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 1880. 
 Words of truth and love 
 
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 Do all the good you can. 
 
 Page 61. 
 
WORDS 
 
 FEB 281912 
 
 OF V >. ^ 
 
 ^SICAL «^ 
 
 TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 KEY. WILLIAM S. PLUMER, D.D. 
 
 "Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My Father, thou art 
 the guide of my youth ?" — Jee. iii. 4. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION, 
 No. 821 CHESTNUT STREET. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in tlie year 1867, by 
 
 THE TRUSTEES OF THE 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN HOARD OF PUBLICATION, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of tlie District Court for the Eastern District 
 
 of Pennsylvania. 
 
 STEREOTYPED BY WESTCOTT & THOMSON. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGK 
 
 I. The Holy Child Jesus 5 
 
 II. Cain and Abel 12 
 
 III. Names given to the Wicked 19 
 
 IV. Names given to the Righteous 25 
 
 V. How you may know a child 31 
 
 VI. Children should know the Scriptures 37 
 
 VII. Faith in Christ 44 
 
 VIII. A Visit to my Old Home 51 
 
 IX. Do all the good you can 60 
 
 X. The child that was ready to perish 65 
 
 XL Meroh, the African '^3 
 
 3 
 
4 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAQB 
 
 XII. Let poor boys be of good courage 83 
 
 XIII. A ride in the pine woods 91 
 
 XIV. Money 101 
 
 XV. Rules for Children 108 
 
 XVI. The Angels. They take care of Children 114 
 
 XVII. Counsels for Children 120 
 
WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 I. 
 
 THE HOLY CHILD JESUS, 
 
 Jesus Cheist was the only child ever born 
 that did not have a sinful nature. It is very 
 fit, therefore, that pious men should call him 
 the holy child Jesus. Acts iv. 27. The angel 
 who foretold his birth to Mary said, ''That 
 holy thing which shall be born of thee shall 
 be called the Son of God." Luke i. 35. 
 From the first, Christ's whole nature was 
 pure. He never sinned. In childhood, youth 
 and manhood he was holy. While he was 
 yet a suckling, he had Christian graces in ex- 
 ercise, Ps. xxii. 9. He never had one wicked 
 feeling. He cherished no sinful thought. 
 He never spoke an evil word. He never did 
 1 * 5 
 
6 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 a wrong act. The longer he lived, the more 
 did he prove his spotless purity. He grew 
 in favour with God and man. Luke ii. 52. 
 Let us note some things. 
 
 I. Jesus Christ was always true. He lied 
 to no one. He deceived no one. He made 
 up no stories to amuse or mislead mankind. 
 He was truth itself. Other children go 
 astray as soon as they are born, speaking 
 lies, Ps. Iviii. 3. So strong is this bias that 
 it requires all the wisdom of good parents to 
 check it. But Jesus loved truth and hated 
 every false way. 
 
 II. Jesus Christ was just He wronged no 
 one. His thoughts were just. His w^ords 
 were just. His deeds were just. Though 
 Lord of all, he was willing to live and die 
 poor, rather than to seem to claim that which 
 was not his own. He never cheated any one. 
 He often gave up his own rights. He never 
 made others give up their rights for him. 
 If all the world were as just as Jesus Christ 
 was, there would be a speedy end of all strife. 
 
 III. Jesus Christ was hi7id. His heart 
 
THE HOLY CHILD JESUS. 7 
 
 was full of tenderness and gentleness. He 
 pitied like a God. He said and did more 
 kind things than any could read lin a long 
 lifetime, if they were fully written. Jolin xxi. 
 25. Never did he by harshness drive any 
 one away from him. Some thought he did 
 not care for little children. But they were 
 wholly mistaken. Matt. xix. 13-15, Mark 
 X. 13-16, Luke xviii. 16. Jesus loved chil- 
 dren as none else ever did. He died for 
 them no less than for their parents. Is it not 
 strange that every one does not love Jesus ? 
 He is so loving and so lovely. None has 
 done so much for us all. He is full of grace 
 and mercy. 
 
 IV. Jesus Christy was devout. He loved 
 prayer and praise. He loved to think on 
 God. He loved the Bible, and the Sabbath, 
 and the house of God. Even after walking 
 in the day over the dusty plains of Judea 
 he used to retire and spend the night where 
 prayer was wont to be made. Luke vi. 12. 
 He loved God, and God loved him. His 
 fellowship was with his Father. 
 
8 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 V. Jesus Christ hept the whole law of God, 
 He broke no precept. He came short in noth- 
 ing. He thought, and felt, and said, and did all 
 that the law required. He never did, or 
 said, or felt, or thought anything that it for- 
 bade. 
 
 So that there was no flaw in his character. 
 Neither God nor man had any cause to find 
 fault with him. By a voice from heaven, 
 God said, "This is my beloved Son, in 
 whom I am well pleased." The holy an- 
 gels and the spirits of just men made per- 
 fect in heaven find great joy in admiring 
 him. The judge that sat on his trial, more 
 than once said, "I find no fault in him." 
 Mohammed, who sat up a kingdom opposed 
 to Christ, did not deny that Jesus was pure 
 and holy. Even worse infidels, who have 
 blasphemed the Bible, profaned the Sabbath, 
 mocked at holy worship, and laughed at holy 
 people, have been forced to say, that the good 
 name of Jesus Christ was spotless. ISTone 
 ever proved a fault on him. 
 
 Is Jesus Christ holy, harmless, and unde- 
 
THE HOLY CHILD JESUS. 9 
 
 filed? Then he is fit to be our Prophet, Priest 
 and King. We could not trust a Mediator, 
 who, like ourselves, was vile and an offence 
 unto God. A sinner could not stand between 
 sinners and a holy God. A sinner might as 
 well answer for himself as have anotlier sin- 
 ner to defend him. Because Jesus was with- 
 out sin, he could bear the sin of many. A 
 lamb for sacrifice must be without spot or 
 blemish. It is for a joy to all good men 
 that the Redeemer is himself without sin. 
 
 If we would be saved, we must flee to 
 Christ. He is the only refuge, the only Re- 
 fleemer of lost men. 
 
 If we would be saved, we must become 
 like Christ. That requires a great change 
 which can be wrought only by the power of 
 the Holy Ghost. He alone can change the 
 vile heart, and cure the love and habit of sin- 
 ning. Old or young we must all be born 
 again. If we are ever to be saved, God must 
 take the heart of stone out of our flesh, and 
 give us a heart of flesh. Else our hardness 
 of heart will forever render us unfit for 
 
10 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 heaven. Oh, that each one would cry might- 
 ily to God to give him a new heart, and to 
 put a right spirit within him. God will give 
 his Holy Spirit to them that ask him. 
 
 Let us search . and try our w^ays, and find 
 out how wicked we are. Let us not deceive 
 ourselves. Many think that they are some- 
 thing, when they are nothing. It is not easy 
 to learn the whole truth about our own evil 
 hearts. Let us be candid. Self-love blinds 
 us. Let us be thorough and look at the dark 
 signs as well as pleasant ones. Let us not 
 hold fast deceit. Many perish because they 
 are not willing to know the truth about them- 
 selves. If we love darkness, it will ruin us. 
 Let us not spare our own faults. He is our 
 friend, who kindly tells us of our sins. It 
 will be a dreadful thing to wake up at the 
 close of life and find that we are lost forever. 
 
 If we do not kill sin, it will kill us. If 
 we do not put it to death, it will bring on us 
 a death that never dies. Some Hindoos make 
 men shudder by carrying venomous serpents 
 in their bosoms. Those, who thus carry them, 
 
THE HOLY CHILD JESUS. 11 
 
 think they have tamed them, so that they will 
 not bite. Perhaps it is so. But every sin, 
 secret or open, great or small, works death to 
 the soul. It is full of deadly poison. 
 
 What a happy place heaven will be! No 
 sin enters that house not made with hands. 
 Every one that has ever passed from earth to 
 the joys which are at God's right hand, is 
 entirely like Christ. Blessed be God, in 
 heaven we shall never, never sin. Satan, the 
 tempter, never comes there. The worship of 
 that upper temple is never marred by evil 
 thoughts. Even on earth when we by faith 
 see God in Christ, we are changed into the 
 same image from glory to glory, as by the 
 Spirit of the Lord. But in heaven, the work 
 shall be finished. Not a spot shall appear on 
 the soul of any one saved. 
 
12 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 II. 
 
 CAIN AND ABEL. 
 
 The first child ever born was Cain; the 
 second, AbeL The word Cain signifies a pos- 
 session. It is thought that this name was 
 given him, because his mother hoped that he 
 was to be a great blessing to the world. She 
 probably looked on him as the promised Mes- 
 siah. She said, "I have gotten a man from 
 the Lord." Perhaps it might better read, 
 "I have gotten the man Jehovah." The 
 word Abel signifies vanity. By the time he 
 was born, his parents had learned much of 
 the vanity of the Avorld. Perhaps too, Cain 
 had begun to show signs of those wicked dis- 
 positions, which clearly proved that he was 
 not the seed of the woman, who was to bruise 
 the serpent's head. Before his fall, Adam had 
 wisely given names to all the creatures that 
 
CAIN AND ABEL. 13 
 
 God had made. Now that he was a sinner. 
 
 he knew not how to give fit names even to 
 his own children. Cain was far more a vanity 
 than Abel. Abel was a far richer possession 
 than Cain. A bad man may have a good 
 name. Many a base man has been called 
 George Washington. 
 
 Cain w^as a tiller of the ground. It is 
 probable that he made good crops, and was 
 quite a thrifty farmer. His garners may 
 have been well filled. Abel was a keeper 
 of sheep. His chief business was the care 
 of his flocks. No doubt God blessed him in 
 his labour. Of the early history of these two 
 persons, we know nothing now. They were 
 both instructed in the true religion. They 
 both knew that Jehovah was the living God. 
 "In process of time," or, at the end of days, 
 meaning, as some think, at the end of the 
 year, each of them made an offering to God. 
 Here the real difference between them ap- 
 peared. They both worshipped the Lord. 
 They both sacrificed. The worship of one may 
 have been as costly, as decent, and as solemn 
 
14 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 as that of the other. Yet their worship was 
 very diiferent. Their hearts were not in the 
 same state. God cares nothing for mere forms, 
 nor for the splendour of religious rites. Rivers 
 of oil, the gold of Ophir, and the cattle on a 
 thousand hills are his already. 
 
 The kinds of oifering were different. Cain's 
 was at most a thank-oifering ; but Abel's was 
 a sin-oifering. Cain did not confess that he 
 was guilty and needed pardon. Far from 
 this, he was proud and self-sufficient. He 
 thought very well of himself. He had no 
 sins to confess. He was not bowed down 
 under a sense of his vileness. He wept no 
 tears of penitence. He was willing, after a 
 fashion, to give thanks for temporal mercies. 
 
 On the other hand, Abel Avas humble. He 
 felt that he was a sinner, and needed a Sa- 
 viour. He saw that he had broken the per- 
 fect law of God. He felt that that law was 
 good in its precept, and good in its penalty. 
 Abel saw that there was no hope for him, 
 except in atoning blood, of which the blood 
 of a lamb was a type. 
 
CAIN AND ABEL. 15 
 
 Cain does not seem to have felt that God 
 had any strong claims upon him. He denied 
 that the Lord had a rig4it to prescribe the 
 worship which was to be offered him. Neither 
 by word nor deed did Cain make any confes- 
 sions. He was willing to pay such worship 
 as his parents might have offered in Eden, be- 
 fore their fall. A great defect of his service 
 was his entire want of regard to the char- 
 acter of God as holy, just, true, and right- 
 eous, hating sin, and yet offering mercy by 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 But Abel had his eye turned to the Lamb 
 of God that taketh away the sin of the world. 
 He saw Christ's day, and rejoiced in it. His 
 mind was fixed on the Redeemer, which 
 should yet stand upon the earth. 
 
 The great difference between these two wor- 
 shippers was that Abel had true, living faith ; 
 and Cain had none. Abel took God at his 
 word ; while Cain set up for himself. Abel 
 obeyed ; while Cain rebelled. Abel adopted 
 the religion of sinners, because he saw that 
 he was a sinner; Cain preferred the religion 
 
16 WOKDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 of sinless beings, as he vainly esteemed him- 
 self such. Abel cried, God be merciful to 
 me, a sinner ; Cain came thanking God that 
 he was a good man. In worshipping, Abel 
 sought expiation and propitiation ; Cain set 
 up to worship God as if he were innocent like 
 the angeJs in heaven. Abel relied on the 
 great High Priest, who should yet shed his 
 blood for the remission of the sins of many. 
 In the sight of God, Cain denied that he 
 needed any such sacrifice. All worship 
 which leaves out of view the work of Christ 
 for us, is worthless. God justly rejects us, 
 when we reject his Son. 
 
 Abel and his worship were accepted. Cain 
 and his worship were rejected. The offering 
 of neither of them merited anything. But 
 through grace, God accepted Abel and his 
 offering; while he justly rejected Cain, be- 
 cause his sacrifice was an insult. It was 
 false and heartless. It was a reproach to 
 Christ. God accepted the offering of Abel, 
 and rejected that of Cain in some manner 
 that was well understood. The sign in such 
 
CAIN AND ABEL. 17 
 
 cases often was that fire came down from 
 heaven and consumed the sacrifice which 
 God approved; while the rejected offering 
 was not burned. Cain clearly understood 
 that God did not approve his course. He as 
 clearly saw that his brother Abel was a friend 
 of God. Thus malice sprang up in the heart 
 of the older brother. 
 
 His bosom was filled with cruel wrath. 
 He had good cause to be displeased with him- 
 self: he had no right to find fault with God 
 or with Abel. 
 
 Hatred is murder in the heart. Cain was 
 not held in check by the fear of God. His 
 envy racked his bosom. He sought and took 
 the life of his younger brother, and that be- 
 cause he was a child of God. Thus Abel 
 became the first martyr in the cause of truth. 
 He, being dead, yet speaketh to us. On his 
 death his soul went up to worship around the 
 throne of God. He never has been sorry for 
 all he did and suffered in the cause of God. 
 He has long beheld the face of that Jesus, 
 whose death he, by faith, foresaw. He is 
 
 2 * 
 
18 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 blessed forever. No tear ever drops from 
 his eye. No sorrow ever presses his heart. 
 He is glorified with Christ, whom he honoured 
 in life and in death. He gave to God the 
 firstlings of his flock. Better than all he gave 
 to Gofl his life, his heart, his soul. 
 
 Gain has the fearful distinction of having shed 
 the first human blood. For that crime he was 
 expelled from the church of God. But even 
 against this mild sentence he rebelled, saying, 
 "My punishment is greater than I can bear." 
 He was left in the world as a warning to men 
 not to commit murder. He lived a long 
 time, and left many children ; but as far as 
 we know, his whole career was that of a 
 wicked man. Long since, he passed from 
 earth and stood before the Judge of all. If 
 he died in his sins, how dreadful his doom. 
 
NAMES GIVEN TO THE WICKED. 19 
 
 III. 
 NAMES GIVEN TO THE WICKED, 
 
 I>: the Bible we read of the children of 
 Belial, and of the sons of Belial, 1 Kings xxi. 
 13, 1 Sam. XXV. 17, 2 Sam. xxiii. 6. The 
 word Belial signifies icitliout "profit. A child 
 of Belial is one who is worthless, bad, wicked. 
 The word Belial is in the Bible rendered 
 wicked, Ps. ci. 3, evil, Ps. xli. 8, ungodly, 
 Prov. xvi. 27, and naugJity, Prov. vi. 12. 
 
 Because worthlessness is followed by de- 
 struction, Belial came to signify destruction. 
 In the New Testament, Belial clearly means 
 Satan, 2 Cor. vi. 15. All the wicked are chil- 
 dren of Belial. 
 
 Sometimes the wicked are called children 
 of the devil. Satan is the great foe of God 
 and man. He is the chief of the fallen 
 angels. He is cruel and has no pity. He 
 
20 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 seeks to do all the harm he can. He is a liar, 
 an accuser, a murderer. Because he has great 
 power, he is called the prince of this world, 
 and the god of this world. Through a ser- 
 pent he tempted Adam and Eve, and so he is 
 called the dragon, that old serpent, the devil. 
 Because he seeks to frighten people from that 
 which is good, he is called a roaring lion. 
 Because in evil, he excels all others, he is 
 called that Wicked One. To be a child of 
 the devil is to be like the devil, false, cruel, 
 deceitful, malignant, hating God and man. 
 The devil has many children in this world. 
 They do as he bids them. They love what 
 he loves, and hate what he hates. Thus they 
 are his children, John viii. 44. The proud, 
 the fierce, the malicious, the cunning, the 
 bloody are all the children of the devil. Many 
 men, alas, even on earth bear a great deal 
 more of the image of the devil and of the 
 brute, than they do of likeness to God. 
 
 Sometimes the wicked are called the chil- 
 dren of hell. Matt, xxiii. 15. Hell is the 
 abode of fallen angels and of lost men. A 
 
NAMES GIVEN TO THE WICKED. 21 
 
 child of hell, therefore, is one who has the 
 spirit of those who are in hell. It is an awful 
 thought that, by their sins, men often make 
 earth very much like hell. 
 
 We are all by nature the chiklren of wrath, 
 Eph. ii. 3. The meaning is, we are born un- 
 der a curse. This is the fruit of original sin. 
 The guilt and vileness of our state at birth 
 are dreadful. 
 
 Sometimes the wicked are called strange 
 children, Ps. cxliv. 7, 11. Sinners are stran- 
 gers to God. They know neither the Father, 
 nor the Son, nor the Holy Spirit. They are 
 strangers to truth, to peace, to love, and to 
 holiness. 
 
 It is a dreadful thino^ to be a sinner. All 
 the wicked are rebels against God. They are 
 the enemies of the Lord. They lift their 
 puny arms against the Most High. They 
 fight against Jehovah. They live under his 
 curse. They may be cut down at any moment, 
 and then they are undone forever. It were 
 better to be a stone or a beast than to live and 
 
22 WORDS OF THUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 die a sinner, yea, it were better never to have 
 been born than to die out of Christ. 
 
 It is a great mercy that Christ died for us. 
 He came not to call the righteous, but sinners 
 to repentance. He did not lay down his life 
 for friends, but for foes. His grace is rich 
 and free, and knows no bound. Oh, that all 
 would receive it ! We all need it. Jesus 
 Christ never casts out any that come to him, 
 John vi. 37. He never despises the poor 
 broken-hearted penitent. Oh come to Christ ! 
 He is the best friend young or old have. He 
 died the just for the unjust. When on earth, 
 he took little children in his arms and blessed 
 them. 
 
 If up to this time, God has made you 
 happy, give him the glory. He is the author 
 of all your blessings. Praise him for all the 
 good things you enjoy. They all come from 
 his undeserved goodness. You merit none of 
 them. Surely you owe to God many, many 
 thanks for his great mercy. If one had no 
 sins but those of childhood, or of manhood, 
 or sins of the tongue, or sins against parents, 
 
NAMES GIVEN TO THE WICKED. 23 
 
 or secret sins, or sins of omission, the grace 
 offered us, and the pity shown us, would be 
 infinite. But when God offers to forgive all 
 our sins, we might think that even the blind 
 would see that his mercy did reach unto the 
 heavens. Oh let us praise him I 
 
 Had I ten thousand, thousand tongues, 
 
 Not one should silent be; 
 Had I ten thousand, thousand hearts, 
 
 I'd give them all to thee. 
 
 We can now see why God in his word 
 makes such terrible threatenings. It is because 
 sin is so hateful. Many texts in the Bible 
 might well make the wicked tremble. Here 
 are a few of them. "God is angry with the 
 wicked everyday." "The Avicked shall be 
 turned into hell, and all the nations that for- 
 get God." "His own iniquities shall take 
 the wicked himself, and he shall be holdeu 
 with the cords of his sins. He shall die 
 without instruction ; and in the greatness of 
 his folly he shall go astray." The loving Sa- 
 viour himself said, "If ye believe not that I 
 am he, ye shall die in your sins." God's plan 
 
24 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 is to give timely warnings in plain words. 
 The Scriptures are not harsh, though they tell 
 the truth. The reason why we find such aw- 
 ful language in the Bible is, that it justly 
 portrays the danger and the doom of the 
 wicked. 
 
 Let each one now turn to the Lord. O 
 sinner, now is your time. Your life is a 
 vapour. It will soon be gone forever. Why 
 are you so little affected with eternal things ? 
 Why do the affairs of time so engross your 
 mind ? Are you blind ? Are you mad ? Are 
 you dead in sin? Are you bent on ruin? 
 Lord Jesus, open the blind eyes, cure the 
 madness that is within us, clothe us in our 
 right mind, reach forth thy strong hand and 
 pluck us as brands from the burning. By 
 thy Spirit raise us up to newness of life. Help 
 us to live as seeing things invisible. 
 
 " Deeply on our thoughtless hearts, 
 Eternal things impress." 
 
NAMES GIVEN TO THE RISHTEOUS. 25 
 
 IV. 
 
 NAMES GIVEN TO THE MIGHTEOTTS. 
 
 In Scripture various names are given to 
 the pious. They are called children of God, 
 and the children of their Father which is 
 in heaven. In three ways, pious men are 
 God's children. 
 
 1. By adoption. God finds them poor, 
 helpless orphans and outcasts ; and of his 
 mere mercy and grace, he brings them into 
 his family. Thus they become his sons, heirs 
 of God and joint-heirs w^ith Jesus Christ. 
 This is a chief act of God's love to men. In 
 us there is nothing to merit the divine esteem. 
 Nor can we be useful to God, as a man is use- 
 ful to his fellow. Out of mere love and pity, 
 God gives us the adoption of sons. 
 
 2. The pious are God's children by regener- 
 ation. Men are not Christians by being 
 
 3 
 
26 WORDS or TRUTH AND LOYE. 
 
 born, but by being born again. We are not 
 saints by creation, but by a new creation. 
 This is a great work wrought in us by the 
 Holy Ghost. It is all his own work, not ours. 
 He says, "I will sprinkle clean water upon 
 you, and ye shall be clean : from all your filthi- 
 ness, and from all your idols will I cleanse 
 you. A new heart also will I give you, and 
 a new spirit will I put within you: and I will 
 take away the stony heart out of your flesh, 
 and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I 
 will put my Spirit within you, and cause you 
 to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my 
 judgments, and do them." Ezek. xxxvi. 25-27. 
 Nothing worse can come on old or young than 
 to die without being born again. We must 
 be created anew in Christ Jesus unto good 
 works, or we must lie down in sorrow. 
 
 3. The pious are God's children by imita- 
 tion. In their measure they are like God. 
 He is their great pattern. They follow him, 
 Jesus says: "Love your enemies, bless them 
 which curse you, do good to them that hate 
 you, and pray for them which despitefully use 
 
NAMES GIVEN TO THE RIGHTEOUS. 27 
 
 you and persecute you ; that ye may be the 
 children of your Father which is in heaven : 
 for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and 
 on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and 
 on the unjust." Matt. v. 44, 45. It is a great 
 thing to imitate God. 
 
 The pious are also called children of the 
 light, John xii. 36. This name is given to 
 them because they have been brought out of 
 darkness into the marvellous lip:ht of the p-os- 
 pel. They also love the light, and come to 
 the light, that their deeds may be manifest, 
 that they are wrought in God. Above all, 
 they love Jesus Christ, who is the light of 
 the world. All the pious walk in the light 
 of truth, and in the light of hope. All the 
 light they have comes from God by the cross 
 and merits and person of Jesus Christ. 
 
 The pious are also called the children of 
 wisdom. Matt. xi. 19. Sometimes wisdom is 
 one of the names of the Saviour, who himself 
 calls his people his children. John xxi. 5. 
 Jesus is the everlasting Father, Isa. ix. 6, and 
 liis people are his children. But the phrase 
 
28 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 cJiildren of wisdom is a Hebrew form of ex- 
 pression, and means wise children. God's 
 people are so far wise that they prefer eternity 
 to time, the soul to the body, heaven to earth, 
 and God to all others. They are wise in lay- 
 ing up treasure in heaven, in forsaking the 
 world, in dying unto sin, and in living unto 
 God. All men, whether saved or lost, will 
 at the last day say that none but the righteous 
 are truly wise. They are wise for themselves. 
 They are wise unto salvation. 
 
 God's people are called little children, 1 
 John iv. 4. They are little because they are 
 as nothing compared with God their Father, 
 with Christ their Saviour, or with the Holy 
 Spirit, their Comforter. They are little be- 
 cause in themselves they are feeble and help- 
 less. And they are little in their own esteem, 
 less than the least of all God's mercies. And 
 then they are like little children. Matt, xviii, 
 3, Mark x. 15, Luke xviii. 17. 
 
 1. Little children are docile. They do not 
 deny the truth of what their good parents 
 tell them. They are willing to learn. They 
 
NAMES GIVEN TO THE RIGHTEOUS. 29 
 
 cry after knowledge, and lift up their voice for 
 understanding. They buy the truth at any 
 price. They often cry, Teach me thy statutes, 
 O Lord. 
 
 2. Little children are humble. Their hearts 
 are not puffed up with pride. The little child 
 of the king plays on equal terms with the lit- 
 tle child of his nurse. Like their Saviour, 
 God's people are lowly. They do not say to 
 others, ^' Stand by thyself, I am holier than 
 thou." They do not trust in themselves that 
 they are righteous and despise others. 
 
 3. They are meeh and not spiteful. They 
 hate strife. It grieves them to the heart to 
 contend with men. Not one of them " would 
 give an hour of brotherly love for a whole 
 eternity of contention." 
 
 4. Little children are forgiving. They do 
 not carry grudges. The sun does not go down 
 upon their wrath, nor is their anger outrageous. 
 So God's people forgive. Yes, they forgive 
 and they forget. 
 
 And God's people are little compared with 
 what thoy shall be, 1 John iii. 2. As Christ 
 3 * 
 
80 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 in his exaltation differs very much from Christ 
 in his humiliation, not in heart but in state. 
 not in person but in glory, so shall it be with 
 all his people. 
 
 The righteous are also called children of the 
 resurrection, Luke xx. 36. To them, not to 
 the wicked, it will be a blessing to be raised 
 from the dead. They will come forth with 
 unspeakable and everlasting joy. They shall 
 have part in the first resurrection, 1 Thess. iv. 
 16, Rev. XX. 6. 
 
 These are a few of the names which God 
 gives to those that love him. There are many 
 others just as precious. All of them show 
 how loving the Lord is, and how dear his peo- 
 ple are to him. 
 
 Are we meet to bear such names ? Do we 
 love God, his law, his children, his worship ? 
 If we die as we now are, shall we be saved ? 
 
 It is a great thing to be a child of God. 
 Nothing can harm such in this world or the 
 next. None can pluck them out of the Sa- 
 viour's hand. They shall have heaven at 
 last, with all its infinite blessings. 
 
HOW you MAY KNOW A CHILD. 31 
 
 V. 
 
 HOW TOU MAT KNOW A CHTLD. 
 
 Every child is making for himself a good 
 or a bad name. !N^o boy or girl walks abroad 
 without making some impression on behold- 
 ers. In a court of law the character of a 
 child could readily be established by the 
 neighbours. They know who is gentle and 
 who is fierce, who is mean and who is noble, 
 who is modest and who is impudent, who is 
 wise and who is foolish. You may know a 
 child. 
 
 But you cannot know him by his size. 
 There is many a great, big fool, and many a 
 sweet, little darling. It is very well to be 
 tall and strong, if God makes us so. But 
 King Saul who was head and shoulders above 
 his nation, was a poor creature, while Saul of 
 Tarsus, whom all tradition represents as a 
 
32 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 omall man, was one of the noblest specimens 
 of human nature. 
 
 Nor can you know a child by his looks. 
 Some children, who have very homely faces, 
 have fine characters ; and some whose faces 
 are very pretty, show by their conduct that 
 they have very bad hearts. When God sent 
 Samuel to anoint one of Jesse's sons, that great 
 prophet thought that Eliab was the one that 
 God had chosen. But he was mistaken. The 
 Lord said to him: ''Look not on his counte- 
 nance, or on the height of his stature; be- 
 cause I have refused him : for the Lord seeth 
 not as man seeth; for man looketh on the 
 outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on 
 the heart." Absalom was a fine-looking man ; 
 but no man is found to admire his character. 
 A pleasant face and a right heart do not 
 always go together. 
 
 Nor can you tell a child by his talk. The 
 speech of some children is as smooth as but- 
 ter; but the poison of asps is under their lips. 
 They use many fair words; but they are guilty 
 of foul d'eeds. They make great promises; 
 
HOW YOU MAY KNOW A CHILD. 3S 
 
 but they do not keep them. They abound 
 in professions, but their practice is bad. 
 Words are cheap. They do not prove any- 
 thing. 
 
 Nor can a child be known by his parents. 
 They may be very worthy people, and yet he 
 may be vile and wicked. Sometimes the pa- 
 rents are the evil ones, while their children 
 fear and love God. 
 
 Nor can you tell a child by his clothes. 
 The butterfly is very gay in its dress ; yet it 
 is nothing but a vile caterpillar that has lately 
 gotten wings. The finest furs are taken from 
 vermin. Good clothing is a great comfort. 
 If we have it, we should be thankful for it ; 
 but vice is often clad in the best suits, and 
 virtue goes in patched clothes. 
 
 And yet a child may be known ; yea, he is 
 known by his doings. Prov. xx. 11. 
 
 1. You may know him by the companions 
 he cJiooses. A good boy may be thrown 
 among bad ones ; but he does not love to 
 mingle with them. A dear, sweet girl may 
 live for awhile with others of an opposite 
 
34 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 character; but they are not her boon compa- 
 nions. But when you see a child willing to 
 be alone rather than to go with the wicked, 
 find him seeking to be with those who are 
 kind and gentle, and fear God, there is great 
 hope of him. 
 
 2. A child may be known by the books he 
 selects. If he loves nothing but vain stories, 
 or idle songs, there is not much hope of him. 
 It is a sad sign when a child cares nothing 
 for sound knowledge, and thinks every book 
 dull, if it teaches true wisdom. But we can- 
 not fail to expect good of the child that loves 
 good books; and especially the best of all 
 books, the book of books, the Bible. 
 
 3. A child may be known by the way 
 he acts in school. If he is sly and cunning, 
 if he slights his lessons, if he is rude to his 
 school-mates, and impudent to his teacher; 
 then you may know that not much good 
 is likely to come of him. But if he is 
 true and earnest, if he tries his best every 
 day, if he is respectful to his teacher, there 
 is not much risk in being surety for him. 
 
HOW YOU MAY KNOW A CHILD. 35 
 
 4. You may know a good deal about a 
 child when you see him at play. If he cheats, 
 if he does not play fairly, if he does little 
 mean things, if he is easily made angry, if he 
 is ready to quarrel, if he does not stand up for 
 the truth, even when it is against him or those 
 on his side; there is great danger that things 
 will not end well with him. But if he owns 
 up to all that happens against him, if when 
 he does wrong, he says so in a manly way, if 
 he finds his pleasure in being open and truth- 
 ful, come what will, then mark that boy. He 
 shall not stand among mean men. 
 
 5. A child may be known by the way he 
 behaves in GocVs Jioiose. The church is no 
 place to sleep in. We should not go there to 
 gaze idly about, much less to whisper, or smile, 
 or play. It is a sin when young people be- 
 have so that older ones must reprove them. 
 But when a child goes to God's house, listens 
 to what is said, loves the truth and in his 
 heart worships God, and thinks the Sabbath 
 the best day of the week; then you may know 
 that he is growing up to be worth something. 
 
36 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 6. You may often find out a child when he 
 is sich. If he is peevish, fretful, will not 
 take his medicine, is angry with his kind 
 nurse and with his good doctor, and will not 
 obey his parents, and lie in bed when he ought 
 to do so, then you may be justly afraid that 
 all is not right with him. But when in sick- 
 ness, he makes the best of every thing, and 
 does not willingly give needless trouble, but 
 is quiet and gentle, then you may think well 
 of him. 
 
CHILDREN SHOULD KNOW THE SCRIPTURES. 37 
 
 VI. 
 
 CTLITjDMEN SSOJJIjJ) know the SCItlFTTTMES, 
 
 "The Bible is a lake along the shores of 
 which a lamb may wade ; but in the midst of 
 it an elephant may swim." In the Scriptures 
 is milk for babes, as well as meat for strong 
 men. The Bible is full of things that suit 
 children. It tells them of God, and of duty, 
 of sin and of its fruits, of heaven and of hell. 
 It abounds in stories well suited to impress 
 truth on the mind and heart. It tells of the 
 love of God in giving his Son Jesus Christ to 
 die for poor sinners. It inspires salutary hopes 
 and fears. It rids us of such as are idle. It 
 is the word of God which liveth and abideth 
 forever. Children ought to know the Scrip- 
 tures. 
 
 I. It is the duty of parents to teach God's 
 word. Of course it is the duty of children 
 to learn it. Hear what God says : 
 
 4 
 
38 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 "These words which I command thee this 
 day, shall be in thine heart : and thou shalt 
 teach them diligently unto thy children, and 
 shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine 
 house, and when thou walkest by the way, and 
 when thou liest down, and when thou risest 
 up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign 
 upon thine hand, and they shall be as front- 
 lets between thine eyes. And thou shalt 
 write them upon the posts of thine house, and 
 on thy gates." Deut. vi. 6-9. So that noth- 
 ing is clearer than that children are to be 
 familiarly and carefully instructed in the 
 Scriptures. 
 
 II. One of the most useful preachers in the 
 days of Paul was Timothy. His father was 
 a Greek; his mother was a Jewess. This 
 young minister did and suffered much for the 
 gospel. He was very useful. He loved Paul 
 and Paul loved him. The faith and prayers 
 and teachings of Timothy's mother and grand- 
 mother were honored as the means of his sal- 
 vation. They did not put oif teaching him 
 ^ill sin and ignorance had made his heart 
 
CHILDREN SHOULD KNOW THE SCRIPTURES. 39 
 
 hard. No! Paul says to him, " From a child 
 thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which 
 are able to make thee wise unto salvation 
 through faith which is in Christ Jesus." 2 
 Tim. iii. 15. One of the best ways to train 
 up a right sort of Christians and ministers is 
 to teach them God's Word when they are 
 young. 
 
 III. Jesus himself said, '^ Search the Scrip- 
 tures ; for in them ye think ye have eternal 
 life : and they are they w^iich testify of me." 
 John V. 39. When Christ thus spake, there 
 were no Scriptures, but those books which we 
 now call The Old Testament, in which are 
 many things dark and difficult. Surely the 
 New Testament is more clear than the old. 
 Yet Jesus said. Search the Scriptures, If men 
 had believed Moses, they would have believed 
 Christ. John v. 46. 
 
 Many other things prove that it is the duty 
 of all to learn God's will as made known in 
 the Bible. 
 
 But if children would know the Scriptures 
 so as to be wise unto salvation, they must 
 
40 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 have a right spirit. This can come from God 
 only. Many who know the truth wickedly 
 trifle with it. Let us then: 
 
 1. Greatly fear God. When the lion roars, 
 the lesser animals are said to keep silence. If 
 the king of the forest is thus feared, surely 
 the voice of the King of kings should make 
 us afraid. Let us serve God with reverence 
 and with godly fear. 
 
 2. Let our fear be mingled with love — a 
 love that brings us nigh to God, that holds 
 him fast, and will not let him go. Mere fear 
 will drive us away from the Most High, and 
 mere love will sink into fondness ; but love 
 and fear united will keep us in a right state. 
 
 3. Then we must think of what we learn. 
 We must con it over and over again. Chil- 
 dren are bound to reflect. Their minds were 
 given them for that end. If God shall ever 
 save us, he will put us to thinking on the 
 truth and on his claims upon us. 
 
 4. If we would learn aright, we must pray. 
 He who made us can rightly teach us. If he 
 loves us, he will certainly not give us up to 
 
CHILDREN" SHOULD KNOW THE SCRIPTURES. 41 
 
 folly. His promise to the church is : " All 
 thy children shall be taught of the Lord.'' 
 Isa. liv. 13. Let children learn to pray. 
 Light and life come from God. 
 
 5. Children should believe all that God 
 says. In young or old, unbelief is very 
 wicked. Without faith it is impossible to 
 please God. The Bible is not a book of 
 dreams, or of fables. It is full of truth which 
 we are bound to love. 
 
 6. Children should practise what they learn. 
 Practice makes perfect. He that does as well 
 as he knows will know better and better. 
 
 If any child has no Bible of his own, let 
 him ask for one, or let him sell all his toys 
 and buy one. Let him keep it with care. 
 Let him read it daily. It is better to lack 
 anything else than to be without God's word. 
 
 It is a solemn thing to have a chance to 
 
 know the truths of the Bible, and yet not to 
 
 learn them; or to know what the Bible 
 
 teaches, and yet have no heart to do it. In 
 
 the day of judgment it will be better to have 
 4 » 
 
42 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 been a poor heathen, who never heard of 
 Christ than to have been born in a Christian 
 land, and to have lived and died in sin. To 
 every child God says, "Give me thy heart." 
 We ought to know and love and serve the 
 great and good Being that made us. He has 
 a right to our hearts. It is very wicked not 
 to know and love God and Jesus Christ whom 
 he has sent. 
 
 The Bible can teach children how to live. 
 It is a light that shineth in darkness. It 
 shows us the way in which we should walk. 
 It has lit up the path of thousands. 
 
 Then, too, it can help us to die. Its truths 
 have cheered many a child about to bid fare- 
 well to earth. In a heathen land, a few years 
 since, a boy died happily among strangers. 
 A missionary coming to the town, wdiere his 
 body was a corpse, heard of him, and asked 
 the people what he said and did. They told 
 him that the boy talked of one Jesus, and had 
 a little book which he pressed to his bosom, 
 and asked that it might be put under his head, 
 when he was buried. The little book was one 
 
CHILDREN SHOULD KNOW THE SCRIPTURES. 43 
 
 of the Gospels. Jesus did not forsake the 
 poor little boy dying among strangers. A 
 thousand times he has helped little children 
 to die. 
 
44 WOEDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 VII. 
 
 FAITH IK CHRIST. 
 
 Teue faith is a great gift of God. It is a 
 precious grace. By it is the life of the soul. 
 It is a rich fruit of Christ's mediation. He 
 is its Author and Finisher. He is its cause 
 and its object. The agent who works faith in 
 us is the Holy Spirit. He glorifies Christ by 
 bringing us to put all our trust in him. 
 
 What is faith in Christ? AVhat does one 
 do when he believes on the Son of God ? On 
 this point many err. The learned and the 
 ignorant may here make a sad mistake. The 
 matter is of great weight. Let every one be 
 candid with his own soul. 
 
 Sometimes faith is called coming to Christ 
 Jesus himself so speaks of it: "Come unto 
 me, all ye that labour and are heavy-laden^ 
 and I will give you rest;" "Him that cometh 
 
FAITH IN CHRIST. 45 
 
 to me I will in no wise cast out." To 
 cr)me to Christ is to have such a state of heart 
 as would lead one, if Christ were on earth, to 
 come to him in person, and ask him for grace 
 and mercy on his own terms. One poor 
 woman came to him very stealthily, she was 
 very much afraid, but she came and touched 
 him and got the blessing. The Canaanitish 
 woman came with a very low esteem of her- 
 self, but she was not offended in Christ. 
 Nothing could drive her away from him. So 
 we must feel as these women did. It is right 
 for us to have a deep sense of our sins, but 
 we must rely on Christ. 
 
 Sometimes faith is called looking to Christ, 
 "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends 
 of the earth : for I am God, and there is none 
 else;" "They shall look upon me whom they 
 have pierced ;" " Run with patience the race 
 that is set before us, looking unto Jesus." 
 Of old the Israelites, bitten by the fiery ser- 
 pent, were bidden to direct their eyes to the 
 brazen serpent; and as many as looked were 
 healed. "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in 
 
46 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 the wilderness, even so must the Son of man 
 be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him 
 should not perish, but have eternal life." Chil- 
 dren, do you hear that? Is it not good news? 
 Did you ever hear better ? 
 
 To have faith in Christ is to receive him. 
 Thus Zaccheus received him not only civilly 
 as his guest, and kindly as his countryman, 
 but joyfully as his Saviour. Christ is freely 
 offered, and we gladly take him as offered. 
 He is held out to us in the gospel, and we lay 
 hold of him as the Lord our righteousness, as 
 the true God and eternal life, as all our salva- 
 tion. "As many as received him, to them 
 gave he power to become the sons of God, 
 even to them that believe on his name." 
 
 Again, faith in Christ is spoken of as fleeing 
 to him. We flee from our sins and from the 
 avenging wrath of God to lay hold on the 
 hope set before us in the gospel. Christ is 
 our city of refuge. In him we are safe from 
 the flaming sword of justice. He is our 
 hiding-place from the tempest, our covert 
 from the storm. We run to him, and his 
 
FAITH IN CHRIST. 47 
 
 blood atones for us, his righteousness covers 
 lis, his grace is sufficient for us, his interces- 
 sion avails for us. In him we can never be 
 reached by the destroyer. 
 
 Those that have faith in Christ rest in him. 
 Their faith reposes on him. They lean upon 
 him. "In whom ye also trusted, after that 
 ye heard the word of truth." This true faith 
 in Christ has some remarkable characteristics. 
 
 1. It refuses all other helps, hopes, refuges 
 and mediators. It divides not its love and 
 confidence between Christ and a host of others, 
 or any other. "Thou must save, and thou 
 alone." To look elsewhere is inconsistent with 
 reliance upon him. He saves wholly, or not 
 at all. His blood may not be mingled with 
 our suiferings, nor his tears with our anguish, 
 nor his merits with our deservings. " There 
 is none other name under heaven given among 
 men, whereby we must be saved." "Other 
 foundation can no man lay." Build on the 
 Rock, or not at all. 
 
 2. Genuine faith is not temporary, but lasts 
 and holds on its way. It cleaves to Christ 
 
48 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 through good and through evil report. It 
 holds him fast, and will not let him go. It 
 will even bear tortures, not accepting deliver- 
 ance purchased by a denial of faith in him. 
 It will walk in darkness, and yet trust. It 
 will cover itself with sackcloth and ashes, and 
 cry, Unclean ; but it will not renounce Christ. 
 It is not only exclusive, it is also firm. 
 
 3. It enlists all the affections. ^'With the 
 heart man believeth unto righteousness." 
 Devils believe, but not with the heart. "The 
 act of faith is not in the brain, but in the 
 heart." 
 
 4. Genuine faith therefore purifies the heart. 
 It begets strong desires after holiness. It 
 leads the soul to Christ, who is our sanctifica- 
 tion as well as our righteousness. It begets 
 the deepest aversion to sin. When tempted 
 it cries, " How can I do this great wickedness, 
 and sin against God ?"* In the eyes of be- 
 lievers, sin is exceeding sinful, and holiness 
 very lovely. 
 
 5. True faith in Christ also works by love. 
 It draws its chief motives from the divine 
 
FAITH IN CHRIST. 49 
 
 love. It awakens the affection of love in the 
 soul. It says, " Behold what manner of love 
 the Father hath bestowed on us," and then it 
 gives him all that it has, or is, or hopes to be. 
 6. It also gains and keeps the ascendency 
 over the things of time. " This is the victory 
 that overcometh the world, even our faith." 
 Faith looks not at things which are seen and 
 temporal, but at things unseen and eternal. 
 It draws its strength and firmness from the 
 sight of things invisible — from an unseen Sa- 
 viour, an unseen heaven, and an unseen eter- 
 nity. 
 
 It is not strange that true Christians make 
 much of faith. The Bible does the same. 
 " He that believeth shall be saved." " Believe 
 on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be 
 saved." " This is the work of God that ye 
 believe on him whom he hath sent." "This 
 is his commandment, That we should believe 
 on the name of his Son, Jesus Christ." 
 
 Whoever truly believes is sure to love God 
 and all his word, his worship and his people. 
 
50 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 Faith is never alone. It is only one of the 
 Christian graces, but it is a great grace. 
 
 Whoever thus believes shall be saved. 
 Faith unites to Christ. 
 
 Want of faith is a great sin. God abhors 
 unbelief. It is the master sin of the human 
 heart. It heeds and fosters all wickedness. 
 No sin is alone ; but the want of faith is the 
 parent of all sins. If this sin were renounced, 
 others could not reign. How many Israelites 
 through unbelief perished in the wilderness. 
 " He that believeth not shall be damned." 
 
 It is a glad truth that Christ is now ready 
 t ) receive sinners. The door is open. Oh 
 come to Christ. Children as truly need his 
 grace as do old people. Christ is as truly 
 ready to receive them as to receive their pa- 
 rents. Come to Christ. There is no other 
 way of escape. " Faith is, to the lost sinner, 
 what the life-boat is to the shipwrecked sailor, 
 dashing among the breakers — his only means 
 of escape from certain death." Oh, enter the 
 life-boat. Now is your time. If you refuse, 
 your blood will be upon yourself. 
 
A VISIT TO MY OLD HOME. 51 
 
 VIII. 
 
 A VISIT TO MT OLD MOME. 
 
 Some years ago, I went to see some of my 
 kin. They lived where I had spent most of 
 my childhood. A thousand thoughts rushed 
 on my mind as I passed over the walks of my 
 early life. The houses were not near so high, 
 nor the streets so wide as I had once thought 
 them. Trees that I had planted with my own 
 hands had grown old and died. The grave- 
 yard was sadly filled up. I sat down and 
 thought thus : 
 
 How short is life ! It is a vapour, a sha- 
 dow, a tale that is told. Fifty years have 
 passed since I roamed over these fields, and 
 bathed in these waters, and yet that whole 
 time seems like a dream. All flesh is grass. 
 Most of the t;omi)anions of my early life have 
 already gone beyond the bounds of time. 
 
62 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 Soon earth will know none of us any more 
 forever.* 
 
 How certain is death. None escape. The 
 young and healthy may die; the old and 
 sickly must. None can long withstand the 
 assaults of disease. The grave-yard has filled 
 up wonderfully. 
 
 How fixed are the principles of God's go- 
 vernment. He never changes them. It is as 
 true now as ever before, that bloody and de- 
 ceitful men shall not live out half their days; 
 that those who honour father and mother shall 
 be greatly blessed on earth, that the hand of 
 the diligent maketh rich; that he that is surety 
 for a stranger shall smart for it. Indeed, 
 every principle of God's government remains 
 unchanged. 
 
 How surely truth will triumph at last. I 
 have seen many forsaken, slandered, and 
 scorned, outliving all their enemies, and by 
 well-doing putting to silence the ignorance 
 of foolish men. Well did good old Boston 
 
 * "Time," said a deaf mute, "is aline that has two ends 
 — a path w'lich begins in the cradle and ends in the tomb." 
 
A VISIT TO MY OLD HOME. 53 
 
 say : " Leave your character where you have 
 trusted your soul ; your Maker will take care 
 of both." Silent and quiet endurance of re- 
 vilings is better than all heated and fierce con- 
 tentions. 
 
 How vain a pursuit is wealth. It brings 
 misery to its devotee and to his offspring. I 
 know no more mournful histories than those 
 connected with greediness of gain. I think 
 it is John Owen, who somewhere says, 
 "There is nothing given us in more strict 
 charge in the Scripture, than that we should 
 be careful for nothing, solicitous about noth- 
 ing, take no thought for to-morrow, but 
 commit all thing's unto the sovereio-n dis- 
 posal of God our Father, who has taken all 
 these things into his own care." It is idle 
 to pretend that we have given all to God, 
 when we are so eager to manage them our- 
 selves. 
 
 A life of self-denial was never more sure 
 than in this age to do good. A little work 
 done in the right way tells for a long time. 
 A poor child taught in the right way, a good 
 
 5 « 
 
54 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 institution founded in a small way grows. 
 When I was young' I felt like transplanting 
 trees. I have quit that and gone to planting 
 acorns. We may be poor, yet make many 
 rich. Great usefulness follows, not great 
 talents, or great donations, but great self- 
 denial. Christ saved the world by suffering. 
 No man has been distinguished for usefulness, 
 who was not remarkable for sufferings, for 
 voluntary self-denial. 
 
 How priceless is a good name. To men 
 themselves and to their posterity it is better 
 than great riches. It outlives its possessor 
 and his children. Let one go over any com- 
 munity, which he knew a quarter of a cen- 
 tury ago, and he will know what is here 
 meant. 
 
 How wise it is to fear God and to teach all 
 around us to do the same. Nothing, as an 
 element of education or of self-government, 
 is sufficient, if men despise the authority of 
 God. 
 
 How strangely the world is ruled by little 
 things I think it was Alice Carey, who said, 
 
A VISIT TO MY OLD HOME. 55 
 
 "liittle drops of rain brighten the meadows, 
 and little acts of kindness brighten the world." 
 Eternity is made up of successive points in 
 duration. 
 
 And how soon earthly joy and pomp and 
 vanity will all be gone. "I have seen the 
 wicked in great power, and spreading him- 
 self like a green bay-tree. Yet he passed away, 
 and lo, he was not, yea, I sought him, but he 
 could not be found." 
 
 How soon the sorrows of the just will be 
 over. The. greatest sufferers I ever knew 
 have long been at rest. They wept on the 
 mountains of Zion. They shout in the streets 
 of the new Jerusalem. 
 
 How rapidly our opportunities of useful- 
 ness to ourselves and others are passing away. 
 Oh that we had grace to improve them as 
 they come. "Our opportunities, like our 
 souls, are very precious ; but if they are lost, 
 they are irrecoverably lost." How many, 
 whom I might once have warned, are forever 
 beyond the calls of the gospel. 
 
 How the whole coast of time is strewed 
 
56 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 with wrecks. One is ruined by drink, ano- 
 ther by bad company, another by idleness, 
 another by skepticism, another by lying, ano- 
 ther by lewdness. 
 
 How humility stands the test. It boasts 
 not. It vaunts not itself. It loves retire- 
 ment, as the violet loves the shade. "Though 
 civility teaches us to call others by their 
 highest titles, yet humility teaches us to call 
 ourselves by the lowest." "He that hum- 
 bleth himself shall be exalted." 
 
 How priceless a blessing is love. It warms 
 the heart in which it dwells. It blesses all 
 around it. "Like spring flowers, it breaks 
 through the most frozen ground at last." It 
 makes many happy. A family brought up 
 in snappish, snarlish ways, will live in wretch- 
 edness, and comes to naught. 
 
 It is safe to obey any call of duty, to take 
 up any cross, endure any reproach, follow any 
 lawful calling. Those men at the top were 
 not long since at the bottom, but however 
 situated, they did their duty, and the blessing 
 followed. 
 
A VISIT TO MY OLD HOME. 57 
 
 What a poor thing is a pompous, vain pro- 
 fession of Christianity. Piety, which does not 
 rule us, will not save us. If there is in our 
 hearts and lives no difference between us and 
 sinners, there will be no difference between 
 us and them in doom and destiny. 
 
 What a priceless boon is youth. As men 
 and women are at fifty, so were they at fifteen, 
 is generally true. Good and bad qualities are 
 always developing themselves. 
 
 How weak are the moral principles of many. 
 Walpole said, ^' Every man has his price." 
 This is not always so. Yet many are badly 
 sold. '^ Those, who fancy that money can do 
 anything, are generally prepared to do every- 
 thing for money." In her journal Eliza Cook 
 says, that they who are honest, only because 
 honesty is the best policy, are half way to 
 being rogues. What small temptations have 
 ruined those of my acquaintance, who have 
 lost all. 
 
 Who understand the power of education? 
 That poor creature, now suffering from ennui 
 and chagrin, full of suspicion and malice, 
 
5S WOEDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 was by her parents trained to think display 
 the end of existence. That young man, who 
 was petted, indulged, taught to swagger about 
 honour, and to make high pretensions to the 
 character of a gentleman, is now hardly a fit 
 companion for the dogs of his neighbour's 
 flock. He was spoiled in the rearing. 
 
 True religion is full of unfailing resources. 
 That alone is enough. Its triumphs among 
 many of my old friends have been as remark- 
 able as in the case of Payson, who when suf- 
 fering great pain just before death, said, '^Oh, 
 what a blessed thing it is to lose one's will ! 
 Since I have lost my will, I have found hap- 
 piness. There can be no such thing as disap- 
 pointment to me, for I have no desires but 
 that God's will may be accomplished." 
 
 What a Saviour we have in the Lord Jesus 
 Christ! How wisdom and tenderness, power 
 and love, grace and truth, shine out in him. 
 " He is still in office for us ; he pleads our 
 cause before his Father; he rules the universe 
 for our welfare; and he teaches us wisdom." 
 Blessed one ! how we ought to love him. 
 
A VISIT TO MY OLD no:\rE. 59 
 
 If we are in Christ, what a blessed meetincr 
 we shall soon have with all the redeemed in 
 glory. Many of the best friends I ever had 
 are gone before me. I sympathize with good 
 old Richard Baxter when he says : " I mnst 
 confess, as the experience of my own soul, 
 that the expectation of loving my friends in 
 heaven principally kindles my love to them 
 while on earth. If I thought I should never 
 know them, and consequently never love them 
 after this life is ended, I should number them 
 with temporal things, and love them as sucli ; 
 but I now converse with my pious friends in 
 a firm persuasion that I shall converse with 
 them forever ; I take comfort in those that 
 are dead or absent, believing that I shall 
 shortly meet them in -heaven, and love them 
 with a heavenly love." It would be easy to 
 make out a list of such old friends large 
 enough to cover many pages. Their memory 
 is precious. I hope soon to see them, and 
 unite with them in singing the song of Moses 
 and the Lamb, . 
 
60 WORDS or TRUTH AND LOVB. 
 
 IX. 
 
 DO ALJL THE, GOOD TOU CAK. 
 
 Don't say that you cannot do much, and 
 therefore you will do nothing. Keep trying. 
 Work away. The ants are little things, but 
 in some parts of the world, they build great 
 houses for themselves. Very little w^orms 
 sometimes eat up a large forest. The ocean 
 is made up of drops of water and the world 
 of grains of sand. Any good little child can 
 make glad a father or mother, and that is a 
 great thing. I have known a dear little child 
 not five years old to soothe the throbbing, 
 aching head of its mother. 
 
 Every one can do something. This is pro- 
 ven in many ways. I will tell you a true 
 story. 
 
 As one travels westward from Pittsburgh 
 towards Chicago, he will find, from Wayne 
 
DO ALL THE GOOD YOU CAN. 61 
 
 County, Ohio, to Fort Wayne, Indiana, tradi- 
 tions of a singular man, known now as for- 
 merly by the name of " Sammy Appleseed." 
 He wore no hat, and seldom, if ever, wore 
 shoes. His clothing was mean and scant. He 
 was not known to have any kindred in the 
 land. He spent his time partly among the 
 Indians and partly among the whites. He 
 was hardly half-witted. He w^as entirely 
 harmless. He was an enemy to no one. Xo 
 one was an enemy to him. He travelled a 
 great deal, usually with a bag on his shoulder. 
 At the time of making cider, he commonly 
 went into Eastern Pennsylvania. He would 
 then carefully gather a peck or more of apple- 
 seeds, and start for the West. The severe 
 weather of winter he generally spent in the 
 w^hite settlements, but early in the spring he 
 was off for the wilderness. He was familiar 
 with the trails of the country, and could find 
 his way to the Indian towns. Wherever he 
 went he carried his bag of apple-seeds. Where- 
 ever he found a fit opening, he would plant 
 some of them. This he did not only at the 
 6 
 
62 WORDS OF TRUTH AKD LOVE. 
 
 old deserted villages, but also at the inhabited 
 towns of the savages. Sometimes he would 
 get a promise that the weeds and grass should 
 be kept from smothering the young trees. 
 But usually they had to take their chance 
 for life. 
 
 Thus, for a space of two hundred miles in 
 length and forty or fifty miles in breadth, this 
 simple man produced some of the first signs 
 of advancing civilization. When the white 
 people moved into the wilderness, they found 
 nurseries of apple-trees, neither pruned nor 
 grafted, but ready to be transplanted. In 
 some cases they Avere already bearing fruit, 
 which, mellowed by age, became delicious. 
 
 Sammy has been dead for many years ; 
 but for generations to come he will be spoken 
 of as a benefactor to a large district of coun- 
 try. He did what he could for the comfort 
 of the red man and of the white man. Hav- 
 ing no bad designs, he was neither suspicious 
 nor suspected. Though his life was often in 
 jeopardy, he was kept alive. In his labours 
 he found his happiness. He had his reward. 
 
DO ALL THE OxOOD YOU CAN. 63 
 
 In tlie labours of this man, every child 
 may learn a lesson. All who read these pages 
 probably have as much mind as Sammy had. 
 They ought to try as hard to do good. If 
 they humbly look to God for strength, their 
 labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. 
 
 Coming generations will bless them, and 
 bless God for them. Little Samuel serving 
 God in the temple and doing as God and Eli 
 bade him, is mentioned witli more honour 
 than all the Pharaohs of Egypt. 
 
 Let none of us live to himself. Let us 
 continually scatter good seeds. By and by 
 they wdll bear good fruit. All that we now 
 enjoy is the result of something done for us 
 by others, perhaps by others long since dead. 
 Of those who stand in their lot and do their 
 best for the good of man and the glory of 
 God, we may say, as a modern poet says of 
 great men: 
 
 Lives of great men all remind us 
 
 We can make our lives sublime, 
 And, departing, leave behind us 
 
 Footprints on the sands of time — 
 
64 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 Footprints that perhaps another, 
 
 Sailing o'er life's solemn main, 
 A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, 
 
 Seeing, shall take heart again. 
 
 Let us then be up and doing. 
 
 With a heart for every fate ; 
 Still achieving, still pursuing, 
 
 Learn to labour and to wait. 
 
 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 
 In due time we shall reap if we faint not. 
 Let us have long patience and wait for the 
 precious fruits of the earth. 
 
THE CHILD THAT WAS READY TO PERISH. 65 
 
 X. 
 
 THE CHILD THAT WAS READY TO PERISH. 
 
 The Either of Ishmael was Abraham. His 
 mother's name was Hagar, the Egyptian. 
 Troubles arose in Abraham's family. Sarah, 
 the mother of Isaac said to Abraham, Cast 
 out this bond- woman, and her son : for the 
 son of this bond-woman shall not be heir with 
 my son, even with Isaac. This made Abra- 
 ham very sad. But God said. Of the son of 
 the bond- woman will I make a nation, be- 
 cause he is thy seed. Hagar left Abraham's 
 house w^ith a heavy heart and with a bottle of 
 water. After a while, the water gave out, and 
 Hagar cast her child under one of the shrubs. 
 And she went, and sat down over against him 
 a good way off, that she might not see him 
 die. She was sad and wept aloud, and so did 
 
 her son. And God heard the voice of the 
 6 * 
 
66 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 lad and sent an angel to comfort him and his 
 mother. He also promised, I will make him 
 a great nation. And God was with the lad ; 
 and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and 
 became an archer. He also married an Egyp- 
 tian and became famous in his day as a man 
 of the woods. 
 
 From him have descended a very numerous 
 people, who have long borne the name of 
 Arabians. From the days of Ishmael there 
 has been a wild romance in the history and 
 character of this people. To this day, many 
 of them lead a wandering life. Soon after 
 the ascension of Christ to heaven, many Arabs 
 embraced the truth as it is in Jesus. There 
 were zealous Christians among them. After 
 a while these converts became very corrupt. 
 Then there arose a great impostor, Moham- 
 med. From that time their history has been 
 full of the most painful interest. Their deeds 
 contain the strongest exhibitions of temper 
 and principle. This is owing to two causes : 
 the natund character of the people; and the in- 
 ^uence of their system of religious belief. It 
 
THE CHILD THAT WAS READY TO PERISH. 67 
 
 may be interesting to the reader to have some 
 of the views of the Arabs stated. 
 
 Mohammed laid this down as a great truth : 
 " The sword is the l^ey of heaven and of hell : 
 a drop of blood shed in the cause of God, a 
 night spent in arms, is of more avail than two 
 months of fasting and prayer ; whosoever falls 
 in battle, his sins are forgiven ; at the day of 
 judgment his wounds shall be resplendent as 
 Vermillion, and odoriferous as musk; and the 
 loss of his limbs shall be supplied by the wings 
 of angels and cherubims." This one sentence 
 has ever since had an influence almost incon- 
 ceivable. No Arab ever enters into a bloody 
 contest but as an enthusiast. Here is the 
 secret of the rapid spread of the imposture. 
 
 At the taking of Mecca, Mohammed united 
 the factions, and would take no revenge. The 
 Koreish fell at his feet. " What mercy," said 
 he. "can you expect from the men you have 
 wronged?" "We confide in the generosity 
 of our kinsman," was the reply. "And you 
 shall not confide in vain," said he: "Begone! 
 you are safe, you are Tee." 
 
68 WORDS OF THUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 When the deputies of Tayef asked for a 
 toleration of their religion, he said, " Not a 
 month, not an hour." Then they said, " Ex- 
 cuse us at least from the obligation of prayer." 
 His reply was, "Without prayer religion is of 
 no avail." 
 
 When his soldiers complained of the intoler- 
 able heat of a summer campaign, he replied, 
 "Hell is much hotter." Just before his death 
 he caused himself to be put on a pulpit, when 
 he said, " If there be any man whom I have 
 unjustly scourged, I submit my own back to 
 the lash of retaliation. Have I aspei^ed the 
 reputation of a Mussulman ? Let him pro- 
 claim my faults in the face of the congregation. 
 Has any one been despoiled of his goods ?" 
 "Yes," replied one in the crowd, "I am entitled 
 to three drachms of silver." Mohammed paid 
 him his money and thanked him for accusing 
 him here and not at the day of judgment. 
 His last words were ; " O God ! . . . . pardon 
 my sins. . . Yes. . . I come .... among my 
 fellow-citizens on high." He died at the age 
 of sixty-seven years, having effected greater 
 
Forgiveness. 
 
 I'ago 63. 
 
THE CHILD THAT WAS READY TO PERISH. 69 
 
 and more permanent changes in the opinions 
 and habits of men, by the sword united with 
 fanaticism, than were ever effected by any man 
 with either of these means alone or by them 
 united. 
 
 There is something very striking in some 
 of the usages of his followers, even to this 
 day. They at times seem to come very near 
 the Christian temper in the forgiveness of in- 
 juries, although they are habitually revenge- 
 ful. Their pardons seem to be very much 
 confined to slight things and accidental wrongs. 
 The following story is told of one of the sons 
 of Ali. In serving at table, a slave had in- 
 advertently dropped a dish of hot soup on 
 his master. The poor wretch fell at his feet 
 and repeated a verse of the Koran : " Paradise 
 is for those who command their anger." " 1 
 am not angry," said he. "And for those who 
 pardon offences," continued the slave. " I 
 pardon your offence," said the master. "And 
 for those who return good for evil," added the 
 slave. " I give you your liberty and four 
 hundred pieces of silver," said the master. 
 
70 WORDS 0¥ TKUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 Tills is the brightest example of anything 
 like forgiveness that I remember to have met 
 in all their history. Almost innumerable ex- 
 amples of their cruelty, even to persons of 
 their own blood and religion, might be given. 
 
 Every Arab is bound by his religion to pay 
 a tenth of all his revenue in some way to a 
 benevolent purpose ; and if his conscience 
 accuses him of any fraud or injustice, he must 
 pay a fifth. They are said very generally to 
 practise this precept. 
 
 Some of their dignitaries have set remark- 
 able examples of plainness, and others of 
 splendour. Omar II. spent his last days on a 
 bed of palm leaves, with a pillow made of 
 the skins of beasts, and with but one shirt. 
 Heshom, who came soon after him, was just 
 the reverse. He left ten thousand shirts, and 
 seven hundred boxes of various garments. 
 
 No one can read the history of this people 
 without feeling that they are distinct from all 
 the world in many respects. Indulgence and 
 cruelty seem to be the result of caprice. 
 Shrewdness is chiefly applied to evasions, 
 
THE CHILD THAT WAS READY TO PERISH. 71 
 
 canning and fraud. The stronger their reli- 
 gious impressions, the more dangerous do 
 they seem to be, as long as health and success 
 last. Their habits of cooking and eating, of 
 hospitality and of revenge, do not seem to 
 have changed at all for two thousand five hun- 
 dred years, or more. 
 
 But they shall yet be bi«ought to love the 
 Saviour. When that blessed event shall take 
 place is known unto God alone. But that it 
 shall occur is certain, for the mouth of the 
 Lord hath spoken it. The whole of the fol- 
 lowing prophecy in Isaiah Ix. 6, 7, applies to 
 this people. ^'The multitude of camels shall 
 cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and 
 Ephah: they shall bring gold and incense; 
 and they ^hall show forth the praises of the 
 Lord. All the flocks of Kedar shall be 
 gathered together unto thee; the rams of 
 Nebaioth shall minister unto thee." 
 
 When the day of deliverance from impos- 
 ture shall come to the Arabs, their conversion 
 will probably be very speedy. The words 
 next following those just quoted are, " Who 
 
72 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 are these that fly as a cloud, and as tlie doves 
 to their windows ?" Isaiah Ix. 8. 
 
 Children, do you ever pray for the Arabs ? 
 Their souls are worth as much as those of any 
 other people. If you ever hear them men- 
 tioned at a missionary meeting, listen care- 
 fully to what is said. Pray for them, O pray 
 for them. Though Ishmael was not the child 
 of promise, he was the son of Abraham. 
 
MEROH, THE AFRICAN. 73 
 
 XL 
 
 MEBOS, THE AFRICAK. 
 
 In the fall of 1826 I went to Wilmington, 
 N. C, to preach a few Sabbaths in the Pres- 
 byterian church. While there I was visited 
 by a venerable man, a native of Africa. He 
 came to the door of my room, entered, and 
 approached me. I rose to receive him. He 
 took my hand between both oi his, and earn- 
 estly pressed it to his bosom. Our interview 
 was not long, but I received very deep im- 
 pressions of his moral worth, and of his true 
 refinement of feeling produced by the grace 
 of God. 
 
 I have met him once or twice since, but 
 was commonly hindered from learning much 
 respecting him, as he was much more inclined 
 to hear than to speak — to ask questions than 
 to answer them. Yet from him and from 
 others I have learned the following things. 
 7 
 
74 WORDS OF TRUTH AXD LOVE. 
 
 Meroh was born about the year 1770. If 
 he is still living, as he was by last advices, 
 he is over ninety years of age. He was born 
 on the banks of the Senegal river, in Eastern 
 Africa. His tribe were the Foolahs. Their 
 religion was Mahommedanism. Many of them 
 had the Koran and read and wrote the Arabic 
 language. I have now in my possession a 
 letter written by Meroh in Arabic, bearing 
 all the marks of expert penmanship. 
 
 I write his name Meroh. It was originally 
 Umeroh. Some write it Moro; and some put 
 it in the French form, Moreau. It is com- 
 monly pronounced as if spelled Moro. 
 
 Meroh's father in Africa was a man of con- 
 siderable wealth. He brought up his children 
 delicately. Meroh's fingers are rather effemi- 
 nate. They are very well tapered. His whole 
 person and gait bear marks of considerable 
 refinement. 
 
 At about five years of age he lost his father, 
 in one of those bloody wars that are almost 
 constantly raging in Africa. Very soon there- 
 after he was taken by an uncle to the capital 
 
MEROH, THE AFRICAN. 75 
 
 of the tribe. Here he learned and afterwards 
 taught the Arabic, especially some prayers 
 used by Mahommedans. He also learned 
 some rules of arithmetic, and ihany of the 
 forms, of business. When a young man he 
 became a dealer in the merchandise of the 
 country, chiefly consisting in cotton cloths. 
 Some years since I saw in some new^spaper an 
 account of this mail, which I believe to be 
 quite correct. I make an extract : — 
 
 "While engaged in trade, some event oc- 
 curred, which he is very reluctant to refer to, 
 but which resulted in his being sold into sla- 
 very. He was brought down to the coast, 
 shipped for America, in company with only 
 two who could speak the same language, and 
 was landed at Charleston in 1807, just a year 
 previous to the final abolition of the slave- 
 trade. He was soon sold to a citizen of Charles- 
 ton, who treated him with great kindness, 
 but who, unfortunately for Moreau, died in a 
 short time. He was then sold to one who 
 proved to be a harsh, cruel master, exacting 
 from him labour which he had not the strength 
 
76 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 to perform. From him Moreau found means 
 to escape, and after wandering nearly over the 
 State of South Carolina, was found near 
 Fayetteville, in North Carolina. Here he 
 was taken up as a runaway, and placed in the 
 jail. Knowing nothing of the language as 
 yet, he could not tell who he was, or where 
 he was from, but finding some coals in the 
 ashes, he filled the walls of his room with 
 piteous petitions to be released, all written in 
 the Arabic language. The strange characters, 
 so elegantly and correctly written by a runa- 
 "way slave, soon attracted attention, and many 
 of the citizens of the town visited the jail to 
 see him. 
 
 " Through the agency of Mr. Mumford, 
 then sheriff of Cumberland county, the case 
 of Moreau was brought to the notice of Gen. 
 James Owen, of Bladen county, a gentleman 
 well known throughout this Commonwealth, 
 for his public services, and always known as 
 a man of generous and humane impulses. 
 He took Moreaueut of jail, becoming security 
 for his forthcoming, if called for, and carried 
 
MEROH, THE AFRICAN. 77 
 
 him with him to his plantation in Bladen 
 county. For a long time his wishes were 
 baffled by the meanness and the cupidity of a 
 man who had bought the runaway at a small 
 price from his former master, until at last he 
 Avas able to obtain legal possession of him, 
 greatly to the joy of Moreau. Since then, 
 for more than forty years, he has been a 
 trusted and indulged servant. 
 
 "At the time of his purchase by General 
 Owen, Moreau was a staunch Mahommedan, 
 and, the first year at least, kept the fast of 
 E-hamadan with great strictness. Through 
 the kindness of some friends, an English trans- 
 lation of the Koran was procured for him, 
 and read to him, often with portions of the 
 Bible. Gradually he seemed to lose his in- 
 terest in the Koran, and to show more interest 
 in the Sacred Scriptures, until he finally gave 
 up his faith in Mahomet, and became a be- 
 liever in Jesus Christ. He was baptized by 
 the Rev. Dr. Snodgrass, of the Presbyterian 
 church, in Fayetteville, and received into the 
 church. Since that time he has been trans- 
 
 r * 
 
78 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 ferred to the Presbyterian church in Wilming- 
 ton, of which he has long been a consistent 
 member. There are few Sabbaths in the year 
 on which he is absent from the house of God. 
 ^' Uncle Moreau is an Arabic scholar, read- 
 ing the language with great facility, and trans- 
 lating it with ease. His pronunciation of the 
 Arabic is remarkably fine. An eminent Vir- 
 ginia scholar said, not long since, that he read 
 it more beautifully than any one he ever heard, 
 save a distinguished savant of the University 
 of Halle. His translations are somewhat im- 
 perfect, as he never mastered the English lan- 
 guage, but they are often very striking. We 
 remember once hearing him read and translate 
 the twenty-third psalm, and shall never forget 
 the earnestness and fervour which shone in 
 the old man's countenance, as he read of the 
 going down into the dark valley, and using 
 his own broken English, said, 'Me no fear, 
 Master's with me there.' There were signs 
 in his countenance, and in his voice, that he 
 knew not only the words, but felt the blessed 
 power of the truth they contained. 
 
MEROH, THE AFRICAN. 79 
 
 "Moreau has never expressed any wish to 
 return to Africa. Indeed, he has always ma- 
 nifested a great aversion to it when proposed, 
 changing the subject as soon as possible. When 
 Dr. Jonas King, now of Greece, returned to 
 his country from the East, in 1828, he was in- 
 troduced in Fayetteville to Moreau. General 
 Owen observed an evident reluctance on the 
 part of the old man to converse with Dr. King. 
 After some time he ascertained that the only 
 reason of his reluctance was his fear that 
 one who talked so well in Arabic mipfht 
 have been sent by his own countrymen to 
 reclaim him, and carry him again over the 
 sea. After his fears were removed, he con- 
 versed with Dr. King with great readiness 
 and delight. 
 
 "He now regards his expatriation as a great 
 providential favour. ^His coming to this 
 country,' as he remarked to the writer, Svas 
 all for good.' Mahommedanism has been 
 supplanted in his heart by the better faith in 
 Christ Jesus, and in the midst of a Christian 
 family, where he is kindly watched over, 
 
80 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 and in the midst of a church which honours 
 him for his consistent piety, he is gra- 
 dually going down to that dark valley, in 
 which, his own firm hope is, that he will 
 be supported and led by the hand of the 
 Great Master, and from which he will 
 emerge into the brightness of the perfect 
 day." 
 
 This pious man was supplied with a copy 
 of the JN^ew Testament in the Arabic language. 
 He says, the translation is not good. Yet 
 with the aid of the English, he gained much 
 knowledge of God's word. Whenever I have 
 seen him, his appearance was striking and ven- 
 erable. His moral and Christian character 
 has long been excellent. Christians, who 
 were well acquainted with him, doubted not 
 that he was preparing for a better world. 
 Perhaps he has already gone to the rest of 
 the redeemed. 
 
 How strange are God's ways. Through 
 what sufferings he leads his chosen to the 
 knowledge and enjoyment of himself. 
 
81 
 
 How sure are God's purposes. His counsel, 
 it shall stand. Of those whom the Father 
 has given to Christ, he has lost none. All that 
 the Father has given him, shall come unto 
 him. 
 
 How sweet heaven will be after the sorrows 
 and trodbles of earth. 
 
 Let every man stand in his lot, and do and 
 suffer the whole will of God. 
 
 Our reward in heaven will not depend 
 upon our station on earth, but upon the rich 
 and free grace of God, enabling us to serve 
 him with fidelity. We '' know that whatso- 
 ever good thing any man doeth, the same 
 shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be 
 bond or free." Eph. vi. 8. 
 
 There is hope for the heathen. It is found 
 in the Gospel of Christ. Let them be brought 
 to know it, and it will be to them life from 
 the dead. The darkest land in heathendom 
 shall yet rejoice in the light of life. One of 
 the early converts to the Gospel was the 
 Ethiopian eunuch, who, as church history 
 informs us^ became a great blessing to his 
 
82 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 country. Meroh is another trophy of divine 
 grace from the same dark continent. Ethi- 
 opia shall soon stretch out her hands unto 
 God. 
 
LET POOR BOYS BE OF GOOD COURAGE. 83 
 
 XII. 
 
 T.JET POOR BOYS BE OF GOOD COURAGE. 
 
 Many a poor boy falls under the power of 
 discouragement. He is afraid he can never 
 get on in the world. He would like to be 
 useful, but he knows not how to act. Good 
 old John Elliott said, "Prayer and pains 
 through faith that is in Christ Jesus can do 
 wonders." Cheer up, boys, good times may 
 come yet. A physician in Philadelphia had 
 dark times in early life. His business led 
 him to sea. While there, a sailor boy was 
 sent aloft. The vessel rolled very much. An 
 old sailor saw that the boy's head was becoming 
 giddy. To save his life, he cried out, " Look 
 aloft, you sneaking lubber." The boy looked 
 up and was no longer giddy. In his sadness, 
 the Doctor heard the words; he applied them 
 to himself. As often as trials came, he heard 
 
84 "WORDS OF TRUTH A]S^D LOVE. 
 
 the words of the old salt: "Look aloft, you 
 sneaking lubber/^ He was thus preserved 
 from falling under fatal despondency. He 
 did his bestj and God blessed him, and he rose 
 to great eminence, and has told us that this 
 story had a great effect on his life. There is 
 a book entitled Self-help. It contains a list 
 of such as have risen from humble life to 
 great honour and usefulness. From that 
 book I learn that from the barber's shop rose 
 Sir Richard Arkwright, the inventor of the 
 spinning-jenny, and the founder of the cotton 
 manufacture of Great Britain; Lord Tenter- 
 den, one of the most distinguished of English 
 Lord Chief Justices; and Turner, the very 
 greatest among landscape painters. No one 
 knows to a certainty what Shakespeare was; 
 but it is unquestionable that he sprang from 
 a very humble rank. The common rank of 
 day labourers has given us Brindley, the engi- 
 neer; Cook, the navigator; and Burns, the 
 poet. Masons and bricklayers can boast of 
 Ben Jonson, who worked at the building of 
 Lincoln's Inn, with a trowel in his hand and 
 
LET POOR BOYS BE OF GOOD COURAGE. 85 
 
 a book in his pocket; Edwards and Telford, 
 the engineers ; Hugh Miller, the geologist, 
 and Allan Cunningham, the writer and sculp- 
 tor; whilst among distinguished carpenters 
 we find the names of Inigo Jones, the archi- 
 tect; Harrison, the chronometer maker; John 
 Hunter, the physiologist; Romney and Opie, 
 painters; Prof. Lee, the orientalist; and John 
 Gibson, the sculptor. From the weaver class 
 have sprung Simpson, the mathematician ; 
 Bacon, the sculptor ; the two Milners, Adam 
 Walker, John Foster, AVilson, the ornitholo- 
 gist; Dr. Livingstone, the missionary traveller; 
 and Tannahill, the poet. Shoemakers have 
 given us Sturgeon, tlie electrician; Samuel 
 Drew, the essayist; Gilford, the editor of the 
 Quarterly Review; Bloomfield, the poet; and 
 A^illiam Carey, the missionary; whilst Mor- 
 rison, another laborious missionary, was a 
 maker of shoe-lasts. Within a few years, a 
 profound naturalist, has been discovered in 
 the person of a shoemaker at Banff, named 
 Thomas Edwards, who, while maintaining 
 himself by his trade, has devoted his leisure 
 
86 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 to the study of natural science in all its 
 branches; his researches in connection with the 
 smaller Crustacea having been rewarded by 
 the discovery of a new species, to which the 
 name of Praniza Edwardsii has been given by 
 naturalists. 
 
 Nor have the tailors been altogether undis- 
 tinguished, Jackson, the painter, having 
 worked at that trade until he reached man- 
 hood. But what is, perhaps, more remark- 
 able, one of the most gallant of British sea- 
 men. Admiral Hobson, who broke the boom 
 at Vigo, in 1701, originally belonged to this 
 calling. Cardinal Wolsey, De Foe, Akenside, 
 and Kirke White, were the sons of butchers ; 
 Bunyan was a tinker, and Joseph Lancaster 
 a basket-maker. Among the great names 
 identified with the invention of the steam 
 engine are those of Newcomen, Watt, and 
 Stephenson ; the first a blacksmith, the second 
 a maker of mathematical instruments, and 
 the third an engine fireman. Dr. Hutton, 
 the geologist, and Bewick, the father of wood- 
 engraving, were coal miners. Dodsley was a 
 
LET POOR BOYS BE OF GOOD COURAGE. 87 
 
 footman, and Holcroft a groom. Baffin, the 
 navigator, was a common seaman, and Sir 
 Cloudesley Shovel a cabin-boy. Herschel 
 played the oboe in a military band. Chan- 
 trey was a journeyman carver; Etty, a jour- 
 neyman printer; and Sir Thomas Lawrence, 
 the son of a tavern keeper. 
 . Michael Faraday, the son of a poor black- 
 smith, was in early life apprenticed to a book- 
 binder, and worked at that trade until he 
 reached his twenty-second year; he now oc- 
 cupies the very first rank as a philosopher, 
 excelling even his master, Sir Humphrey 
 Davy, in the art of lucidly expounding the 
 most difficult and abstruse points in natural 
 science. Not long ago, Sir Roderick Mur- 
 chison discovered at Thurso, in the far north 
 of Scotland, a profound geologist in the per- 
 son of a baker there, named Robert Dick. 
 When Sir Roderick called at the bake-house, 
 in which he baked and earned his bread, 
 Dick delineated to him by means of flour upon 
 a board the geographical features and geolo- 
 gical phenomena of his native county, point- 
 
88 AVORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 ing out the imperfections in the existing maps, 
 which he had ascertained by travelling over 
 the county in his leisure hours. On further 
 inquiry, Sir Roderick ascertained that the 
 humble individual before him was not only a 
 capital baker and geologist, but a first-rate 
 botanist. " I found," said the Director-Gen- 
 eral of the Geographical Society, "to my 
 great humiliation, that this baker knew more 
 of botanical science than I did, and that there 
 were only some twenty or thirty specimens of 
 flowers which he had not collected. Some he 
 had obtained as presents, some he had pur- 
 chased ; but the greater portion had been ac- 
 cumulated by his industry, in his native county 
 of Caithness, and the specimens were all ar- 
 ranged in the most beautiful order, with their 
 scientific names affixed." 
 
 Not only does God encourage the poor and 
 the humble to do their best by raising up men 
 as we have seen, but also by his precious word. 
 When God so remarkably answered the prayer 
 of Hannah, and made her the joyful mother 
 of Samuel, who was to serve the Lord and 
 
LET POOR BOYS BE OF GOOD COURAGE. 89 
 
 become so great a prophet, she saog a glad 
 soiig: "My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine 
 horn is exalted in the Lord ; my mouth is 
 enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice 
 in thy salvation. There is none holy as the 
 Lord: for there is none besides thee: neither 
 is there any rock like our God. Talk no 
 more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy 
 come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a 
 God of knowledge, and by him actions are 
 weighed. The bows of the mighty men are 
 broken, and they that stumbled are girded 
 with strength. They that were full liave 
 hired out themselves for bread; and they that 
 were hungry, ceased : so that the barren hath 
 become seven ; and she that hath many chil- 
 dren is waxed feeble. The Lord killeth, and 
 maketh alive : he bringeth down to the grave, 
 and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor, 
 and maketh rich : he bringeth low, and lifteth 
 up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, 
 and lifteth up the beggar from the dung hill, 
 to set them among princes, and to make them 
 inherit the throne of glory : for the pillars of 
 
 8* 
 
90 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 the earth are the Lord's, and. he hath set the 
 world upon them. He will keep the feet of 
 Ills saints, and the wicked shall be silent in 
 darkness; for bj strength shall no man pre- 
 vail/' &c. Here is the whole story. God is 
 a helper of the poor. He hears the young 
 ravens when they cry. And is not a poor boy 
 of more value than many ravens? 
 
 The way to rise is to humble ourselves un- 
 der the mighty hand of God. Let- us lie low 
 at his feet, and look up to his eternal and pro- 
 pitious throne for grace and strengtli, for 
 courage and success. Let us do our duty to 
 God. Let us hold fast the salvation of Christ. 
 He can carry us safely through all trials and 
 difficulties. He is kind. He is wise. He is 
 strong. None can resist him. None can de- 
 feat him. None pities so much as he. His 
 blessing is rich and adds no sorrow. 
 
 Let all little boys trust in the Lord. Let 
 them tell him their troubles. Let them ask 
 him to carry them through their trials. 
 
A RIDE IN THE PINE WOODS. 91 
 
 XIII. 
 
 ^ BIDE I]^ THE PIKE WOODS. 
 
 We were clashing along at the rate of thirty 
 miles an hour on one of those fine railroads 
 in the State of Ohio, when I discovered my 
 friends, Mr. and Mrs. N. I was glad to re- 
 new an old and valued friendship. We had 
 just eaten a good breakfast, and were all well 
 and lively. In a way the most natural, the 
 details of w^hich would not interest others, 
 the substance of the following narrative was 
 recited. It struck me as a pleasant illustra- 
 tion of many truths of God's word. At my 
 request the narrative has since been writ- 
 ten, and I give it in an unbroken thread. I 
 will merely say that Mr. N. is an eminent 
 lawyer, and his wife is the daughter of a dis- 
 tinguished minister of the gospel. She says: 
 
 Soon after my marriage, my husband had 
 
92 WOEDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 occasion to go upon the "circuit." For my 
 safe-keeping and pleasure, he proposed to leave 
 me at the plantation of a friend during his ab- 
 sence. This plantation lay upon the river, 
 on his way to the point where he was to take 
 the stage for the interior; but as we neared 
 the landing a violent thunder-storm arose, and 
 the winds and waves became so tempestuous 
 that no boat could put out. This was a great 
 disappointment. My health was very delicate, 
 and the country was in a very rude state. My 
 husband felt quite unwilling to expose me to 
 the hardships of palmetto roots, log houses 
 and rough fare; but there being no place 
 where I could be left, and he unable to make 
 any arrangement to send me back, I was 
 forced to take my seat at his side in the stage, 
 and take my first experience of the interior. 
 We made our way, day after day, over the 
 rough roads, until we reached the last place 
 where the court sat, about a hundred miles 
 from the river. I was much amused with the 
 novelty of the double-pinned log-house where 
 we were lodged. No plaster or lathing was 
 
A RIDE IN THE PINE WOODS. 93 
 
 there on the rooms, the chairs were of home 
 manufacture, with seats of raw, undressed 
 hide, and beds of the same description. The 
 table arrangements were also quite new to me, 
 and I was enjoying myself heartily, until one 
 day towards the close of the week, my husband 
 entered my room, and informed me that he 
 feared we should have difficulty in getting 
 away. There was but one stage a week which 
 ran from E. to the river, and this stage 
 reached the point where we were on Saturday 
 evening, and left the next morning (Sunday) 
 on its way to the river. This intelligence 
 gave me much concern. It was now a season 
 of the year when it was not considered pru- 
 dent for those who were not acclimated to 
 linger in that part of the country. The creeks 
 were badly swollen, and the difficulty was 
 every day increasing. The roads, rough with 
 palmetto roots, were almost unendurable even 
 in the easiest conveyance, and the distance 
 from settlement to settlement so great that it 
 Avas desirable to have some company through 
 the long, dreary pine barrens and woods. We 
 
94 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 were much perplexed. There was not the 
 slightest prospect of our being able to make 
 any better arrangement the next week. My 
 husband went out and offered a large sum for 
 a wagon or saddle horses, by which we could 
 reach the next station on Saturday, some forty 
 miles East, and so be ready for the stage on 
 Monday morning. But all in vain ! He re- 
 turned to me quite discouraged, and at a loss 
 what to do. It was impossible for me to start 
 deliberately upon a journey on God's holy 
 Sabbath morning — that day of "res^," "hal- 
 lowed" and "sanctified" by our God and King 
 himself. Not only was the prohibition dis- 
 tinctly written in his sacred Book, and the 
 great command enforced by his own example 
 from the beginning of the world, but the fond 
 memories of my early years had thrown a halo 
 around the Pearl of Days, which could not 
 be dimmed. Nor yet an orphan and a 
 stranger, I had stood before my venerable 
 father and oft repeated, 
 
 "I must not work, I must not play 
 Upon God's holy Sabbath day !'* 
 
A RIDE IN THE PINE WOODS. 95 
 
 The stillness of the Sabbath morning, which, 
 in my childish fancy, I supposed composed 
 of different elements from other days, the 
 quietness of the household arrangements, the 
 not doing our own pleasure, or speaking our 
 own words, or thinking our own thoughts, the 
 Sunday books, the sweet hours of sacred even- 
 ing praise, all these had left their indelible 
 stamp upon the Holy Sabbath, and should I 
 now break through all these associations, nay, 
 break God^s commandments, and refuse "to 
 resV^ upon a day, not my own, but God's? 
 It could not be. We remained. I was young, 
 and it was a severe trial of my untried faith. 
 We saw the other lawyers depart. One after 
 another left, until we were quite alone. I 
 tried to believe "Deus providebit." But it 
 looked very dreary. It so chanced, however, 
 that on Monday morning some business of 
 importance demanded Mr. N.'s attention, and 
 he was glad he had remained. On Tuesday, 
 much to his surprise, a gentleman, and a 
 stranger, came to him, and alluding to the 
 unwillingness of the lady to leave in the Sun- 
 
96 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 clay stage, remarked, "I have a four mule 
 team, a U. S. baggage wagon empty, and a 
 couple of saddle horses, with two servants, 
 going directly to the river. They are at your 
 service, sir." The circumstances were these. 
 The retinue in question had been brought up 
 to court under an attachment, a thing, of 
 course, very unusual. It might never happen 
 again. The affair was settled, and now they 
 were about to return to the river, and were 
 politely and urgently pressed upon my hus- 
 band for his use. You may be sure that, in 
 my youthful enthusiasm, I had no doubt they 
 were sent by God. I had long before heard 
 the story of the offering he had provided to 
 take Isaac's place, and this seemed very much 
 like it. It was very natural that an animal 
 should be caught in the thicket at the moment 
 that Abraham needed him, and it w^as also 
 nothing surprising that these should be going 
 down to the river at this time when we wanted 
 them. Does not his providence extend over 
 all, and were we not his children, seeking to 
 keep his commandment? Surely the trial of 
 
A KIDE IN THE PINE WOODS. 97 
 
 our faith was precious, and was found unto 
 praise and honour! But difficulties arose. 
 Our host remonstrated. "The creeks are 
 badly swollen! It is a dangerous exposure 
 for you to ride under our Southern sun, and 
 with these April skies; should you be wet by 
 the rain, look out for the fever!" Thursday 
 morning came, and I was sick in bed. How- 
 ever, with an effort, I rose and made prepa- 
 rations for leaving. The sky was lowering, 
 and thick, heavy clouds obscured heaven's 
 own blue, as the drops seemed just ready to 
 fall. A mattress was laid in the huge wagon, 
 the saddle horses were brought round, and 
 trusting in God, who hung these dark cur- 
 tains, and who wrote these commandments 
 with his own finger, w^e bade our host adieu. 
 I never saw him again. He died not long 
 after, but I well remember his exclamation as 
 he aided me to mount: "This is carrying mat- 
 ters altogether too /ar." 
 
 Our little caravan proceeded on its way 
 somewhat anxiously, and night overtook us 
 in the woods. The rain had not yet fallen, 
 9 
 
98 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 neither had the sun appeared. We built our 
 watch-fire and rejoiced in the light-wood blaze. 
 All arrangements being made, we lay down to 
 rest under the protection of our heavenly 
 Father. My husband whispered in my ear, 
 as my eyes were closing, "Don't be afraid in 
 the night, should you hear the howling of the 
 wolves: they will not come near the fire." 
 But I will not weary you with the details of 
 that very happy journey. We rode on horse- 
 back, except when we wished to rest in the 
 wagon ; saw the beautiful flocks of deer roam- 
 ing in their native freedom; roasted our veni- 
 son on sticks over a light-wood fire; and I 
 found I was able to swim a creek, lyiiig at 
 full length on my horse, with considerable 
 skill and confidence. 
 
 One of the most remarkable circumstances 
 of the whole journey was the state- of the 
 weather. God hung his thick screen of black 
 clouds over our heads the entire distance 
 which we made in three days, so that the sun 
 did not smite us by day, neither did he suffer 
 a drop of his rain to descend upon our heads. 
 
#fe 
 
 - /' 
 
 # 
 
 "M 
 
 -f 
 
 PioMdcnte 
 
 l'..s- J9. 
 
A RIDE IN THE PINE WOODS. 99 
 
 I well remember passing the last stream where 
 we had anticipated considerable difficulty, and 
 to which my husband had frequently alluded 
 to cool the ardour of my enthusiasm. When 
 we approached it at last, I ventured in on my 
 horse, and reached the farther bank before he 
 had commenced the passage. I remember 
 how I tossed up my hat and shouted triumph, 
 somewhat after the manner of Miriam and 
 her damsels, after crossing the Red Sea. 
 That Saturday night found us safely housed 
 at our journey's end, and ready for the boat 
 to convey us home the next weeki All our 
 perils were over, all our doubts removed ; and 
 with the recollections of a peculiarly delight- 
 ful journey, were mingled thoughts of praise 
 and thanksgiving to Him who had so unex- 
 pectedly provided for all our wants, and re- 
 vealed himself to us in the keeping of his 
 commandments! These circumstances made 
 a deep impression upon me for life. I was 
 young and just commencing 'Hife in earnestJ^ 
 
 Trust in the Lord and do good. Delight 
 
100 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give 
 thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy 
 way unto the Lord ; trust also in him and he 
 shall bring it to pass. Rest in the Lord and 
 wait patiently for him. 
 
 In keeping God's commandments there is 
 great reward. This is true even in this life. 
 There is nothing made by sinning. There is 
 nothing gained by cheating. There is no 
 more foolish act than an attempt to rob God 
 of his dues. 
 
 Whoso is wise and will observe these things, 
 even they shall understand the loving-kind- 
 ness of the Lord. Marked providences have 
 not ceased. God still rules the world. He 
 can and will reward us for all our fidelity. 
 Godliness is profitable unto all things, having 
 promise of the life that now is, and of that 
 which is to come. 
 
MONEY. 101 
 
 XIV. 
 
 MONET, 
 
 The Bible does not forbid us to have mo- 
 ney. It says we must not love money. Even 
 little boys and girls sometimes set their hearts 
 too much on money. Some parents teach 
 their children to get all they can, and keep 
 all they get. This is a sad mistake. When 
 parents give their children money, they should, 
 indeed, teach them not to waste it ; but they 
 should also teach them not to hoard it up. 
 Heaping up silver is a poor business. We 
 were not made for such a purpose. He that 
 loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver. 
 Love of money made Judas a wicked traitor. 
 Indeed, the Bible says. The love of money is 
 the root of all evil. 
 
 Lord Harwich, once Lord Chancellor of 
 England, was said to be worth .£8 00,000. 
 
 9* 
 
102 WOKDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 Yet Dr. King in his anecdotes of his own 
 times says, that the Lord Chancellor set the 
 same value on a half a crown in the days of 
 his great riches, as when he was worth only 
 XIOO. 
 
 Queen Anne ascended the throne of England 
 in the year 1702. The greatest captain of her 
 time was the Duke of Marlborough. His 
 riches were immense. Yet when he was very 
 old and infirm, he would walk from the public 
 room in Bath to his lodgings, on a cold, dark 
 night, to save a sixpence in chair hire. When 
 this great, foolish man died, he left more than 
 £1,500,000 sterling. Yet all his wealth and 
 honours w^ere inherited by a grandson of Lord 
 Trevor, who had long been one of his enemies. 
 Thus men heap up riches and know not who 
 shall gather them. Ps. xxxix. 6. 
 
 Sir James Lowther, after changing a piece 
 of silver in George's Coffee-house, and paying 
 for his dish of coffee, was helped into his char- 
 iot, for he was lame and infirm. He went 
 home and sometime after returned to the same 
 coffee-house to demand a half penny, asserting 
 
MONEY. 103 
 
 that he had received a bad half-penny of 
 change on his last visit. This man had an 
 income of about £48,000 a year. He did 
 not know whom to appoint his heir, and yet 
 he held on greedily to every farthing. 
 
 Sir Thomas Colby, killed himself by rising 
 in the middle of the night, when he was in a 
 profuse sweat, the effect of a medicine which 
 he had taken for that purpose, and walking 
 down stairs to look for the key of his cellar, 
 which he had inadvertently left on a table in 
 his parlour; he was apprehensive that his ser- 
 vants might seize the key, and rob him of a 
 bottle of port wine. This man died intestate, 
 and left more than c£l, 200,000 in the funds, 
 W'hich were shared among five or six day la- 
 bourers, who were his nearest relations. 
 
 Sir William Smythe was another foolish 
 miser. When he was near seventy years of 
 age, he was wholly deprived of his sight; 
 and was persuaded to be couched by Taylor, 
 the oculist, who, by agreement, was to have 
 sixty guineas, if he restored his patient to any 
 degree of sight. Taylor succeeded in his ope- 
 
104 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 ration, and Sir William was able to read and 
 write without the use of spectacles during the 
 rest of his life; but as soon as the operation 
 was performed, and Sir William saw the good 
 effect of it, instead of being overjoyed as any 
 other person would have been, he began to 
 lament the loss, as he called it, of his sixty 
 guineas. His contrivance was, therefore, 'how 
 to cheat the oculist; he pretended he could not 
 see anything perfectly; for that reason the ban- 
 dage on his eye was continued a month longer 
 than the usual time. By this means he obliged 
 Taylor to compound the bargain, and accept 
 of twenty guineas; for a covetous man thinks 
 no method dishonest which he may legally 
 practise to save his money. 
 
 People, who are foolish about money, did not 
 all live across the water nor a long time ago. 
 Many people in this country are crazy about 
 money. For it they give up home and peace 
 and quiet. For it some lose soul and body 
 both. 
 
 A few years ago a young man in Ohio was 
 doing well. He had gained some few hundred 
 
MONEY. 105 
 
 dollars. But he was smitten with the desire 
 to visit the rich gold mines of Pike's Peak. 
 There he hoped soon to earn bags of gold. 
 He raised all the money he could, bought gro- 
 ceries, and started for a new El Dorado. After 
 travelling along, he fell in with swarms of hun- 
 gry people. They begged as for their lives. If 
 he had not given them, they would probably 
 have taken all they wanted. His kind feel- 
 ings led him to aid them. Soon his groceries 
 were all gone. After a long and wearisome 
 journey, he returned home with these fruits 
 of his expedition, one buffalo calf, caught on 
 the plains, and two young wolves. This was the 
 amount of his stock on hand. Perhaps he 
 may have gained some increase of Avisdom ; 
 yet if he did, he certainly paid pretty dearly 
 for it. He that maketh haste to be rich, trou- 
 bleth his own house. 
 
 How pleasant it is to see people generous 
 and liberal. You can hardly ask some men 
 to do a kind thing, without their being prompt 
 to do it. 
 
 The E,ev. Mr. Rogers, of England, attended 
 
106 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOV^E. 
 
 by an ofEcer of his charcli, called one morning 
 at the house of an excellent woman. She was 
 a widow, and had recently lost by death a 
 pious and beloved daughter. She had but little 
 wordly goods. JSTo great gift was expected 
 from her. Indeed, they called upon her chiefly 
 to show their respect, and not to seem to forget 
 her, or despise her mite. To their great surprise, 
 however, w^hen their errand was made known, 
 she with much promptness and cordiality pre- 
 sented them with a large sum. It was so 
 large that they felt and expressed doubts about 
 accepting it. She put an end to the difficulty 
 by saying with much decision, "You must take 
 it all ; I had laid it up as a portion for my 
 daughter, and I am determined that he who 
 has my daughter shall have her portion too." 
 Would you be happy? Try to make others 
 happy. One of the best ways of getting good 
 is by doing good. Always put duty before 
 enjoyment. Happiness, like a good name, 
 follows right living. Duty is the road. Hap- 
 piness is the pleasant city at the end of that 
 road. Have you not thought too much of 
 
MONEY. 107 
 
 your own happiness and too little of that of 
 others? He that watereth shall be watered. 
 Think of others. Live for others. Perhaps 
 it is Chitwood, who says : 
 
 If in one poor bleeding bosom 
 
 I a woe-swept chord have stilled ; 
 If a dark and restless spirit 
 
 I with hope of heaven have filled; 
 If I've made, for life's hai-d battle, 
 
 One faint heart grow brave and strong ; 
 Then, my Grod, I thank thee, bless thee, 
 
 For the precious gift of song. 
 
 Honour Christ with your substance. He 
 gave his heart's blood for you. It is a small 
 thing that you should give all you have for the 
 promotion of his cause. A deaf mute was 
 asked, What is gratitude? His reply was, 
 "Gratitude is the memory of the heart." 
 Have you such a memory of the debt you 
 owe to God ? 
 
108 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 XV. 
 
 MTTLMS FOB CHILDBJEX. 
 
 My young friends, you cannot too soon 
 begin to take heed to your ways. Form some 
 rules to guide you in the way of honour; and 
 stick to them. Be careful not to adopt wrong 
 rules. ''He who lives not by rule, lives not 
 at all." Read the lives of great men, and see 
 how they put a bridle on themselves, and never 
 let your hearts, or words, or acts be the result 
 of recklessness or evil passions. 
 
 I find in my drawer the rules of behaviour, 
 which after his death were found among the 
 papers of Washington, in his own hand-writ- 
 ing. It is said they were written at the age 
 of thirteen. Here they are: — 
 
 Every action in company ought to be with 
 some sign of respect to those present. 
 
 Be no flatterer, neither play with any one 
 that delights not to be played with. 
 
RULES FOR CHILDREN. 109 
 
 Kead no letter, books or papers in com- 
 pany. 
 
 Come not near the books or papers of another 
 so as to read them. 
 
 Look not over another when he is writing 
 a letter. 
 
 Let your countenance be cheerful, but in 
 serious matters be grave. 
 
 Show not yourself glad at another's mis- 
 fortunes. 
 
 Let your discourses with others on matters 
 of business be short. 
 
 It is good manners to let others speak first. 
 
 Strive not with your superior in argument, 
 but be modest. 
 
 When a man does all he can, do not blame 
 him, though he succeeds not well. 
 
 Take admonitions thankfully. 
 
 Be not hasty to believe flying reports to the 
 injury of another. 
 
 In your dress be modest, and consult your 
 condition. 
 
 It is better to be alone than in bad com- 
 pany. 
 
 10 
 
110 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 Let your conversation be without malice or 
 envy. 
 
 Urge not your friend to discover a secret. 
 
 Break not a jest when none take pleasure 
 in mirth. 
 
 Speak not injurious words either in jest or 
 earnest. 
 
 Gaze not on the blemishes of others. 
 
 When another speaks, be attentive. 
 
 Be not apt to relate news. 
 
 Be not curious to know the affairs of others. 
 
 Speak not evil of the absent. 
 
 When you speak of God, let it be with rev- 
 erence. 
 
 Labour to keep alive in your heart that 
 spark of heavenly fire called conscience. 
 
 If you should live by these rules, could you 
 not rise to honour? I hope you will. I wish 
 you the best in this world and that which is 
 to come. 
 
 Cativy flourished about the fifth century. 
 He was the principal of a college in South 
 Wales. He was called The Wise. One of 
 his pupils was Taliessin, the chief of bards. 
 
KULES FOR CHILDREN. Ill 
 
 In giving to his scholar his usual blessing, 
 he thus spake: — 
 
 Think before thou speakest. 
 
 1. What thou shalt speak. 
 
 2. Why thou shalt speak. 
 
 3. To whom thou mayest have to speak. 
 
 4. About whom thou art going to speak. 
 
 5. What will become of what thou mayest 
 speak. 
 
 6. What may be the benefit of what thou 
 shalt speak. 
 
 7. Who may be listening to what thou shalt 
 speak. 
 
 Put thy words on thy fingers, and before 
 thou speakest turn them these seven ways, 
 and there will never come any harm from 
 what thou shalt say. 
 
 I hope you read your Bible every day. 
 That is the best of all books. Its rules are 
 the wisdom of God. Here are a few things 
 said by the w^isest of mere men: 
 
 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of 
 knowledge. 
 
 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent 
 
112 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 thou not. Trust in the Lord with all thine 
 heart; and lean not unto thine own under- 
 standing. 
 
 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the 
 Lord, and depart from evil. 
 
 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out 
 of it are the issues of life. 
 
 Keep my commandments, and live; and my 
 law as the apple of thine eye. 
 
 Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it 
 not. 
 
 Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in 
 the way of understanding. 
 
 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with 
 the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the 
 proud. 
 
 Look not thou upon the wine when it is 
 red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, 
 when it moveth itself aright. 
 
 If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread 
 to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water 
 to drink: for thou shalt heap coals of fire 
 upon his head, and the Lord shall reward 
 thee. 
 
RULES FOR CHILDREN. 113 
 
 The apostle James in very few words gives 
 three excellent rules: "Swift to hear, slow to 
 speak, slow to wrath." 
 
 The Saviour of sinners says three things 
 of the greatest importance to the young: 
 
 I love them that love me; and those that 
 seek me early shall find me. 
 
 Seek ye first the kingdom of God and 
 his righteousness: and all these things shall 
 be added unto you. 
 
 All things whatsoever ye would that men 
 should do to you, do ye even so them. 
 
 He that will do as the Saviour directs shall 
 live piously and die happily. Nothing but holy 
 living makes certain happy-dying. In com- 
 pany one day, the Rev. John Newton spoke 
 of the death of a lady. A young female who 
 sat near, said, "Oh, sir, how did she die?" 
 NeAvton replied, " There is a more important 
 question than that, my dear, which you should 
 have asked first." "Sir," said she, "what 
 question can be more important than how did 
 she die?" "How did she livef^ was Newton's 
 reply. 
 
 10 * 
 
114 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 XVI, 
 
 THE ANGJEJLS, THEY TAKE CARE OF 
 CHILDREN. 
 
 There is a race of beings in heaven who 
 are often sent by God on errands of mercy or 
 of justice. They are called angels. Both in 
 Hebrew and Greek, the word angel means 
 messenger. Sometimes angels are spoken of 
 as thrones, dominions, principalities and 
 powers. Sometimes they are called living 
 ones, because they are so full of life and 
 energy. Sometimes they are called cherubim 
 or knowing ones, and seraphim or burning 
 ones. 
 
 Angels were created before men. Then 
 they were put on trial, some of them kept not 
 their first estate, but fell into sin. How many 
 sinned, we do not know, but the number was 
 
ANGELS TAKE CARE OF CHILDREN. 116 
 
 large. A legion of them possessed one man 
 when Christ was on earth. 
 
 Angels are pure spirits. They have no 
 bodies; ahhough sometimes they have as- 
 sumed bodies on special occasions. Their 
 number is very great. The chariots of God 
 are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels.* 
 Jesus said that if he had asked his Father, he 
 would have at once sent him twelve legions 
 of angels to deliver him from his enemies. 
 Taking a legion at six thousand, the number 
 here named would be seventy-two thousand. 
 On the day of judgment, angels shall be the 
 reapers to gather the harvest of the world. 
 
 Their power is very great. They "excel 
 in strength." In one night one angel de- 
 stroyed all the first-born of man and beast 
 among the Egyptians. In one night an angel 
 destroyed one hundred and eighty-five thou- 
 sand men in Sennacherib's army. So we read 
 in the Scriptures of "mighty angels." 
 
 Their glory is very great. In the days of 
 
 * Paul saj'^s, we are come to an innumerable company of 
 angels. 
 
116 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 John, one of these angels came down from 
 heaven, and his radiance shone with such 
 brightness that his glor}^ lighted the earth. 
 John thought it was an appearance of God 
 himself. No doubt if an angel should appear 
 in his unveiled glory in any assembly on 
 earth, they would all become as dead men. 
 
 The residence of these holy beings is 
 heaven. They are called angels of heaven. 
 Jacob saw them descending and ascending on 
 a ladder. Christ himself says, "They do 
 always behold the face of my Father which 
 is in heaven." 
 
 Angels never grow old. At the resurrec- 
 tion of our Saviour, an angel was seen in his 
 sepulchre and he looked like a young man, 
 though he was certainly more than four thou- 
 sand years old. 
 
 Angels know much. As they came from 
 the hand of God they had fine minds; and 
 they have alw^ays loved knowledge. They 
 have travelled a great deal and seen many 
 parts of the world. And then they have 
 thought much on what they have seen and 
 
ANGELS TAKE CARE OF CHILDREN. 117 
 
 heard. And they have always thought cor- 
 rectly. They are indeed not wise as compared 
 with God, for he chargeth his angels with 
 folly. But they are very wise compared with 
 men. 
 
 Angels feel a lively interest in the cause of 
 Christ. They always have done so. When 
 God brought his Son into the world, he said, 
 "Let all the angels of God worship him." 
 Before Christ was born he sometimes appeared 
 on earth with one or more of the angels with 
 him. Isaiah says that he saw in a vision the 
 Son of God worsliipped by the seraphim with 
 the greatest humility. An angel announced 
 his conception. Another announced his birth. 
 Many angels sang a song in the hearing of men 
 when Christ was born. After his temptation, 
 angels came and ministered unto him. In 
 his last dreadful agony, an angel strengthened 
 him. When he ascended to heaven, a great 
 number of angels received him. 
 
 The angels are ministering spirits, sent forth 
 to minister to them who shall be heirs of sal- 
 vation. Some have thought every saint had 
 
118 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 a guardian angel, who took special charge of 
 him. This may or may not be so. But every 
 child of God is cared for by the angels as 
 much as is necessary. God said to his people 
 that his angels should bear them up in their 
 hands lest at any time they should dash their 
 foot against a stone. The angel of the Lord 
 encampeth around about the dwelling of the 
 just. Angels repelled those wicked men who 
 assaulted the house of righteous Lot. Angels 
 help the pious to die. Angels bear the spirits 
 of the just to heaven. 
 
 But angels have a special care of children. 
 Matt, xviii. 10. Many a time would they 
 fall and be broken, but the angels hold them 
 up. When their father and mother are asleep, 
 the angels watch by their cradle and keep 
 harm at a distance. Many a house would be 
 burned down through the carelessness of its 
 inmates, if it were not for the angels. It is true 
 we cannot see them, but they can see us. We 
 know not when they are present with us, ex- 
 cept as we find so good care taken of us. We 
 do not thank them for their kindness, because 
 
ANGELS TAKE CARE OF CHILDREN. 119 
 
 they are God's servants. We thank God for 
 them. What they do for us, they do out of 
 love to God. They wish God to have all the 
 glory. They are not vain like poor foolish 
 men. 
 
 If we die in the faith, we shall be like unto 
 the angels. One text says, We shall be equal 
 unto the angels. We shall certainly be with 
 them and share the bliss they enjoy. It will 
 be a wonderful day when God will send forth 
 his angels to gather all his elect from the four 
 winds of heaven and bring them in to unite 
 in the marriage supper of the Lamb. Are we 
 so living as to prepare us for that great and so- 
 lemn account ? 
 
120 WORDS OF TEUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 XYII. 
 
 COUNSELS FOR CSILDMEN. 
 
 I. Live in peace. Hate all strife. It is a 
 dreadful thing to live at war with those around 
 us. Be kind to everybody. If you cannot 
 live quietly with any one of your com- 
 panions, withdraw from him. It is a sad 
 sight to see little boys and girls engaged in 
 disputes or quarrels. Jesus never quarreled 
 with any body. 
 
 II. Be very kind to the weak, the poor, 
 and the unfortunate around you. God, long 
 a o, said, "Ye shall not afflict any widow, or 
 fatherless child." Ex. xxii. 22. He also said, 
 "Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a 
 stumbling-block before the blind." Lev. xix. 
 14. It is both mean and wicked to take ad- 
 vantage of the infirmities and misfortunes of 
 those around us. 
 
COUNSELS FOR CHILDREN. 121 
 
 III. Use your best efforts to become wise. 
 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get 
 .wisdom. If you do not know a thing, ask 
 others. This is Scriptural. God said to the 
 Jews : " When your children shall say to you, 
 what mean ye by this service? ye shall say, 
 it is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover," &c. 
 We should think before we speak, and not 
 thoughtlessly ask silly questions; but if a 
 child never asks a question till he knows it is 
 wise, he will probably die a fool. Better is a 
 poor and wise child than an old and foolish 
 king. 
 
 IV. Watch your lips. Keep your tongue 
 from evil, and your mouth from speaking guile. 
 Life and death are in the power of the tongue. 
 Think before you speak. Ask yourself if it 
 is right for you to say anything; then try to 
 speak kindly and truly and soberly. It is a 
 sad sight to see a child uttering nothing but 
 folly. Childhood and youth spent in sin are a 
 great vanity. Beware of evil speaking. 
 
 V. Be not too fond of play. Life is a seri- 
 ous business. It is right that children should 
 
 11 
 
122 WOEDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 have their time to play. But some hate work 
 and hate their booivs, and love their ease and 
 would be glad to play all the time. Learn to 
 find your joy in doing your duty. It may be 
 hard for you to do some things, but try your 
 best, and by degrees they will become easier. 
 
 VI. Children sometimes have foolish and 
 wicked parents. Job tells of such: "They 
 were children of fools, yea, children of base 
 men. They were viler than the earth." Job 
 XXX. 8. If such is your case, your trials may 
 be very great. But do all you can to show a 
 meek and quiet spirit, a tender and loving 
 heart. If your parents are wicked, pray for 
 them the more. Ask God to forgive them. 
 If you yourself are a Christian, that does not 
 exempt you from the obligation of reverencing 
 your parents. 
 
 YII. Obey your parents. Obey them 
 promptly, cheerfully, in all things that are 
 lawful. I hope they would not command you 
 to do a wicked thing. If they should, you 
 must not do it. "Children, obey your parents 
 in the Lord : for this is right. Honour thy 
 
COUNSELS FOR CHILDREN. 123 
 
 father and mother; that it may be Avell with 
 thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth." 
 Eph. vi. 1-3. " Children, obey your parents 
 in all things: for this is well-pleasiiig unto 
 the Lord." Col. iii. 20. 
 
 YIII. As you grow up, try to put away 
 childish things, 1 Cor. xiii. 11. As it is a 
 shame for a child to ape the ways of old peo- 
 ple, so it is a shame for grown-up people to think 
 and speak and act like little children. 
 
 IX. Let your conduct towards God be very 
 humble. We are all sinners, and you are no 
 exception. God hates a lofty spirit. We 
 ought all to be humble, and never lift up our 
 heads in pride. 
 
 X. Be thankful to God. He has done a 
 great deal for you. What a mercy it is that 
 he did not let loose the passions of bad men 
 against you, as he did against those children 
 in Bethlehem, Avhen a voice was heard, lamen- 
 tation, and weeping, and great mourning, 
 Rachel weeping for her children and would 
 not be comforted, because they were not. 
 
 XL Be very kind and respectful to old 
 
124 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 people. N^ever make fun of them. Their 
 age itself should protect tliem. You remem- 
 ber the children that mocked the old prophet, 
 Elisha, crying, "Go up, thou bald-head; go 
 up, thou bald-head." And you remember 
 how God sent forth two she bears out of the 
 wood, and tore forty and two children of 
 them. Children may often be gay without 
 any sin ; but let them never make merry over 
 the ap})ea ranee or infirmities of old people, 
 and especially of aged ministers. 
 
 XII. Remember that however long you 
 nvjy live, you must die at last. You may 
 die even in childhood. David fasted and 
 went in and lay all night upon the earth and 
 prayed that hi^ 'ttle child might live. But it 
 died, and so m^;^ ^. .^. 
 
 XIII. Do all you can to be like Jesus 
 Christ. He was the best model that children 
 ever had. He is the best friend they now 
 have. When on earth, he cured sick children 
 just as he cured other people. Oh, that every 
 body, old and young, would trust the Saviour. 
 
 XIV. Xor is childhood any excuse for not 
 
COUNSELS FOR CHILDREN. 125 
 
 doing our duty. When God called Jeremiah 
 to do a great work, he begged to be excused, 
 saying, I am a child. But God said unto him, 
 "Say not 1 am a child." It is safe for old or 
 young to do anything that God bids them. 
 It is very unsafe for them not to do what he 
 commands. If God were to require any one 
 of us to rule a world, the only safe way for 
 us to do, would be honestly to try. We 
 may be young and ignorant, but let us not be 
 wicked and rebellious. Jeremiah gave up his 
 objection, made in undoubted modesty, and 
 went and did as God bade him. It is a pity 
 that so many plead their childhood to the 
 hurt of their own souls. 
 
 Sometimes when a child c ^' its sin against 
 God or man, he pleads as a^i ■ couse that he is 
 but a child. But to him that knoweth to do 
 good and doeth it not, to him it is sin, whether 
 he is old or young. Children must give ac- 
 count to God as well as others. His law binds 
 them fast. It is true they are not expected 
 to do the work of grown-up people; just as 
 grown men are not required to do the work of 
 11 * 
 
126 WORDS OF TRUTH AND LOVE. 
 
 angels. But let all do the best they can. Let 
 them hate sin and flee from evil. Let them 
 do right and seek truth and serve God and 
 obey their parents, and not plead that they 
 are too young to do these things. If they are 
 old enough to plead against doing their duty, 
 they are old enough to do it. 
 
 GOD THE GUIDE OF THE YOUNG. 
 ( Guide of all who trust in thee, 
 
 Condescend my friend to be, 
 Whilst I tread earth's pilgrimage 
 Through my youth to oldest age ; 
 Lord, attend me night and day, 
 Suffer not my feet to stray. 
 
 To my understanding show 
 What is for my good to know, 
 By thy teaching may I shun 
 Paths in which the wicked run j 
 Guide me in that better road 
 Leading up to thy abode. 
 
 Abba, Father, God of love. 
 From thy throne of light above, 
 'Midst the hymns thine angels raise, 
 'Mongst the songs which show thy praise, 
 Hear my feeble, humble plea, 
 In thy love remember me.