restorationist, or very nearly a Universalist, would it not be well for him to declare openly what are his views of the resurrection? Some men seem to be much in need of a balance wheel in their brain machinery. J. Blain, who has made “Destruction” his sole hobby for several years, has now discovered that it does not necessarily mean utter, or entire, or final destruction, but a kind of modified destruction which admits of their restoration and final salvation. He and Geo. Storrs are yet in company; but what next? J. H. W. Departing and Being with Christ.
By R. F. Cottrell
THE following good illustration of the language of the apostle, expressing his desire to depart and be with Christ, is found in Gillfillan's work on the Sabbath, p. 450. It is given by Rev. John Jamieson of Methven, Scotland. “A man,” says Mr. Gillfillan, “at once of high genius, the most saintly character, and the warmest, tenderest heart.” “For some time before his death, his mind on these occasions turned frequently to the doctrine of the resurrection; and at one time, with the view perhaps of apologizing for this, he spoke nearly as follows:—‘My children, I never like to dwell long on the thought of death; that is a gloomy subject; my mind is always for bounding off to the bright morning of the resurrection; a morning so full of life, and peace, and joy. Ah! that is the morning which will vanquish death, and swallow up in perfect victory all the ill it has ever done to this poor heart of mine, by tearing asunder the finest ties which bound it to the earth, and sending some of our fairest flowers to the dull, cold grave. Why should death hold so many, all their days, in the bondage of its fear? What is it to die, but just to wink and to be with Christ?’ This last thought seemed to dwell in his mind, and to yield him much enjoyment. When, not long before his death, a Christian friend spoke to him rather despondently of the long and weary ages that the body must lie in the grave, he replied in his usual hearty way, ‘It is just to-morrow morning; you will never think the night long when your sleep is sound.’” This eminent minister could understand that, to the utterly unconscious, the period of time from death to the resurrection was as nothing; like a wink of the eye, or like the coming of the morning to one whose sleep is sound. It is evident that he saw no necessity for the modern spiritualistic view, that men go to their reward at death. His mind, like Paul's, was “for bounding off to the bright morning of the resurrection.” Then the crown is to be given. “Henceforth [from the time the earthly course is finished] there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” Neither the apostle, nor Mr. Jamieson, looked to death for their reward; but to the resurrection, which should give the victory over death. Yet those whose minds are filled with the idea that the real man escapes death wholly, may still contend that both held the now popular view. The Call for Laborers.
By C. O. Taylor
The appointment for a season of fasting and prayer, that the Lord would raise up laborers was certainly timely and called for. While the majority Gallio-like, care for none of these things, it is not so with all. There are a few in nearly every community who want to hear. They see many strange things in this age of the world, and are pleased to know what the word of the Lord says about them. There are a few in all the churches that are asking “Watchman, what of the night?” There are those that never made a public profession of religion, men and women of good judgment, not bound by bigotry, or sectarian cords, who see so much wrong in that direction, that they never will join such associations; and they are anxious to know the “times and seasons.” The people begin to know us better. When they come to hear our position, and see that we read it from the Bible, they become interested to read for themselves.77 While all do not embrace it at once, they do not reject or decide against it. There is hope in their cases, that they will yet obey. Others seem to be past feeling, given up to their own ways. They will have their idols, and bow to them, if the angel of death stood to cut them down for the first transgression. Such can never be helped. They will not be. They will listen to no argument. They will not accept of the word of God, unless they can put their meaning to it. Nevertheless, our work is on and before us. PREPARATORY to the last conflict, called the battle of the great day, a summons to war is to go forth among the Gentiles, according to the prophet Joel, and the heathen are to be wakened. He says: “Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles. Prepare war. Wake up the mighty men.” Joel 3:9. And again in verse 12, “Let the heathen be wakened.” As we read these prophecies, we can but ask ourselves whether the present remarkable revolutions taking place among the nations of the East, which have heretofore held themselves aloof from intercourse with the rest of the world, have anything to do with these predictions. Japan seems to be taking the lead in this wonderful awakening; and it is the influence of our own country which is arousing her from the drowsiness of four thousand years. And what is remarkable is the fact that the first thing in relation to which they seek instruction is the science and practice of war. American military men are now in the employ of the Japanese government reorganizing her armies in accordance with modern military tactics. Respecting the Japanese embassy now in this country, The Methodist speaks as follows:— “The Japanese Embassy of more than one hundred persons is an unexpected demonstration, showing the progressive interest awakened in that antique country by American influence. The edict of the Mikado is an equally significant indication. He says:— “‘My country is now undergoing a complete change from old to new ideas, which I sincerely desire; therefore I call upon all the wise and strong-minded to appear and become good guides to the Government. During youth-time it is positively necessary to view foreign countries, so as to become enlightened as to the ideas of the world, and boys, as well as girls, who will themselves become men and women, should be allowed to go abroad, and my country will be benefited by their knowledge so acquired. Females heretofore have had no position socially, because it was considered they were without understanding, but if educated and intelligent they should have due respect. Six young Japanese women of rank go to America in care of Mr. De Long, to be sent to some seminary of learning at the expense of the Government.’ “The rank of woman, in any community, is considered by historians as one of the truest exponents of its civilization. Heretofore Japanese men have been interdicted from foreign travel, and women have not been esteemed worthy of education. In both these respects, Japan has surprisingly advanced. Her six princesses are, it is said, to be educated at Vassar. Japan promises to be the future intermediate link between American and Asiatic civilization. An Incident.
By GEO. L. BUTLER.
WHILE changing trains at Cedar Rapids the other day, a circumstance came under my observation which left quite an impression upon my mind. A traveler came down with me on the train from the North, intending to change cars and take the Eastern train at Cedar Rapids. The two trains made a close connection there, and as we came in, the train he desired to take stood on the track just about ready to start. He could have got on it had he hastened immediately and stepped aboard, but he stopped to buy a through ticket, and as it seemed to me was rather slow about it, and when he went out of the depot door to go aboard, the train was just moving off, and there he was left to wait in the depot twelve long weary hours. Of course he was very much disappointed and chagrined, and all the more so because he came so very near getting aboard. He said it was very important that he should be at a certain place that evening, and now this would be impossible, and that he would rather have given twenty-five dollars than to have been left. I could but sympathize with the poor man, and it set me to thinking of spiritual things. What an immense host will be lost in the day of the Lord. And what a fearful thing to be lost. Not one ray of hope to cheer the heart. All is dark dreary despair. Lost, forever lost. The city of God with all its glories is in view; and Abraham Isaac and Jacob, and perchance friends and neighbors can be seen upon its walls. Immortality and eternal life are secured; not a sorrow or pain to be felt. These could have been enjoyed by them as well as the saved had they made the proper effort. But who of that immense host will feel the keenest pangs of sorrow, dear reader? I apprehend it will be he who was a professor of religion and cherished a hope of salvation but barely came short. The unbeliever who has no faith or care for God's word, who follows in the ways of sin, living entirely for the world, seeks the gratification of the natural heart alone. He does not expect salvation, he gives it no thought. He is not particularly disappointed. His punishment will be terrible enough. But that man who had no thought but that he should be saved, who expected to see the gates of the golden city swing back and admit him to its joys, who associated always with the people of God in their worship and felt that his salvation was secured, oh! how terrible will be the disappointment to such an one when he finds those gates closed against him and hears the dread words, “I never knew you.” depart from me ye workers of iniquity. He not only has the punishment of the former class to bear, but the most fearful disappointment it was ever the fate of man to experience. What must be the reflections of such an one as his past life comes up before him and he realizes that had he repented of what he considered some small sins, he might now be sharing the reward of the faithful. Had he faithfully performed some duties, which at the time he considered small, the terrible sentence, “Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,” might have been changed to the precious words, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Yes, the nearer we come to salvation and then lose it, the more poignant will be our grief, and the more acute our distress. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. Let us, therefore, make sure work. GEO. L. BUTLER. State Center, Iowa, Feb. 9, 1872. Men and Things.
By Dudley Marvin Canright
GOOD ADVICE FOR MINISTERS.
While ministers are always giving good advice to others, it is well to receive a little in return now and then. Who needs it more than they, with all their cares, dangers, and responsibilities? The Liberal Christian cautions ministers thus: “In the country, we can conceive of no man more useful in a ministerial way than the familiar, frequent guest of all the homes in a moderate-sized parish; who runs in and out, is on hand in every domestic emergency, watches each individual, and makes a study of his character and perils, knows each child and is interested in his future. But even here it is necessary not to mistake popularity for usefulness. The minister must not be contented with being an ordinary friend. He is a religious friend, and he must not let his office sink into that of a gossiping neighbor. Moreover, ministers who spend most of their time in running about the parish oftentimes sink into intellectual imbeciles. They love this easy work better than study, reading, the careful preparation of sermons, the considerate oversight of village interests and public improvements. A pastor must be a student to keep a really useful hold on his people; he must read, know, think more than they can, and feed them from an ever-growing mind and an ever-deepening piety.” How easy it is for a minister to unconsciously grow into the lazy, chit-chat, good-natured friend above described. But when he gets there, he had better go at some honest employment, for he is only a public nuisance. He must have something new and fresh every time he calls, every time he prays, and every sermon he preaches. To do this, he must read, study, think, and meditate. Brethren, have we become negligent in these things? Let us rouse up anew and go out with that freshness which God gives to all who work for him. EVILS OF CHURCH FESTIVALS.
A bishop thus laments and fears them: CHURCH KITCHENS.—The present popular sociality which fits up kitchens and supper-rooms in church buildings, while it may be in harmony with the debased machinery of “charity” throughout, serves to degrade communion into companionship, the mystical and sacramental into gregarious frivolity. There is some ground for anxiety lest censurable indulgences may not exist in the sociables, as they are called, and lest, under the admitted need of church use, and religious control for the social element, we may be fostering in it forms which permit the world to overmaster the church, and alloy the purity of her teaching and discipleship.—Bishop Whitehouse. HOW TO CONQUER AN EVIL HABIT.
Does some one see this who has been cursed with an evil habit which he has never been able to overcome? Well, if you are not yet entirely discouraged, take the following advice and try again: “Infinite toil would not enable you to sweep away a mist; but, by ascending a little, you may often look over it altogether. So it is with our moral improvements: we wrestle fiercely with a vicious habit, which would have no hold upon us if we ascended into a higher moral atmosphere. As I have heard suggested, it is by adding to our good purposes, and nourishing the affections which are rightly placed, that we shall best be able to combat the bad ones. By adopting such a course, you will not have yielded to your enemy, but will have gone, in all humility, to form new alliances. You will then resist an evil habit with the strength which you have gained in carrying out a good one. You will find, too, that when you set your heart upon the things that are worthy of it, the small selfish ends which used to be so dear to it, will appear almost disgusting. You will wonder that they could have had such hold upon you.” DOES THE SUN SET AT THE NORTH POLE?
Yes, certainly, just as plainly as here. And it rises just the same, and that too when it can be seen all the day round. A man there can tell by the position of the sun and by its appearance when it is sunrise, noon, sunset, &c., just the same as we can here. The following interesting item is from the Chicago Evening Journal: “The following graphic passage is from the description of a scene witnessed by Mr. Campbell and his party in the north of Norway, from a cliff one thousand feet above the sea: ‘The ocean stretched away in silent vastness at our feet; the sound of the waves scarcely reached our airy lookout; away in the north the huge old sun swung low along the horizon, like the slow beat of the pendulum in the tall clock of our grandfather’s parlor corner. We all stood silent, looking at our watches. When both hands came together at twelve, midnight, the full round orb hung triumphantly above the wave—a bridge of gold running due north spanned the water between us and him. There he shone in silent majesty which knew no setting. We involuntarily took off our hats; and no word was said. Combine, if you can, the most brilliant sunrise and sunset you ever saw, and its beauties will pale before the gorgeous coloring which now lit up the ocean, heavens, and mountain. In half an hour the sun had swung up perceptibly on his beat, the colors changed to those of morning, a fresh breeze rippled over the flood, one songster after another piped up in the grove behind us—we had slid into another day.’” CHEERING TO THE SORROWFUL.
Here are sweet words of cheer to sad, sorrowing, and suffering souls. Can we believe them and apply them to our own cases? FAITH.—Every tear that is shed, every groan that is heaved, every loss that is sustained, every moment of suffering that is endured, every disappointment that is borne by the Christian with patience and resignation, will not only be followed by ineffable felicity, but will prepare the soul for its enjoyment, and add something to its weight and luster. To believe this, to live in hope of it, and by this hope to be sustained under present circumstances, is the work of faith.—J. A. James.