f 1 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. Shelf. .Ml6 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. FAITH, HOPE, LOVE DUTY DANIEL WISE, D.D. AUTHOR OF Path of Li/e^ Pleasant Pathways ^ Our King and Saviour^ etc. '* We may with e?ase Obedient be, for if we love we please ; Weak though we are, to love is no hard task, And love for love is all that heaven does ask." Edmund Waller lA^ NEW YORK: HUNT &= EA TON CINCINNATI: CRANSTON &= STOWE 1S91 Copyright, 1891, by HUNT & EATON, New York. PREFATORY NOTE. The following paragraphs are illustrative and explanatory of many precious truths con- cerning the faith whereby men are saved, the affections which grow out of that faith, and the morality which is its necessary fruit. They embody many pithy expressions of great truths by the inspired penmen, by poets, by philosophers, and by Christian writers. They were originally written at the request of my dear departed friend. Rev. Dr. Brad- ford K. Peirce, and appeared through several years as editorials in the columns of the Ziojis He7'ald^ of which he was then the admired and beloved editor. He assured me fre- quently, both in person and by letter, that these brief notes were spiritually and morally helpful to many of his readers, who often iv Prefatory Note. wrote him to that effect. Their publication in this volume is a result of that assurance. God having already made them instruments of good to many, it is reasonable to hope that he will condescend to use them again, " as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies." In this hope they have been selected from many others of like character, revised, suitable titles have been given to each, and they are now commended to devout Christian readers with earnest prayer that they may be as a light to some who sit in the gloom of temptation, a guide to wander- ers in the maze of perplexity, a help to the weak, and songs in the night to sons and daughters of affliction. Go forth, little book, into the busy world, and may God help thee to fulfill thy mission! Daniel Wise. Englewood, N. J. CONTENTS, I. FAITH. I'AGE The Spirit of Faith. . 5 Faith and Love 8 Certitude of Faith. . . 8 Little Faith 9 Desperate Faitli. ... 12 A Hungry Cry 13 Spiritual Eye-sight., ig Garments of Beauty. 22 Not an Untrodden Path 34 Source of Spiritual Life 35 Rahab's Scarlet Cord. 43 Come Forth 46 Faith Flowing into Work 67 Earnest Seeking for Pardon 70 Life's Cloudy Days. . 73 Comfortless Despair. 80 When Fear Perishes. 81 One's Distance from God 85 Nobdity of Character. 88 Superficial Profes- sions 99 Hermit Lives 106 Pictures of Sin 107 Looking the Wrong Way 109 His Own Star 109 Imaginary Trouble. . 112 Finger-posts in Nat- ure 116 Death as Seen by Faith 119 What God Wishes.. 121 The Egg of Unbelief. 138 What We Cannot See 158 Irrepressible Men. . . 159 Fitness to Die 164 Soul Whiteness 165 Evil Thoughts 166 Correct Self-valua- tion 168 Our Whitest Pearls. . 172 Self-introspection.... 173 VI Contents. A False Belief 184 A Telling Poinl 188 The Treacherous Calm 190 The Gift and Its Giver 191 Painful Apprehen- sion 193 Pillars or Reeds. . . . 195 A Precious Ornament. 199 A Seeming Paradox. 198 Gnawing Anxiety... 199 A Quick Temper, . . 201 The Look of the Heart 202 Saving Faith 210 Petty Trials 212 A Prayer of Faith. . . 218 Atheistic Socialism. . 220 Bearing Fruit For- ever 221 PAGE The Faith-times 222 A Satanic Sugges- tion 231 A Sacred Bridge. . . . 244 Luther and Erasmus. 246 A Foolish Disciple. . 249 Doing a Great Deed. 252 Stepping into Light. 265 Vagrant Thoughts. . 266 A Priceless Posses- sion 268 A Source of Sin 291 A Graceful Orna- ment 292 That Precious BK)od . 294 Painful Struggles... 294 Sore Vexed 298 Letting in a Wolf. . . 299 A Critical Moment. . 300 Why Does Prayer Dis- gust You? 302 ir. HOPE. Alone, yet Not Alone. 1 1 The Thought of Death 32 Unrecognized Lives. 38 A Good Man's Rich- es 40 Drawing Checks on God's Riches 41 Summit of Creature Perfection 58 Heavenly Minded- ness 64 Contents. vn 79 85 91 95 In the Shepherd's Bosom 65 Affliction a Blessing. 66 A Spoiled Life 69 Things that Survive. 72 Guarded from wStum- bling Sense of Senseless- ness Happy Old Age. . . . A Despairing Cry. . . Living in the Present. 103 A Verbal Contradic- tion 105 An Unclouded Real- ity Ill The Folded Tent.. . iii Heaven's Sweetest Pleasure 116 No Satiety in Heav- en The Bubble Reputa- tion What is Your Influ- ence? 146 142 143 PAGE His Death-warrant. . 149 The Soul's Seed- time 151 Planning for the Future 152 Not Loath to Die. . . 157 Greeting the Sunrise. 166 In Pursuit of Shad- ows 171 A Leap in the Dark. 175 The Heavenly Rest. 182 The Day of God... 192 Sick Unto Death . . . 208 Moral Loveliness. . . 227 An Ecstatic Cry. . . . 228 The Forgotten Dead. 230 Looking Backward. . 232 Be Patient 2.0 The Battle-ground. . 243 Mount, My Soul. . . . 247 Within the Gates... 282 Where is Heaven?.. 286 An Open Window. . 290 Our First Moment in Heaven 303 III. LOVE. Sweetness of Christ's Love 7 The Prayer of Si- lence 9 Rest in Christ 13 Struggling After Light 22 Fellowship of Love. 27 Vlll Contents. PAGE The Secret of the Lord , 27 Union with Christ.. 33 Reverent Love 48 The Blessed Life. ... 54 Unrestrained Emo- tion Hurtful 62 Christian Manners. . 63 The Enjoyment of God 78 A Grave Mistake. ... 84 Sour Godliness ..... 95 The Soft Answer. . . 97 Thy Darling Child. . i-Oi At the Drownings point 104 Fickle as the Wind, no Death is Beautiful., 113 Dethroning Self. ... 117 The Shame of ^elf. . 124 A Precious Offer- ing 134 A Dying Maiden's Whisper 142 Divine . Condescen- sion 145 Heaven's Own Sweet- ness 156 Ideal Perfection. . . . 160 Coke's Persuasive Power. 162 An Ugly Smutch. ... 163 PACK Taking Root Down- ward 169 Forbidden Marriages 170 Our Rude Bad Thoughts 174 Divine Graciousness. 177 Deadened, Not Healed 178 A Two-edged Sword 181 The Ungrateful Man 183 The Sacrilegious Man 184 Vexatious Days .... 186 Madame Guyon's Se- cret 194 Hidden Beauty 199 Virtue that Shines. . . 202 The Ideal Home... 205 Undecided Converts. 206 A Fairy Ring 211 From God to God. . . 214 Moral Beauty 215 Our Harsh Judg- ments 216 No Other Name. . . . 232 Near Fire 232 Eye of God's Word. . 236 A Garden of Beauty. 239 Spiritual Beauty.... 240 Christ's Brightness. . 241 A False Whisper. . . . 242 A Necklace of Brill- iants 254 Contents. IX PAGE I Arabian Wisdom. ., . 256 He is Praying for ^le 256 Out of Tune 257 Worth Remembering 259 Devotion and Good- ness 261 Life's Sublimest Mo- ment 262 Marvelous Love. . . . 263 Eating One's Own Heart 270 TAGE One-eyed Christians. 271 The Famous Stone. . 273 The Light of Pure Deeds 275 More God-likeness. . 276 A Dreaded Scourge. 27S The Sweetest W^ord. 2S1 A Preacher's Power. 2S8 A Blessed Watch- phrase 2S9 Shine On 295 IV. D Pleading for God's Visits 6 Loathing Sin 7 Thine Forever 21 Getting Near to God . 29 A Special Provi- dence 30 The Heart's Sweetest Music 31 Wrong Affections. . . 32 The Holy Spirit's Tenderness 36 Christ's Voiceful Presence 37 One Zealous Man. . . 39 Satanic Owls and Bats 40 A Wise Man's Plome. 41 UTY. Feeding on God's Word 44 Seeing God in His Word 45 A Child-like Heart. . 47 The Lifirmitics of Friends 49 A Singular Epitaph. 51 That Will Do 52 Bread of Idleness. . . 53 Ups and Downs. ... 53 Working Churches. . 55 Incongruous Affec- tions 56 Not at Home to God. 57 The Waiting Com- forter 58 Contents. I'AGE Declining Spiritual- ity 59 Vain Oblations 6i Really Fighting Sin. 66 The Poison of Re- venge 67 The Best Revenge. . 72 God's Messenger. ... 75 A Social Bore 75 Anniversaries of the Heart 77 A Mistaken :^>Ian. . . 7S Shunning the Light. 82 A Good Hater 83 Ashes in the Moulh. 84 One Must Work or Sin 86 Book-faith 88 True Courage 89 Parting with the Bible 93 A Golden Sentence. 96 Satan's Devices 98 Death Forgets Not Thee 99 The Law of Service. 102 Sin's Avenging Angel 103 A Shocking Prayer. . 107 The Highest Point of Honor 114 Sin and the News- papers iiS PAGE Clown or King?. ... 119 Painful Death-scenes 120 Our Hearths are Altars 122 Way-side Flowers. . . 124 A Marvelous Feat.. 126 The Vulture of Re- gret 127 The Living Worm. . 128 Dangerous Border- lands 129 Self-ruined 131 Sad Memories 131 The Spell of Sin. ... 132 Pure as Vet 135 Ruined Palaces 136 A Disguised King. . 138 God's Paymasters. . . 139 Agnostic Folly. . . . , 141 Trunk Vices 141 The Greatest of Fol- lies 147 Hell in the Heart. . . 147 A Mischievous Maxim 148 Self-blinded Men... 153 Unhappy Idlers. ... 154 Tongues of Calumny. 156 A Hard Hit i6r Let Him Alone 176 False Men 179 Judging INIen Has- tily 179 Contents. XI Conduct and Charac- ter I Si At the Grave's 'M^y- gii^ 1S7 Mercantile Honor. . . 187 Grieving the Churcii . 1S9 P^ffects of Self-conceit. 192 The Dissatistied Man 197 An Awful Gift 204 Affrighted Truth. . . 207 A Manly Utterance. 209 Praising the Dead. . 213 Call of the Spirit 2iS Haunted Houses. . . 219 False Lips 221 Risking One's Moral- ity 223 Hypocritical Prayers. 224 A Wasted Life 225 An Insane Theory. . 226 Broken Vows 234 Pursuing Day-dreams 236 An Irreparable Deed 237 A Life-long Journey. 245 Infinite Sweetness. . 248 The Appetite for Praise 251 I'AGE An Appalling Spec- tacle 253 Power of Simple Words 260 A Precious Tear- drop 264 A Precept Rarely Kept 267 Profitable yet Un- profitable 269 Malignant Insanity. 272 Contemptuous Dis- pleasure 274 A Fecund Vice 276 What a Man is 277 A Tangling Veil. . . . 278 A Vain Man's Mu- sic 279 By-path Meadow... 281 Clean Lips 284 Satan's Emljassadors. 285 Bait for Satan's Hook 285 Insignificant Deeds. 287 Spiritual Suicide. . . . 290 A Pregnant Question 296 Letting in a Wolf. . . 299 Sin Has Two Faces. 304 FAITH, HOPE, LOVE, DUTY. THE SPIRIT OF NowHERE outside of Holy FAITH. ^yj.j^ -g ^Yie spirit of the faith whereby one is saved more strongly expressed than in the utterances of the Hon of the Ref- ormation, Martin Luther. Here is one of his cries: " FeeHng thy terrors, O Lord, I plunge my conscience in the wounds, blood, death, resurrection, and victory of my Saviour, Christ. Beside him I will see nothing, I will hear nothing." We commend this strong cry to any awakened sinner who may read it. Sincerely, earnestly uttered, it would bring Jesus into his soul and enable him to adopt the following beautiful declaration of faith victorious: ^' I am covered under the shadow of Christ's wing, as is the chicken under the wing of the hen, and dwell without any fear under that most ample heaven of the forgive- ness of sins." Paul Gerhardt, who put the 6 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. faith of the Reformation into tender and sub- lime poetry, sings his own and Luther's trust in the following equally clear and telling words: *' Death's poison cannot harm me now, Thy blood new life bestowing ; My shadow from the heat art Thou, When the noontide is glowing. And when by inward grief oppressed, My aching heart in thee shall rest As a tired head on the pillow. Should storms of persecution toss, Firm anchored by thy saving cross, My bark rests on the billow." PLEADING FOR ^R. JONES VeRY, in his GOD'S VISITS, s^veet little poem entitled ^'The Prayer," pleads for the visit of God to his soul in these earnest lines: **Come, for I need Thy love More than the flowers the dew, or grass the rain ; Come gently as thy holy dove ; And let me in thy sight rejoice to live again." And he closes his poetic prayer with these words of faith: *' Yes, Thou will visit me ; Nor plant nor tree thine eyes delight so well, As when, from sin set free. My spirit loves with thine in peace to dwell." Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 7 The poet sings truly. God does take loving delight in those who obey him, for hath not Jesus said, " If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." O blessed words ! O strong foun- dation for Christian faith I SWEETNESS OF There is no sweetness like CHRIST'S LOVE. ^^^ sweetness of Christ's love. There is no peace like the peace of God. There is no presence so precious to a believer as the presence of Christ. To live with him is life indeed ; to be bereft of him is death. Hence this prayer by Keble gives fit expres- sion to the feeling of every real Christian: '* Abide with me from morn till eve, For without Thee I cannot live; Abide with me when night is nigh, For without thee I dare not die." He who would loathe sin LOATHING SIN. , i . With perfect loathmg must contemplate the beauty of holiness as it blooms in the life of the pure-souled Son of man. The perception of this truth is well 8 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. expressed by David Gray» a Scotch poet whose brief earthly Hfe was only ^' a morning with no noon." In one of his ^' Sonnets in the Shadow " he sings: ' ' The gross, adhesive loathsomeness of sin Give me to see. Yet, O far more, far more. That beautiful purity which the saints adore In a consummate paradise within The veil. O Lord, upon my soul bestow An earnest of that purity here below." FAITH AND Faith does not give birth LOVE. ^Q ^YiQ love in which it trusts; . it only lays hold upon it. When man*s faith is feeble heaven's love remains absolute and immeasurable as ever. It is still an everlast- ing love, wooing men to make it their hiding- place from danger, their banqueting-house in which to satisfy their spiritual hunger. There is no limit to that love but man's unbelief, and it flows, an unintermittent stream, to every trusting heart. certitude of OisiE great element of power FAITH. {j^ ^]^Q apostles was the certi- tude with which they taught the great fact Faith, Hope, Loye, Duty, 9 of the resurrection of their Lord, They were absolutely certain on that point. They had seen him, heard him, touched his hands, until they had no lingering doubt No won- der, therefore, that they impressed their knowledge on the minds of their hearers Vv'ith such force that it gave birth in them to a faith which the Holy Spirit made self-demon- strative by causing it to bring forth the fruit of righteousness, peace, and joy. To be suc- cessful the modem preacher needs a similar certainty. He must have arrived at a ^' cer- titude from which, as from a rock, he can draw up his hearers from among the waves of perplexity and unrest." But such a certi- tude can be gained by nothing less than a faith which lives among the unseen things of the spiritual world. If doubt and a carnal mind preach in the pulpit there will surely be spiritual death in the pew. THE PRAYER ^'^^ mystics recommcnd the OF SILENCE, practice of '' the prayer of si- lence; " that is, of a state of mind so exalted, lo Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. so rapt, that it breathes in strong, unspoken desire ^^the prayer which comprehends all other prayers " — Thy will be done! This silent breathing of the soul after God is a blessed exercise of the heart, provided it be not carried to such excess as to exclude vocal prayer. The late Dean Stanley, who was far from being a mystic, observed that " by acts of silent goodness, by a humble faith that does not express itself in speech, the presence of God is often as surely indicated as in the actual calling on his name in prayer and praise." Charles Wesley describes this sweet frame of mind in these lines: *' O'erwhelmed with Thy stupendous grace, 1 shall not in thy presence move ; But breathe unutterable praise, And rapturous awe and silent love." Little faith may be as truly LITTLE FAITH. faith as great faith, just as the light of dawn is as truly sunlight as is the light of noon. Hence though great faith is desirable and attainable, yet none should de- spise a little faith. To a lady whose trust Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. ii was feeble. Dr. Chalmers wrote: '' Let this thought, that God cannot lie, keep in conscious safety the heart of every one who looketh to Jesus. They who look shall be saved. The sun is often faintly seen through a cloud, but the spectator may be no less looking to him than when he is seen in undiminished efful- gence. It is not to him who sees Christ brightly that the promises are made, but to him who looks to Christ." Therefore let him whose faith is feeble be of good cheer. Faith saves; and his faith, being genuine, is sure to grow. ALONE YET V\'hen a man stands on the NOT ALONE, summit of threescore and ten years, looking backward toward the days of his early manhood and recalling the compan- ions who started with him in the years that are no more, he is apt to be shocked and sad- dened by a feeling of loneliness. ^^ So many gone, so few left ! " he exclaims. Yes, the images of his departed friends rise before him as an army of shadows. Those who remain 12 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. look like the skeleton of a regiment at the close of a long campaign. And then, when the black-bordered letter or the tell-tale news- paper brings tidings that this or that one of the late remaining few is also gone, he feels as the poet did when he sadly sung, "Death's lightnings strike to right and left of me, And like a ruined wall the world around me Crumbles away, and I am left alone." Yet not alone, for the Master of death is still with him. His old friends, too, though gone, are not lost. They draw his thoughts to heaven, where they are waiting to bid him welcome — to that heaven now seen to be so near that he becomes more profoundly con- vinced than ever that, as the dying Jeremy Taylor said, '* The whole business of life is preparation for death." DESPERATE When a much-temptcd lady FAITH. ^y^g struggling for the light of faith she said in her heart, ^' If Jesus, in whom I trust, bore all my sins in his own body on the tree, then God cannot be merciful Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 13 and just to send my soul to hell; I shall never go there ! " This faith saved her. With its exercise the scales fell from her eyes. She saw Jesus. Peace and love filled her heart. Her faith was desperate, but it conquered. REST IN ^' ^ WILL givc you rest," is CHRIST. ^Y^Q promise of Jesus to the weary-hearted. Rest from the pangs of guilt, from the tumult of passion, from the cravings of soul-hunger, from the gnawings of dissatis- faction with the results of earthly good. Rest in Christ is happiness. Our divine Christ, being the author and end of all created things, can alone give the repose which follows per- fect satisfaction to every creature who will lean his aching head on his infinite breast. Therefore, O tried soul, let your heart cry out, ^' O Jesus, give me rest! " A HUNGRY The extreme simplicity of ^^^* faith as a condition of salva- tion is not seldom a source of stumbling to strong minds; but it is a marvelous mercy to the mass of mankind. Neither reason nor 14 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. imagination can conceive of any other act that is so surely within the power of all. It is as possible to the unlettered barbarian as to the cultivated philosopher. George Her- bert, in his quaint poem on Faith, says: " If bliss had been in art or strength, None but the wise or strong had gained it ; Where now, by faith, all arms are of a length One size doth all conditions fit. ** A peasant may believe as much As a great clerk, and reach the highest stature. Thus dost thou make proud knowledge bend and crouch, While grace fills up uneven nature." In the same poem he illustrates faith by vari- ous figures of speech. He was ^'hungry and had no meat,'* he says, but by believing he had a delicious feast he did eat and was filled. Again, he was lame and needed an " out- landish root." He believed that root was given him, and was cured. Once more he sings : " I owed thousands, and much more; I did believe that I did nothing owe, And lived accordingly ; my creditor Believes so too, and lets me go." Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 15 "O, for faith, much faith, and still more faith! " should be the hungry cry of every earnest heart. THE SPIRITUAL Healthy people never APPETITE. grow weary of eating and drinking every day, because nature daily re- vives their appetite. But for this, as Pascal suggests, they would weary of eating and drinking. In like manner we should weary of spiritual thoughts and enjoyments if the Holy Spirit did not, by his quickening influence, re- vive our appetite for them. What nature does for the bodily appetite the Spirit does for the spiritual. Hence if one lives in constant fel- lowship with that Holy Comforter one will never lose that hungering and thirsting after righteousness which the Master pronounced *^ blessed," because it is sure to be gratified. *' They shall be filled " — filled with divine love, with every human virtue, with purity. STEADFAST ^^ STEADFAST faith produces FAITH. g^ frame of mind habitually joy- ous, for the reason that its eye is constantly i6 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. fixed, not on itself nor on the human side of life, but on the '^mercies of God" as flowing like a perennial stream from the love of Christ. Chr}^sostom gave unique, yet beautiful, expression to this thought when he said: "All times are a festival to the Chris- tian through the exceeding abundant mercy conferred upon him. For what blessings have not been given thee ? The Son of God hath delivered thee from death, he hath called thee unto the kingdom. How then canst thou who receivest so many good things neglect to celebrate thy whole life as a festival ? Let no one therefore be cast down on account of poverty, or sickness, or persecution; for we live in a continual festival.** ROOT OF TRUE The difference between gen- viRTUE. yj^g virtue, which has its roots in the divine presence dwelling in the heart, and the empty conventional virtue which is rooted in selfishness, is beautifully illustrated in these lines from Shakespeare: Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 17 'The canker-blossoms have full as deep a dye As the perfumed tincture of the roses. Hang on such thorns and play as wantonly When summer breath their masked bud discloses ; But, for their virtue only is their show, They live unwooed, and unrespected fade. Die to themselves. Sweet roses do not so, Of their sweet deaths are sweetest odors made." How true it is that even among men nothing but sterling worth wins lasting respect! And at the bar of heaven's judgment all sham vir- tue will be covered with everlasting shame and contempt. THE JOYOUS The life of a believer is a LIFE. cheerful, joyous life. There may be seasons when nervous affections, ex- traordinary trials, or unusually fierce tempta- tions will temporarily depress him, but he cannot be habitually gloomy or sad. A\Tier- ever sadness does reign over a Christian's life, there must be some defect either in his creed or his loyalty to Christ. There is so much in the truth which is the root of faith to beget gladness, such an exhibition of God's infinite love to man in the incarnation of Christ, such i8 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. rich consolation flowing from the indweUing Comforter, such causes for gratitude in the mercies of his daily life, such visions of beauty evoked by the promises of coming glory, that one who really embraces God by faith can scarcely prevent his heart from bubbling over with joy. Paul gave the key- note of a true Christian life when he said to the church at Philippi, ^' Rejoice in the Lord alway; and again I say. Rejoice! " And Lu- ther echoed this sweetest bird-note when he said to the first-born sons of the Reformation, ** Dear Christian people, all rejoice, Each soul with joy upspringiiig ; Pour forth one song with heart and voice. With love and gladness singing. Give thanks to God, our Lord above, Thanks for his miracle of love ! Dearly he hath redeemed us." LOVE AND The emotion of love in the KNOWLEDGE. Christian's heart is a rill that flows out of his knowledge of God, ^' This is eternal life," said Jesus, " to know God and his Son Jesus Christ." Hence he who would put forth the act of faith must not look Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 19 at himself, but at God as self-revealed in Jesus Christ. Richard Baxter well says: *' For every thought one casts downwardly upon himself he should cast ten upwardly and outwardly upon Jesus and upon the glorious truths of the Gospel." Look steadily, there- fore, at Jesus, O seeking soul, as the propi- tiation for thy sins, as the expression of his Father's infinite love for thee, and even while thou lookest, lo! thy heart will swell with a responsive love for him, and thou wilt be ready to exclaim with the poet, " O awful joy I O life divine ! O bliss too great, too full ! Earth, man, heaven, angels, all are thine, And thou art God's, my soul ! " SPIRITUAL Every man who beholds EYE-SIGHT. . Christ with the eye of faith is transformed into his glorious image. He ex- periences in part that mystic transformation which is to be completed when Christ '^ shall appear;" when, as John says, "we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." Yet such is the effect of reigning sin that an un- 20 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. renewed man, instead of being charmed and attracted, is pained when he looks at Christ. He turns away in disgust from the Saviour's pure Gospel and from his glorious person. Alas for such a man! In rejecting Christ he refuses the only means by which his man- hood can grow into completeness. Living without Christ he is a fruitless tree, a flower- less plant, a cloud without water, a wander- ing star, a homeless child for whom " is re- served the blackness of darkness forever." O strange infatuation! that keeps him from going to the Redeemer who waits to give him rest, peace, fruitfulness, spiritual beauty, light, and a home in his Father's house. Still more strange is that compassionate love which, instead of inflicting instant punish- ment, waits, woos, and entreats, that obstinate sinner, ever saying, " You will not come unto me, that you might have life." Yet note it well, O unbelieving man! Your persistent unbelief may wear out even his marvelous patience, and when your destiny is finally fixed you may in your despair hear him say- Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 21 ing, " Behold, your house is left unto you desolate! " To which lamentation over your fate you will be self-moved to respond, *' Yea, and that, too, by my own mad unbelief." THINE FOR- " ^ ^^^ thine forever," is the EVER. confession every new-born soul makes to his beloved Redeemer, with whom he has just entered into a ///>-/^;/^ cove- nant. He knows full well that his Lord makes no limited covenant with any soul, nor has he himself any thought of being a short-time dis- ciple, ^* Thine forever! " is the language of his love, and, it being so, he withdraws at once from all his old sins and from his sinful companions who will not join him in his Lord's service. As Cortez in Mexico burnt his ships to cut off all means of retreat, so he, if earnest and sincere, dissolves every possi- ble connection with his old sins, resolved to hold fast to his covenant watchword until he enters heaven, where he will cry in rapturous bliss, " Now I am forever with my Lord! " But the convert who hesitates to do this, 22 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty, secretly thinking that he may possibly return to his evil ways, presumes, and is like Lot's wife, who, turning to look on her burning home, was lost! GARMENTS OF ^HE Jewish high-priest, BEAUTY. when he ministered within the Holy of Holies, arrayed himself in gar- ments of '^beauty and glory," kept sacred for that especial use. Alluding to those gar- ments, David says, '^ Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." And this every Chris- tian does when he approaches the throne of grace clothed in *' the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ upon all that beUeve." At that throne the song of all believers is, '^ Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God, ... to him be glory and dominion forever and ever." STRUGGLING ^RT thou Struggling, O man, AFTER LIGHT, ^ftcr brighter light, greater Strength, and sweeter rest in Christ ? And art Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 23 thou discouraged because, as thy foolish heart falsely tells thee, God does not answer thy prayers? Not answering thy prayers? What then mean these strugglings, aspira- tions, and questionings vdiich give character to thy present experiences ? Whence come they but from his movements on thy soul ? What are they but evidences that he is act- ively guiding thee from thyself to himself ? And what are those gleams of light which occasionally give thee sudden insight into, and enlarged conception of, some great truth but partly understood before ? God not guiding thee ^ Put away the unbelieving thought; give him thy hand as thy child gives his to thee; commit thyself wholly to his keeping, and be persuaded that what you give to him he will faithfully keep unto the glorious end of thy pilgrimage and for evermore. Thus believing, thy heart, instead of complaining, will sing, " Jesus, the fragrance of the heart, The only fount of truth thou art. Who dost true life and joy impart. Surpassing all desire." 24 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. THE HOLY The testimony of a man's LIFE. |^£g jg vastly better evidence of the purity of his character than even ecsta- sies in his last moments. As a question of fact many very holy men are not favored with visions of glory on their death-beds. Some, indeed, approach the gate of death through dense mental clouds, and by a path so filled with the sharpest thorns of physical disease that " Sorrow is in their souls ; they scarce perceive, But by the pains they suffer, that they Jive," The dying hours of John Walsh, one of Wes- ley's most learned and devoted helpers, were thus agonizing. Extreme pain, fierce tempta- tions, trying environments, forced his great soul to the verge of despair. His biographer says, with pardonable exaggeration: •'His agonizing soul sweat blood ; With Christ he fainted on the tree, And cried, in death, ' My God, my God, Ah ! why hast thou forsaken me ? ' " Yet he was not really forsaken, for, as his end approached, he was cheered by a heavenly Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 25 sunburst which filled his soul with ravishing delight and moved him to cry, " He is come ! He is come ! My Beloved is mine, and I am his — his forever ! " Thus shouting, his soul ascended to the realm eternal. But none that knew him living would have doubted of his salvation had he died under the cloud instead of in that sunburst of spiritual glory ! His holy life, apart from his dying words, told the story of his safety in and after death. BETTER THAN One does not need to study MONEY. ^i^Q ethjcs of Christ to learn that a pure character is worth more than money. Aristotle, though only a heathen philosopher, knew that. He is credited with saying: '' Make money if you will, but let it be your second object, not your first. En- deavor first to be good, and money enough will follow." Yet many modern Christians to whom a greater than Aristotle is constantly saying with divine authority, " Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you,*' 26 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. are found offering the purity of their charac- ters as a sacrifice on the filthy altars of mam- mon. How they commit this self-destructive crime is well shown by Shakespeare in the speech which he puts into the mouth of Lady Macbeth, whose husband stands shrinking from the crime he must commit before he can place the crown of Scotland on his own head. She says to him, *' Thou wouldst be great Without the illness should attend it. What thou wouldst highly, That wouldst thou holily ; wouldst not play false, And yet wouldst wrongly win." These lines lay bare the heart of the man who through covetous desire stains his life with violations of the trusts reposed in him by his friends. At the start he intends to win the golden prize "holily.'* He has no intention "to play false;" yet by constantly feeding his covetous desire he finally gives it power over his dread of guilt, and consents to win the wealth within his reach by doing at last the wrong he feared to do at first. -Let him who would escape this wreck of his purity Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 27 avoid the first aspirations of covetous desire by giving Christ the first place in his affections. FELLOWSHIP "^^^ fellowship of the be- OFLOVE. lie^gj. ^y[^^ the Father of spirits is a fellowship of love, of which re- vealed truth is the medium. On its divine side is the Holy Spirit impressing on the man's heart the fact of God's love as shown in the gift of his Son. On the man's side this amaz- ing fact is so taken into his life by faith that it begets a responsive love, which exclaims, ^^ I love thee, O Lord, because thou didst first love me ! " In this fellowship the believer's life develops into aspirations after purity, and thus love becomes, in the words of Bailey, *' The heart's deep gulf stream, that with warm wave Sun- gilded, soothes the abysses of our life, and makes us feel. In loving God, the soul re-seeks its source, Being to being answering, name to name." THE SECRET OF " The Secret of the Lord THE LORD. ig ^yi^Y^ ^}^gj^ ^Yia.t fear him," yet none in the busy crowd among Avhom they move in the noisy street know what is 2S Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. passing in their hearts. An American citizen in a foreign city, seeing the meteor flag of his native land floating at the mast-head of a ship, is inwardly moved, by the associations it revives, to patriotic feelings, to emotions of love, to fond anticipations of his return to the joys and repose of his fireside. But of these secret thoughts the people about him know nothing. To them the flag of his country is but as one flag among many others. They meddle not with the secret joys it kindles within his swelling breast. It is even so with the secret of the Tord in a good man's breast. He walks the streets like other men. Yet while their thoughts are of things visible and earthly his are of God and things unseen. He sees God in every thing about him. God is communing with him, feasting him on holy thoughts, quickening his spiritual aspirations, comforting him with assurances of his sonship and with visions of his incorruptible inheri- tance. Happy therefore, and safe also, is he who possesses the secret of the Lord's pres- ence ! But inasmuch as this priceless secret is Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 29 offered as a free gift to all men is it not more than folly for any man to slight that gracious offer ? Busy searching for a grain of sand, such a one rejects the proffer of an imper- ishable crown. GETTING NEAR ^i' ^^ easy to Say to our be- TO GOD. io^.e(i Redeemer, " Thy will be done," when we stand with him on the Mount of Transfiguration; but who that is groaning with him in the gloomy garden of suffering can say with Keble, " O Lord, my God, do thou thy holy will — I will be still — Will not stir, lest I forsake thine arm And break the charm Which lulls me, clinging to my father's breast, In perfect rest." Yet, as Jesus in his agony comes nearer to our hearts than when in his transfiguration, so we get nearer to him in submission to trial than in our happier moments. Pray, there- fore, O child of sorrow, for perfect submis- sion to thy fiery trial ! There is no rest for thee but in thy consent to cry with Christ, ''Thy will be done!" 30 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. A SPECIAL '' Sue was a special provi- PROVIDENCE, (ience to me," wrote the late Earl of Shaftesbury concerning his father's housekeeper, Maria Millas. He explains his meaning by stating that this good woman had almost the entire care of him until he was seven years old, when she died. Yet such was the impression she made upon him in those few years that toward the close of his truly noble life this greatly good man said: " I must trace, under God, very much, per- haps all, of the duties of my later life to her precepts and her prayers." What a striking testimony is this confession to the fidelity of an obscure Christian woman ! And what a grand result it wrought ! As is well-known, Shaftesbury's nobility of birth, represented by his earl's coronet, when placed beside the moral grandeur of his character, was but as a glow-worm to a star. Through his long life his supreme devotion to works of ben- evolence gave him an undisputed right to say, " Write me as one that loves his fellow-men." His deeds gave light, hope, comfort, and ele- Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 31 vation to many thousands who were born heirs to an inheritance of poverty and woe. And those deeds were the precious fruits of the influence of a servant in his father's house- hold. What a splendid star that good earl will be in the crown of the glorified !Maria Millas, his mother's servant ! And how forci- bly does Maria's success say to ever}^ woman who has the care of a child, " Make thyself a * special providence ' to this child ! It is clay; be thou its potter. Mold it for God! " As harp-strings refuse to dve THE HEART'S . SWEETEST forth their best and sweetest MUSIC. . ., , uii 1 music until they are firmly struck and tightly bound,** " So the hearts of Christians owe Each its sweetest, deepest strain To the pressure firm of woe, And the tension tight of pain." Therefore, O thou who art suffering under divine chastenings which are not joyous but grievous, be of good cheer, seeing that these pains and woes patiently borne will bring forth the '' peaceable fruit of righteousness." 32 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. They are seeds destined to bring forth flowers whose beauty and odors will delight the Lord thy King. WRONG Wrong affections, or love AFFECTIONS, f^r things forbidden, steal into the heart like sneak-thieves into dwell- ings. Like hypocrites they whisper flattering words to the passions and desires, asking, not for permanent possession, but only for tem- porary lodgings. But, once admitted, they soon supplant the disciple's love for his Mas- ter and rob him of his faith, love, peace, joy, and hope. Knowing this, the believer should give heed to that divine voice which ever warns him, saying, "Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation ! " THE THOUGHT When the dart of death OF DEATH. suddenly pierces friend after friend, and a busy Christian is thereby forci- bly reminded that the last enemy may be tracking his own footsteps, he, being in the full heyday of bustling life, may for the mo- ment shudder at the thought. But why need Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. ^^ a good man fear the fatal stroke which cuts the cord of life ? The blow will only set him free to go " To that distant land For whose sweet waters he has pined with thirst.*' And why need he shrink from laying down his burden to-day any more than in some future hour ? He has but to turn his thoughts awhile from the busy present to the glorious life that bides his crossing the mystic stream, to lose his reluctance to die now, and to feel, as Paul did, "a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better " than toiling longer amid the hubbub of this whirligig world. For a good man " to live is Christ, to die is gain." UNION WITH KvERV belicver is united CHRIST. ^^.j^j^ Christ as a branch is to a vine. This is Christ's own statement, and cannot be gainsaid. No Christian can even desire to deny it, since his own purity depends on his union with his divine Master. Says a living writer: ** Sin, which is the separation of the soul from God, is abolished by the very 54 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. hypothesis of reunion with God in Christ; and with the abolition of sin there is no place found for the law and death; they vanish with sin itself. Union with Christ is not the exclu- sive privilege of souls departed; it is the power of our endless life brought into the life that now is." Hence he who is one with Christ can sing with the poet, " Love perfecteth what it begins ; Thy power doth save me from my sins ; Thy grace upholdeth me. This life of trust, how glad, how sweet ! My need and thy great fullness meet, And I have all in thee." When one who loves Christ NOT AN UN- TRODDEN thinks of death he is recon- PATH. ciled to the struggles which must precede the getting rid of one's mortal coil by recollecting that to die is " to be with Christ." Such a one knows that it is " His royal will That w^here he is there should his followers be. Death only lies between. A gloomy path ! Made yet more gloomy by our coward fears, But not untrod or tedious." Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 35 Not untrodden , but passed over by the Master's feet ! Why, then, should the behever fear to die ? Faith makes his life dehghtful, but to him ** death is gain." Thou art welcome, therefore, O death, when thy Master sends thee to lead me home ! After exhaustino; their skill SOURCE OF ^ SPIRITUAL in efforts to prove the theory LIFE. of- spontaneous generation the materialists of our day have been com- pelled to concede that " life invariably comes from life." As noted by a recent writer, this law of nature has a striking parallel in the law of spiritual regeneration as stated in these words of the Master of life: "He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son hath not life." Hence the Scripture theory of regeneration cannot be objected to as unscientific in its method. Nevertheless, the spiritual life, being in itself objectionable to the carnal mind, will still be refused by men who spend their intellectual strength in vain efforts to exclude God from both the ^6 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. human soul and the material universe. But, to men who know that no man truly lives until his life is hid with Christ in God, the fact that faith in Christ produces spiritual life in the man as invariably as every herb, tree, and living creature bring forth *' after their kind " is a source of substantial joy. Blessed be God ! Whosoever believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. Thus do spiritual facts demonstrate the law of the Spirit, by whose indwelling our spiritual Hfe is begotten and maintained. The Scripture which says, THE HOLY ^ ^ ' SPIRIT'S TEN- '' Grieve not the Holy Spirit," DERNESS. . ,. implies an inexpressible ten- derness in the nature of that divine Com- forter — a reluctance to resent and punish a wrong, but a sensitiveness to one's wrong- doing which makes him recoil from it, as the sensitive plant shrinks beneath "the touch of a rude hand." Did men. Christian men, especially, appreciate the infinite value to them of the work of the Holy Spirit, they Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 37 would strain every nerve to suppress each thought, feeling, word, and act that grieves him. They would steadfastly resolve never to grieve the Holy Spirit. That the unseen Saviour CHRIST'S voicEFUL does speak to his disciples is PRESENCE. , , . , ' , r a fact to w^hich myriads of living men can testify. It is also a fact that multitudes who wear the outward badges of discipleship do not consciously hear his voice. And this, not because he does not speak to them, but because they do not listen. Busied with visible things, constantly attentive to the voices of men and of earthly affairs, they do not turn aside from the activities of daily life and hearken with earnest desire and fervent prayer to hear what he is waiting to say to them. Unhappy men! Who can estimate their losses, caused by their refusal to step aside daily into some hidden nook or silent closet, there to spend a few quiet minutes with God until he breathes ** A voice of spiritual presence to their souls, A voiceful presence o'er their listening souls !* 33 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. Happily, these losses, though they cannot be repaired, can be made to cease. The much- forbearing Jesus will yet speak if they will but listen, since he is ever calling his '* sheep by name; " and if they hearken they will assur- edly hear his beloved voice. UNRECOG- Vaughan, in the green tufts NiZED LIVES. q£ j^-^Qgg ^^^ [^ |-|^^ green leaves of the chickweed which preserve their color and flourish in sheltered nooks during the bleak winds of an English winter, finds types of those pure but unrecognized lives which are spent apart from cities and other busy haunts of men. Apostrophizing these hidden nurslings of the wintry months, he sings, " Dear secret greenness, nursed below Tempest and wind and winter nights ! Vex not that but one sees thee grow ; That One made all these lesser lights." And " that One " has himself assured those humble ones whose works of mercy and pious struggles for godlikeness are unseen of men that his eye beholds them lovingly, remem- bers their hidden acts, and intends to give Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 39 them a full reward in the hereafter. It is he who whispers in the ear of faith, " Thy Father which seeth in secret shall himself reward thee openly." How comforting the thought of his recognition ! How gracious his prom- ised reward — a reward to be measured, not by the merit of the "little one " to whom it shall be given, but by his own infinite liberality ! ONE ZEALOUS ^^HEN Chrysostom sought ^^^' to quicken the zeal of his church at Antioch he remarked that, " One man inspired with holy zeal sufficeth to amend an entire people." Perhaps this proposition needs qualification. Nevertheless, the history of the Church contains so many instances of great spiritual results accomplished by indi- vidual effort that every man whose heart is ablaze with love to Christ has ample ground for expecting that, if his efforts are propor- tional to his love, and guided by wisdom, the fire which consumes him will spread through his Church as a single burning tree often sets fire to a large forest. 40 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. A GOOD MAN'S ^o truly good man can be RICHES. really poor and friendless. His lot may be lowly, his sphere narrow, his garments threadbare, his income small. Nev- ertheless, being Christ's disciple, he is rich. He is still the man of whom Wordsworth sung: '* Hath he not always treasures, always friends, The good great man ? Three treasures — life and light. And calm thoughts, regular as infant's breath ; And three firm friends, more sure than day and night — Himself, his Maker, and the angel Death." SATANIC OWLS What the screeches of the AND BATS. night-owl and the flight of intrusive bats about his chamber are to one who cannot sleep, vile, blasphemous thoughts suggested by the Evil One are to the soul in its moments of fierce temptation. To combat them one needs to turn one's thoughts to Christ, especially to that infinite condescen- sion which leads him to find delight in one's feeblest efforts to resist the devil and to seek rest at his feet. " There is nothing," says a pious writer, *^ like the music of heaven for Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 41 silencing those owls and bats and noisome creatures that Satan stirs up from the dark caverns within." And w^hat is the music of heaven to a tempted disciple but the voice of Jesus whispering to him in tones of the ten- derest affection, " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." A WISE MAN'S John Marston says: ^^A HOME. ^yjgg man's home is where- soe'er he's wise; " which, being interpreted, means that when a wise man ceases to do and speak wisely he ceases to be a wise man. " Wheresoe'er " he acts wisely he is a wise man, but when he turns to folly he is a fool. To deserve a reputation for wisdom one must never act foolishly. '' You seem despondent. DRAWING ^ CHECKS ON Your face is shrouded in GOD'S RICHES. , ^^., , , . ^„ gloom. \v hat has happened ? said a devout class-leader to a young business friend one day. '^AVell," replied the gentle- man, " I am more cast down than I have 4 42 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. ever been before. My business is very dull. My father is obliged to give up his position. My mother, as you know, is helpless, and I have to support them both. My wife, too, is an invalid, with little prospect of ever being any thing else. My income is too small to pay my expenses. Do you wonder that I am disheartened? " ** You must make God your banker," replied the class-leader. " He cares for you, and, as Paul says, * He shall fulfill every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.' Think of that, my brother — your every need to be met from his riches ! Cannot you draw checks on those boundless riches ? He will assuredly honor them up to the measure of your need, great as that is. He will raise you up friends. He will open a way for you to pass • out of your threatening adversity into such paths of prosperity as are best suited to your needs." These wise words touched the young mer- chant's heart; his eyes glistened as he mur- mured, "His riches in glory! Wonderful! I will draw upon them by faith." And then, Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 43 going away comforted, he fought his troubles with fresh energy. His way grew brighter and he prospered abundantly. Art thou em- barrassed, cast down, almost in despair, O Christian reader ? Take that precious word of Paul and feast your tried heart upon it. Mark it well! It is God who says even to you, through Paul, '^ He shall fulfill every need of yours according to his riches in glory." Is it not enough to give you good cheer ? RAHAB'S ^^^ ^^^ inhabitants of Jeri- SCARLETCORD. cho the ^^ scarlet cord " which was visible in Rahab's window had no sig- nilicance whatever. To Rahab it was the sym- bol of her hidden faith in the promise of the spies that she should be saved from the terri- ble destruction which was about to over- whelm that devoted city. What that scarlet cord was to Rahab the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is to the Christian believer. To men of the world the sacramental bread and wine have little significance; they do not discern their hidden meaning; but to believers they 44 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. are symbols of that broken body and that crimson blood in which his clinging faith sees deliverance from everlasting death and an assured possession of everlasting life, " The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him/' FEEDING ON ^^ ^er autobiography the GOD'S WORD, late Frances R. Havergal says that after giving up her soul to the Sav- iour, " For the first time my Bible was sweet to me, and the first passage which I distinctly remember reading in a new and glad light was the fourteenth and following chapters of St. John's gospel. I read them feeling how wondrously loving and tender they were, and that now I too might share in their beauty and comfort." In this statement we have the secret of that lady's symmetrical piety and eminent usefulness. As she began her spirit- ual life by feeding it on the divine word, so she continued. She made it her daily bread. By reading it constantly^ by meditating upon it, by implicitly believing it, by praying for Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 45 light upon it, and by claiming its promises as her own, she learned to see and to know God and to possess in very large measure that " eternal life " which is the product of know- ing him. Hers was, therefore, a scriptural piety. Her faith pushed its roots deep into God's word. And whosoever wishes to be truly and actively pious must, like her, nour- ish his heart with Scripture truth, since no Christian ever did, or ever can, attain deep piety who does not learn to sip sweetness from God's words as bees suck honey from the flowers of the field. SEEING GOD IN ^^'^^' ^^ the word of God HIS WORD. Q£|.gj^ j.g^(^ without spiritual profit? Is it not because the reader ap- proaches it in an indifferent or languid state of mind ? His spiritual perceptions are asleep; therefore he fails to discern God in his word. Forgetting that it is with the word as with nature, that " We receive but what we give, And in our life alone does nature live," 46 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. he does not bring to the reading of the book that reverential spirit of inquiry, that earnest effort to discern God, that child-like faith on which the manifestation of God to the human mind is conditioned. The book seems dead to him because he is himself dead, or nearly so. But let him read it as listening to what God is saying to him, and praying, " Open thou mine eyes! " and he will surely " behold wondrous things " shining from the sacred page. There are occasions when COME FORTH! the best are tempted to say of themselves, " All that is good, noble, and spiritual is dying out of our natures. Our faith is feeble, our hope failing, our energy decaying, and the darkness of the second death is coming over us.'* And that dreaded death would overwhelm them were it not that, as Christ appeared before the tomb of Lazarus, crying, ^^ Lazarus, come forth! " so he comes to speak to his tempted ones, to call them back to life, faith, hope, joy, and activity, to Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 47 a blessed resurrection from despondency to spiritual life! Therefore let him whom Satan has bound with the grave-clothes of doubt listen for that divine voice until its thrilling whispers are heard, saying, *' Come forth! Loose him, and let him go! " Even now, O drooping soul, it speaks, wouldst thou but listen. Even now, if thou wilt, thy soul, re- lieved of all its bonds, may enter into the free- dom and joy of a resurrection into a new life of peace ! A CHILD-LIKE -^'^ ^^ ^^^ habit of the times HEART. |.Q criticise every thing that pertains to Scripture and to the religious life. Some people talk as if criticism were synony- mous with religion. They affect, in truth, to prefer the attitude of the critic to the char- acter of the Christian. To such a remark of Professor Shairp is pertinent. He weD says that *'it is trust, not criticism, that the soul lives by. If one is ever to get beyond the mere outer precinct and pass within the holy place, one must put off his critical 48 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. apparatus and enter as a simple, contrite- hearted man. Not as men of science, not as philosophers, but as little children, shall we enter the kingdom of heaven. . . . The child's heart within the man is characteristic of the best men. . . . Thisistheir very love, their essential self. And this child's heart it is that is the organ of faith, trust, heavenly commun- ion." Blessed, therefore, is that critic who subordinates his intellectual faculty to a child-like heart! REVERENT ^^^ English writer says that LOVE. irreverence is a characteristic of the people of this country, and that it arises from the fact that they have no vener- able ancestry, no ancient traditions to revere. There may be some truth in this charge, since age is less revered here than in some old countries, and in too many instances religious truth, also, is handled with irreverent free- dom. Reverence has been called ** the angel of the world." Paul exhorts the Church to serve God "with reverence and godly fear.' ' Faith, Hope, Lo\t:, Duty, 49 Seeing that reverence is the child of respect, no man who properly respects the Divine Being can speak of sacred things with irrever- ence. He will never mention tliem jestingly; neither will he talk lightly of matters pertain- ing to his Christian life. His spirit will rather be that of John Wesley, who said: " With duteous reverence at thy feet, Ivike humble Mary, lo ! I sil." But the man who can think of the awful mysteries of our holy religion, of the exalted character of Christ, and of the mercies of God to his own soul without having a spirit of " reverent love '* awakened in his breast has too much reason for suspecting the gen- uineness of his profession of discipleship. Shakespeare savs that '*a THE INFIRMI- TIES OF friend should bear a friend's FRIENDS. ' r ' - „ 1 1 mnrmities; and Solomon in his wisdom says, '' Thine own friend and thy father's friend forsake not/' One reason for these counsels is the rarity of true friendship. It so seldom happens that men's hearts are 50 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. knit to each other with such a strong bond as that which blended the souls of David and Jonathan that when one does find such a kindred spirit one should not lightly cast him off, but should bear with his infirmities. This duty was well expressed one day by Mary Lamb, when her usually gentle brother, enraged with Hazlitt because he had mingled some savage ridicule with his admiring re- marks upon Wordsworth and Coleridge, said: *' It is like saluting a man by saying, * Sir, you are the greatest man I ever saw,' and then pulling his nose!" To this angry re- mark Mary gently replied: "We cannot af- ford to cast oft our friends because they are not all we could wish." Sensible Mary Lamb! Our friends have infirmities, and so have we, and if we cast off our old friends for that reason we shall soon be friendless. When they do vex us by a display of spleen or folly it is better not to use their infirmities as thorns with which to wound our own af- fections, but to think of the real worth which is only obscured, not destroyed, by their Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 51 folly. Paul's precept, '' Let all anger be put away from you," has a special value for friends, as also has the distich of a moralist who says, " He is a friend Who of the very stones against him cast BuilJs friendship's altar higher and more fast." A SINGULAR "^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ churclies at EPITAPH. Florence there is a monu- ment to a soldier named Trivulzio, on which is inscribed an epitaph written by himself, to wit: "Johannes Trivultius, who never rested, rests — hush! " A singular inscription, truly! Nevertheless, that restless soldier was but a type of most men to whom life is an unrest- ing sea, wearisome to the body, and, apart from Christ, affording no repose to mind or heart. But was Trivulzio really at rest ? His ashes were quiet. Had his soul found that "rest which remaineth for the people of God?" AVho knows? One may hope that it had. But more important to thee, O restless reader, is the question, ^^Will my soul enter that blissful rest when my ashes shall sleep 52 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. in the earth ? " If you are a man in Christ, it will, since it is only of such that a voice from heaven says, ^^ Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors." Hence, if you are Christ's, to you "This life of mortal breath Is but a suburb of the life Elysian Whose portal we call Death." "THAT ^viLL Sala, a Florentine artist, ^^•" when sick unto death, was twice carried to the Church of St. Nazaro to look at some beautiful frescoes with which his genius had adorned its walls. '^ That will do ! " he exclaimed as they bore him ten- derly away to his couch of death. " That will do ! " When Dr. Bushnell recorded this in- cident he said: " O, that I, that every man, when life is waning, may be able to look back on the works of life and say, ^ That will do ! ' " This is a fitting desire for all to cherish, but to make it more than vapid sentiment one needs to refuse to put any deeds into one's life which Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 53 will not bear retrospection when the light of eternity shines on the moment of his mortal agony. ^^^.^ ^^ That unmanly young; man BREAD OF J J b IDLENESS. who abuses the too indulgent good nature of his father by refusing to apply himself to business for self-support, prefer- ring the bread of idleness to the sweeter bread of industry, would do well to give an honest response to the query of the poet who asks, '* How can he expect that others should Build for him, sow for him, and at his call Love him, who for himself will take no heed at all ? " UPS AND ^^^ ^^ pious in church on DOWNS. Sundays and worldly on week- days, or to be full of sweetness in prayer- meeting and of acidity at home, is to discredit one's profession of faith. Well does Leighton say of such contradictory conduct that " it is a most unseemly and unpleasant thing to see a man's Hfe full of ups and downs, one step like a Christian and another like a world- 54 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. ling; it cannot but both pain himself and mar the edification of others." The fig-tree which bore nothing but leaves is the type of such a man; and is not the fate of that tree also emblematical of his fate ? THE BLESSED " The tcrrors of the Lord" ^^^^- have driven mihions of men from the practice of vice; but the more than magnetic power of the love of Christ is neces- sary to attract and hold men to the practice of holiness. The spiritual man, though fear was at the beginning of his religious life, does not say, ''I serve the Lord that I may escape from future misery," but he does say with the devout Mrs. Prentiss, '^It is because I believe, fully believe, that I shall be saved through Christ that I want to be like him here upon earth. It is because I do not fear final misery that I shrink from sin and defilement here." The simple fact is that to be saved here is to be put into present possession of that personal love for God in Christ which is the essence of the life of souls in heaven. Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 55 He that knows and loves God ''hath eternal life." His joy in the hereafter will proceed from the amplification of that knowledge and the intensification of that love under condi- tions in perfect harmony with all the require- ments of his being. Blessed life ! WORKING Revivals are God's answers CHURCHES. |-Q ^]^^ prayers of working churches. To "convince the world of sin" is the mission of the Holy Spirit, but in exe- cuting this mission he speaks in the word faithfully preached by his embassadors and illustrated in the life of the Church. Given, therefore, a truly consistent Church, a wise and faithful ministry, with the believing prayers of a body of Christians, and the conviction of sin- ners must follow. To imagine unwillingness in the Spirit to convince men of sin is guilty presumption. He is always willing, yea, wait- ing, even desirous, to prick sinners to the heart. But he must have the dutiful Church and the applied word through which to work. 56 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. INCONGRUOUS ^ SLAVE does his master's AFFECTIONS, bidding because he dreads the lash. Fear is the spur of his obedience. A son obeys his father with spontaneous affec- tion. His obedience springs from his heart as flowers do from plants. Hence it is that Christian believers, being sons of God, do not abstain from sinful, worldly practices reluc- tantly and through slavish fear, but from a filial determination to do nothing that tends to lessen the intimacy of their fellowship with the Father. Instead of asking how much of the world they may take into their lives with- out offense to God they shrink from even its doubtful practices as from infected garments, "hating," as Jude says, "even the garm.ent spotted by the flesh." Being filled with the love of the Father, they do not love the world, for " if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." These opposite loves cannot abide together, the one being neces- sarily expulsive of the other. Judge thyself, therefore, O man, by these principles ! By which love is thy heart and thy life governed ? Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 57 NOT AT HOME ^' GoD often calls on us," TO GOD. g^^.g ^i^g .Y|3]3^ ROUX, " but generally we are not at home." The godless man may smile at this quaint putting of a se- rious fact; but it is no smiling matter for mortal man to treat the calls of the Almighty One with contemptuous neglect. There is an awful meaning in God's declaration concern- ing this heinous sin. ^^ Because I have called," he says, " and ye refused ... I also will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh ! " Think, therefore, O trifler with the calls of God, that thy re- fusals to listen to him are seeds destined to grow into words of condemnation upon thee from his lips. What wilt thou do when Heaven laughs at thy calamity ? THE WAITING ^'^ ^^^^ Christian need COMFORTER. p^^|^ j^-^ ^^^^ -^ ^j^^ ^^jj^^ ^^ the shadow of death, seeing that his Lord bids him *' lie down in green pastures " and waits to ''lead him beside the still waters '' of spiritual consolation. The Comforter is at 58 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. his door waiting with loving desire to enter into his troubled heart. The Spirit's mission is to comfort, but he cannot enter into a prayerless, unbelieving mind, because unbe- lief is blind and cannot realize his presence. What thou needest to do, therefore, O gloomy, desponding disciple, is to ask, to knock, to trust. The Comforter stands waiting, desir- ing with infinite longing to fill thee with light, love, and peace. Lift up thy fainting heart and thy heavy eyelids and cry, " In the hour of my distress, When temptations me oppress. And when I my sins confess, Sweet Sjiirit, comfort me ! " "The summit of creature SUMMIT OF CR EATURE perfection," says a good old PERFECTION. ,. . ,,.. . , . . divme, hes m brmging our own emptiness to the fullness that is in Christ Jesus.'* If to this beautiful conception we add Paul's inspired declaration that our emp- tiness " may be filled unto all the fullness of God," the thought becomes grand and thrill- ing. That such absolute emptiness of all Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 59 goodness as ours may be filled unto the com- plete fullness of the infinite God would be in- credible had not God himself revealed it as a possibility. Nay, more than this, hehas fore-or- dained that everyone who believeth shall '^be conformed to the image of his Son," in whom dwelt '^ the fullness of the Godhead." O won- drous privilege I What unmatched honor is this, that the man who was once the slave of his own vices is destined '' to be perfect as man, as God is perfect as God," and that '' his per- fection shall consist in his being full of Ciod, God dwelling in him so as absolutely to con- trol all his cognitions, feelings, and outward actions." Go, then, O man, with thy soul as an empty vessel, and cry to the ever-listening One, saying, '^ Fill me, O my God, with all the fullness that is in Christ ! " If thy faith be equal to his willingness he will not send thee away empty. DECLINING 'r^^ fi^s^ ^^^ most usual SPIRITUALITY, symptom of declining spirit- uality is a languid shrinking from that vigor 6o Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. in secret devotion and from that restless activity in religious duty which characterize one in sound spiritual health. The soul, weary of her struggles against her own aggress- ive selfishness and her external temptations, repines because she must not live in '* a land of drowsy head," but must act the part of an athlete on a race-course, of a combatant in the field of mortal strife. This languid frame of mind, if not resolutely throwm off, must end in apostasy. Hence one who feels it stealing over him needs to reflect that the law of toil is not peculiar to the spiritual, but is equally operative in the spheres of the physical and intellectual. As Ruskin tersely observes, ^' If you want knowledge, you must toil for it; if food, you must toil for it; and if pleasure, you must toil for it. Toil is the law. Pleasure comes through toil, and not by self-indulgence and indolence. When one gets to love work his life is a happy one." And because toil is the universal law the Holy Ghost says to every believer, '^ Work out your salvation with fear and Fatth, Hope, Love, Duty. 6i trembling;" and a Christian poet most truthfully sings: " This is a scene of combat, not of rest ; Man's is laborious happiness at best ; On this side death his dangers never cease, His joys are joys of conquest, not of peace." y^jf^ A MAX who defends an un- OBLATioNS. righteous deed by pleading his purpose to do good with its profits is either a consummate hypocrite or a blind dupe of the Evil One. Suppose, for example, a financier in building a railroad deliberately plans to rob its stockholders by means of a dishonest construction company. Self-ac- cused at the bar of his conscience, he excuses his guilt by saying to himself, '^Yes, my practice in this affair is rather sharp, but I will divide my profits with the Lord by building a church or endowing a professor- ship in some college. That will make it all right." Is not this the presumptuous language of blind self-deception or of hardened hypoc- risy ? Is it not the false plea of men of whom Paul says, '' Whose damnation is just ?^ " 62 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. Alas! that intelligent men should be so slow to learn that *' God does not need our crimes to help his cause, Nor does his equitable law permit A sinful act, from the preposterous plea That good may follow it." It is of such acts that God saith, '^ To what pur- pose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me ? Bring no more [such] vain oblations ! " That the excessive expres- UNRE- . ^ .... STRAINED sion of cmotion IS exhaustive Jr^i?Ji?T^ o( the emotion itself is matter both of observation and ex- perience. The most violent mourners over the dead, for example, are among the earliest to find solace for their grief. It has been well said by a celebrated Frenchman that ^' never without an evident and impracticable miracle can the words of the poet respecting a magic cup be spoken of the soul: " * And still the more the vase poured forth, The more it seemed to hold ] ' " As the vase is emptied by the act of pouring, so is the heart. Hence, even in the religious Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 6^ life, one needs to be reserved in giving utterance to feeling and to take abundant time to fill up the soul with emotion by means of secret prayer and quiet contem- plation. CHRISTIAN ^s ^^^ iceberg from the MANNERS. frozen North slowly floating toward the sunny South lowers the tempera- ture of the warm Gulf Stream, so do men who *^are cold in blood" chill the warmth of friendly feeling in their most genial friends. Th-ir cold manners cause others to think that " Their love can scarce deserve the name." This impression may be false, at least in part. Their hearts may be warmer than their man- ners. Nevertheless, since love is a genial, gentle, self-demonstrating affection, and can only beget a kindred love in others by words that breathe with sympathy, it is a Christian's duty to cultivate, not his inward affection only, but also his outward manners, so that they may be manifestations of that love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, and meekness 6-4 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. which are the rich and beautiful '' fruit of the Spirit." To merely affect warmth in one's manners without affection in the heart is hypocrisy, but to add outward cordiality to real love is to beautifully illustrate Chris- tian duty. HEAVENLY- ^^^ ^^^ rivcr always '' makes MiNDEDNESs. nieutiou of its bed," so he whose mind dwells wholly on earthly things becomes more and more earthly in his affec- tions, while he who sets his thoughts on things above becomes more and more heavenly- minded. As one's spiritual life matures one's meditations upon heaven become increasingly frequent, profound, and refreshing. Hence every growing disciple can say, with good Rich- ard Baxter, " I had rather hear or meditate on God and heaven than on any other subject; for I perceive that it is the object that altereth and elevateth the mind which will be such as that is which it most frequently feedeth on." And there is not only a transforming force in meditation, but when directed to the glories Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 65 of the life to come it becomes a spur to duty, a source of strength to resist temp- tation, and a refreshing spring of joy and gladness. To cite Baxter again: '' A man is no more a Christian indeed than he is heavenly- minded." IN THE SHEP- ^"'^^^ good shepherd expects HERD'S BOSOM. ^^^^^^^ ]^[^ i^j-^^j^s ^j. feeble sheep to travel unaided with the healthy and vigorous portion of his flock. Rather he carries the lambs in his arms and leads the feeble ones with slo\y and gentle steps. In this he is a type of our Good Shepherd, who exacts no service which is beyond the strength of his sheep. Nevertheless, it often happens that when disciples who have been active in his service are disabled by age or by sickness from doing Christian work they charge their enforced inactivity to lack of love, and conse- quently fall into the great deep of chronic despondency. To a sick lady thus tempted her well-instructed sister wrote: "You are weak, and therefore invited not to march with 66 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. the flock, but to rest in your Saviour's arms. If the tempter goads you even there do not turn round to look on him, but hide your head deeper in your Saviour's bosom." This is scriptural counsel. In his weakest, most helpless state the believer may — nay, should — cry, " My God ! my Father ! on thee will I rest — Rest with unbounded confidence on thee ; No slavish fears shall now enthrall my breast, I stand erect in holiest liberty." AFFLICTION A ^o an ungodly man afflic- BLESSiNG. ^JQj-^ ^5 ^y^ irritating misfortune for which he sees no compensation. But a good man can accept it saying : "Affliction, when I know it, is but this: A deep alloy, whereby man tougher is To bear the hammer, and the deeper still, We still arise more image of his will." REALLY ^^ ^^ ^^ conscientious as FIGHTING SIN. to be troublcd about " motes " in other men's eyes, and yet so morally insen- sitive as not to feel the " beam " in one's own eye, is to demonstrate one's lack both of Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 67 self-knowledge and of charity. The beam in a man's own eye is of far more real con- sequence to him than any mote in another's eye can ever be. He who really fights sin always strikes his own faults first. THE POISON OF Has somc ouc who once did REVENGE. yQ^ ^ great injury fallen into disgrace and suffering ? Are you tempted to suck sweetness from that fact, as bees sip nectar from flowers ? If so, beware ! for in- stead of sweetness you will find only the poison of revenge. An old divine well says of the pleasure of revengeful feeling that " the root of it is devilish." The fruit of savino; faith is FAITH FLOW- ^ ING INTO not found exclusivelv in feel- WORK. . ^ . ^ ,. ing, but m feeling that flows into work. Piety that exhausts itself in singing and prayer will speedily dry up the springs of emotion and empty the heart of comfort and joy; but piety that seeks to give effect to its own prayers by actively striving to win 6S Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. others to Christian discipleship will keep the heart fresh, joyous, and happy. It is said of Rev. Andrew Fuller that, though eminently devout, he failed either to be truly happy himself or to make his church happy until h3 engaged himself and his people in mission work. Then he wrote, '' My engagement in the mission had a wonderful influence in re- viving true religion in my soul, and from that time, notwithstanding all my family afflictions, I have been one of the happiest of men." And as with him so it was with his church, and so it is with all believers. He who works for Christ, as a soul- winner, tastes the true sweetness of the religious life. He that selfishly refrains from it shrivels his heart and is a stranger to the joy of the Lord. Art thou, O reader, one of the lean, drooping, uncomforted idlers in the vineyard ? If so thou must either change thy course or find thy spiritual life drying up like a brook in a summer's drought. If thou wouldst have it otherwise go work to save a soul ! Speak to some sinner about his soul. Circulate Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 69 tracts, teach the children, exhort in the pray- er-meeting, " Do something — do it with all thy might ; An angel's wing would droop if long at rest, And God himself inactive were no longer blest." A SPOILED *' Life is short, and I mean LIFE. ^Q gg|. ^^ much out of it as I can." Thus spoke a young man whose mind was bent on a career of godlessness and gayety. Did he find life worth living ? If he did he was an exception to universal experi- ence, which was forcibly expressed by Lord Peterborough, who died in 1735. ^^^ ^^^g before his death he wrote the following sad confession to his friend. Lady Suffolk: ^^ I have some time since made a bargain with fate to submit with patience to all her freaks; some accidents have given me a great contempt, almost a distaste, for life. Shakespeare shall tell you my opinion of it: " ' Life is as weary as a twice-told tale Vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man. 70 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. Life is a walking shadow — a poor player That frets and struts his hour upon the stage And then is seen no more.' Do not wonder, then, if the world is become so indifferent to me that I can even amuse myself with the thought of going out of it." This is a sad picture of a life which had sipped wine from every beaker of passional delight. Contrasted with it how sublime does Paul appear when, standing near the close of a life filled with Christ-like labor, he joyously exclaimed: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness ! " Happy Paul ! Happy, too, is that modern man who, shun- ning the rock on which such men as Lord Peterborough wreck their barks, enters into covenant with Christ and nears the grave with a crown of righteousness in full view ! In times of awakeninsf some EARNEST . ' . SEEKING FOR peuitcuts remain a long time in the ranks of seekers. They are slow, dull learners in the school of faith. Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 71 In some cases this is caused by lack of light; the simplicity of faith is something they do not clearly comprehend. Such penitents need special personal instruction. But with most slow-moving seekers the real difficulty is the lack, not of light, but of earnestness. They are not seeking Christ with all their hearts. They do not possess that agony of desire which moves the soul to cast itself in self-despair upon Christ. Their type may be seen in a farmer, who, when touched by the Spirit of God, mourned over his sins, but found no comfort. One day, while sitting before the fire with a sad countenance, and musing on his condition, he suddenly looked toward his believing wife and asked^ ^^ What must I do to become a Christian ? " The good woman at once recalled the fact that not long before her husband, having lost a bank-note in his barn, had said, '^ I will search for it till I find it.'* Alluding to this remark, she now replied, '' You must seek for pardon as you sought for the bank-note." He saw the point, threw his whole soul into 72 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. his seeking, and speedily found the waiting Christ. It is always thus. Really earnest seekers, who have been taught the way of faith, soon find Him who is already seeking them as a shepherd seeks a stray sheep. ^' Seek and ye shall find." THE BEST -"-^ ^^^y heart seething with .REVENGE. angry emotions because 'thy neighbor hath done thee wrong ? Art thou, like Saul, breathing threatenings against him ? If so, forbear, O man ! Remember that *' The best revenge is love ; disarm Anger with smiles ; heal wounds with balm ; Give water to thy thirsty foe ; The sandal-tree, as if to prove How sweet to conquer hate by love, Perfumes the ax that lays it low." THINGS THAT " What is above survives; " SURVIVE. ^^,j^^|- jg below perishes. Hence, says Paul: "The things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." This important thought is quaintly but fitly expressed by Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 73 old Geoffrey Whitney, in the following stanza: *'This world must change, that world shall still en- dure ; Here pleasures fade, there they shall endless be ; Here man doth sin, and there he shall be pure ; Here death he tastes, and there shall never die ; Here hath he grief, and there shall joys possess As none hath seen nor any heart can guess." These thoughts pondered and prayed over by that half-lukewarm disciple who is tempted to relax his pursuit of heaven that he may taste the guilty pleasures of earth can scarcely fail to quicken his decaying spirit- uality. Neglect not to try their effect, O halting disciple ! LIFE'S CLOUDY C)UR lives are at some pe- DAYS. riods like those occasional seasons in the year which are marked by a seemingly endless succession of stormy and cloudy days. Our troubles are multiplied both in form and by repetition. Personal sickness is followed by business involve- ments, by family afflictions, by bereavements, 6 74 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. or by alienation of friends. We are be- wildered, perplexed, cast down, and, as our Whittier sings, *' In the dark we cry like children, and no answer from on high Breaks the crystal spheres of silence ; and no white wings downward fly ; But the help we pray for comes to faith and not to sight, And our prayers themselves drive backward all the spirits of the night." The poet sings the truth. Help comes to us through the prayer of faith. To that prayer Heaven responds by revealing God's hand outstretched through the clouds which blind our natural vision. We see him coming to be our helper, and our fear is replaced by hope. Light breaks in upon us, and we see that, as the photographer keeps his camera in a darkened box and puts his negative through a chemical process in a dark room in order to bring our portrait into distinctness, so our heavenly Father has placed us in the darkness of many afflictions, that he may thereby complete the process of transforming us into his glorious Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 75 likeness. Then we are content to suffer to the full extent of what he sees to be neces- sary to our spiritual purification and adorn- ment. With Paul we sing: '' Our light afflic- tion, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.*' And seeing this, 'Sve faint not." GOD'S Minutes are God's messen- MESSENGERS. gers, dropping from their wings the dews of heaven on thirsty souls. One writer calls minutes God's bees bringing nectar from the flowers of paradise which they leave with them that wait for his mercies and ihen fly away only to be succeeded by others. But it is only to them who wait for the nectar and the dew that the minutes give their treasures. It is only they who " hunger and thirst after righteousness " that are filled. A SOCIAL ^^ every man who enters a BORE. social circle would give it his brightest smiles, his best thoughts, and his 76 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. most cheerful words, his presence would be a benediction to his friends. And has not society a right to demand this much of him ? No doubt it has. Yet there are many who, forgetting this obligation, form the bad habit of carrying sad faces, long-drawn sighs, and. dreary stories of their ailments, trials, and difficulties into every parlor, class-room, and church vestry they visit. Their tongues are trained to speak the cant of sorrow. They love to so exaggerate their woes as to gain the sympathy of their friends. Of one such person Tennyson says : "He loves to make parade of pain, That with his piping he may gain The praise that comes to constancy." That is, he uses the ills of his condition in life as capital earning unmerited praise of his endurance. Is it too much to say that such a man demoralizes himself by his in- sincerity, constitutes himself a social bore, and fails to cultivate that habitual cheerful- ness w^hich is the characteristic of every healthy Christian heart ? Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 77 The davs for summer rec- ANNIVERSA- RiES OF THE reatioii have come — the holi- HEART days during which one quits the ordinary haunts of life and mingles with the crowds who frequent the watering-place, the camp-ground, and other places of popular resort. It is well for those who can to enjoy innocent pleasure at spots consecrated to rest and recuperation. But it is wise, while dwelling with the crowd, to keep in mind the fact that " The holiest of all holidays are those Kept by ourselves in silence and apart, The secret anniversaries of the heart." Such anniversaries may be kept, such holi- days enjoyed, in the most crowded resorts, provided one sets apart portions of his time for self-communion, reflection, and contemplation, ^' in silence and apart." One can only escape loss of spirituality, even at a camp-meeting, by stepping aside occasionally from the multitude and com- muning in secret with God and his own heart. 78 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. THE ENJOY- ^^ ^^^ been well said that MENT OF GOD. ^ ^he enjoyment of heaven will not be the enjoyment of self, but the en- joyment of God, losing ourselves in him, in light ineffable, that he may be all in all." Francis Quarles has this thought expressed in his own quaint style, as follows: " 111 having all things, and not Thee, what have I ? Not having thee, what have my labors got ? Let me enjoy but thee, what farther crave I? And having thee alone, what have I not? I wish nor sea, nor land, nor would I be Possessed of heaven, heaven unpossessed of thee." A MISTAKEN Behold an ungodly man ^^^- standing beside the body of a departed saint ! The former calls the latter dead, and regards himself as the living man. O mistaken man ! It is he who is dead, and not the saint. The saint only sleepeth in the flesh; but, being joined to God in spirit, is living in and with him in the everlasting life which is the heritage of faith. But the un- godly man, being without faith, is only physi- cally alive. Being without God, he is spiritually Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 79 dead. He has but to pass the gate of mortal- ity in his present godless condition to find himself dead beyond recovery, doomed by his own choice to that endless separation from God which is the essence, the sting, the torment of everlasting death. There is a broad, refresh- GUARDED ' FROM ing view of the Saviour's STUMBLING. , , • ^ „ power to keep his followers from falling into sin in Jude's remarkable ascription at the close of his brief epistle: " Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy." In the Revised Version these words are still more explicitly rendered: ^^ Unto him that is able to guard you from stumblings and to set you before the presence of his glory without ble7?iish in exceeding joy." To a believer whose profound self-knowledge is blended with a highly quickened conscience Jude*s conception of his final presentation so puri- fied that when standing in the blaze of his So Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. Master's glory no blemish will be visible in his soul is a thrilling thought. It taxes his faith to the utmost capacity to believe that' he, so prone to sin, shall attain to such abso- lute spotlessness. Nevertheless, he does not doubt the ability of his Lord to do this great thing ; neither does he dare to doubt his will- ingness to do it, since he knows that this was the very end for which his Lord died. Hence the ascription invigorates his faith, revives his hope, intensifies his love, renews his vigor to strive with evil, and enables him to realize in actual experience that his Master is both able and willing not merely to keep him from falling, but *' to guard him," as a parent does a child, even "from stumbling." Thus cheered he looks constantly upward, descrying *' Nearer, eacli day, the briglitening goal !" COMFORTLESS ^^ DISCONTENTED man eats DESPAIR. ]^jg Q^j^ heart through what Spenser calls ^' comfortless despairs." Instead of being grateful for the things he possesses he frets for those which are beyond his reach. Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 81 His heart, which ought to be an altar perpet- ually smoking wdth the sacrifices of gratitude, is " a grave in which all God*s mercies are buried/' Supreme selfishness, producing a false estimate of his real deservings, is the force which makes his soul resemble the greedy quicksand that swallows whatever touches it. Hence a discontented mind can find no relief except through that surrender of self to Christ which with faith is the fore- runner of that "godliness with contentment'* which is " great gain." AVHEN FEAR Fear pcrishes when faith PERISHES. 3^^(j Iq^q j^]^ [^ ^Y\e heart of a man. True, there are such evils as fierce diseases, poverty, the malice of malignant men, the weakness of the soul itself, yet the man of faith and love scorns to fear them. Why not fear them ? Simply because the God he trusts whispers in his heart, ** Fear not, thou worm Jacob. ... I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." That lofty promise inspires him with 82 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. such spiritual grandeur that he feels it ^^ be- neath his dignity to cringe to any thing but God." Nothing can .really hurt the man whom God protects SHUNNING ^^ ^^^ multitudes who neg- THE LIGHT. ^^^^ j|^g pubUc worship of God there are many who do so for the same reason that led Adam and Eve to hide from the presence of God — they dare not face the light which flashes from God's word. Since they will not give themselves to God they avoid services which disturb their consciences by revealing them to themselves. Resolved to do evil deeds, they will not go into the light. By thus keeping out of the light they reach a persuasion that they are not so very wicked after all; that they are, indeed, too good to be finally reckoned among castaways. This is sad self-deception. Their voluntary blindness does not prevent them from being counted with men of whom the poet writes: " How many a one must shun tlie light. Or sliow a leper to the sight I " Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. S;^ A GOOD "He is a good hater " can HATER. never be truthfully said of a genuine disciple of Christ, since *^ he that lov- eth not his brother abideth in death." Good men may conceive mutual prejudices because of opposite tastes, manners, ideas, or interests; but they cannot /late each other without ceas- ing to be truly good. If their prejudices lead them to injure each other's reputation by inconsiderate speeches they cannot be un- forgiving without forfeiting the divine for- giveness. Hence an old divine very perti- nently remarks: '^An unforgiving temper is an invincible bar against our obtaining divine mercy. We can neither receive pardon, nor have it continued, nor enjoy the comfortable sense of it without pardoning others. It is a sin of such malignity that it envenoms poi- son itself; it deepens the guilt of all other sins." Still more authoritative and alarm- ing is the expressive saying of Jesus: "If ye forgive not men their trespasses, nei- ther will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses." 84 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. ASHES IN THE PLEASURE, whcn SOUght aS MOUTH. ^^ g^^^^ jg ^g ashes in the mouth, and curses its seeker; but when it is the fruit of duty faithfully performed it is sweet to the taste and a healthy stimulant to the growth of the soul. A GRAVE Some Christians shrink from MISTAKE. ^\^Q highest plane of the relig- ious life as involving greater hardship and more severe spiritual conflicts than living on a lower plane. Such persons are gravely mistaken. As a saintly man once observed, ** It is easier for a Christian to walk habitu- ally near to God than to be irregular in our walk with him." Easier, indeed, because the faithful soul not only escapes the shame, guilt, and weakness which accompany unfaithful- ness, but it draws such ineffable sweetness, such abounding grace, such supernal strength from Christ's boundless love that the sternest duties are transformed into delights. Then there is such oneness of will between Christ and the disciple that the latter sees no hard- Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 85 ship in any duty. Love makes all things easy. Most of the difficulties of the spiritual life grow out of one's resistance to self-cruci- fixion; but when one is once crucified with Christ the Christian life is a perennial fore- taste of the life of heaven. One's moral distance from ONE'S DIS- TANCE FROM God is not measured by miles, but by the degree of one's unlikeness to our heavenly Father. Hence the truth of Augustine's remark: " By becom- ing unlike God thou hast gone far away; by becoming like him thou drawest near.'* Therefore, O man, whosoever thou art, let the burden of thy prayer be, *^ Nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee ! " When wearied in body and SENSE OF ^ SENSELESS- jaded in mind a good man NESS. finds it difficult to offer his evening devotions v/ith fervor and self-recol- lectedness, his mind sinks into dreaminess and wanders from thought of the Being he S6 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. addresses and from things he is praying for. This state of mind grieves him, and he often writes bitter things against himself on account of it. To comfort such a man good John Bunyan says: " If thou findest thyself sense- less in some sad measure, yet thou canst not complain of that senselessness, but by being sensible of it. There is a sense of senselessness. According to thy sense, then, that thou hast need of any thing, so pray; and if thou art sensible of thy senselessness pray the Lord to make thee sensible of whatever thou find- est thy heart senseless of." This quaintly expressed advice is worthy of acceptance, since it suggests an antidote to a state of mind which is but too familiar to disciples of Jesus. It is almost equivalent to the direc- tion, '' Pray until thou canst pray." ONE MUST ^' ^ LIVE to movc," Said Sir WORK OR SIN. J Davies. Every man who understands himself will make this motto his own, for he must have learned from experi- ence that '^mind cannot exist inactively; it Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 87 must be busy in good or evil as long as one is awake." Persistent indolence generates that unendurable, often malignant, weariness which wealthy people call ennui. The choice of a resolutely inactive mind lies between im- becility or immorality, and, to cite Dr. Moore, in Man and His Motives^ " There is noth- ing for educated minds to do but sin if they will not work." How beneficent, therefore^ is that law of nature which makes labor a grand necessity of physical existence, and that law of Christianity which makes every disciple a fellow-worker with God for the salvation of his fellow-creatures! Both these laws meet the demands of every healthy hu- man mind. Hence every faithful disciple will be diligent in business, an active worker for his own soul's welfare and for the souls of others. While he will " live to move " he will also be careful to move, not earthward, but Godward, not downward toward hell, but upward toward heaven. The crown of such activity will be unfading as the heav- enly glory — a ^* crown of life." So Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. To the infidel who sneers at BOOK -FAITH. . . Christianity as book-faith it has been well retorted: "One after another of your infidel reformers passes away and leaves no trace behind except a quantity of crumbling * book-faith/ You have always been just on the eve of extinguishing super- natural fables, dogmas, and superstitions, and then regenerating the world ! Alas ! the meanest superstition that crawls laughs at you, and, false as it may be, is still stronger than you," This is notoriously true. Infi- delity has nothing to give in return for old superstition; much less has it any thing to offer in exchange for our Christianity, which it has been striving to destroy, lo ! these eighteen centuries, but which is to-day mightier than ever. Yet, like its satanic master, it continues to worry what it cannot devour. NOBILITY OF Though righteousness is CHARACTER, possible Only to those who have faith in Christ, yet, says Dr. Morrison, Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 89 "An unbeliever may be in some, or perhaps in many, respects a noble man — noble in honor, noble in patriotism, noble in philan- thropy. Yet his nobility of character has no justifying element in it. Perfect nobility in all relations, Godward and manward — per- fect and full-orbed righteousness from begin- ning to ending of his probationary career — would be requisite if men were to be justi- fied by works of law." Let not this thought offend thee, O moral man, for God himself hath said that without faith in his Son it is impossible to win his forgiveness. Go, then, into thy secret chamber, study thine heart, praying, " O Lord, show me myself ! *' and when thou hast learned that thine heart is stained with much sin pray, " God be mer- ciful to me a sinner ! " and thou wilt be for- given and renewed. TRUE True courage is prudent, COURAGE. j^Q^ j.^g|^^ j|- considers its ability to overcome before it attacks. Thus a young Christian, when a blatant skeptic is 90 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. rehearsing the arguments cf infideUty, may- remain silent without being fairly open to the charge of cowardice if he is conscious of in- ability to give clear, conclusive replies to the specious words of the unbeliever. A Chris- tian poet, whose courage v/as above suspicion, once said: " Choose rather to defend than to assail, Self-confidence will in tlie conflict fail." But if the skeptic assails his faith the cour- ageous believer will defend it. As our poet sings: ** When you are challenged, you may dangers meet ; True courage is a fixed, not sudden, heat ; Is always humble, Tives in self-distrust. And will itself into no danger thrust/' Yet when the danger is thrust upon it true courage valiantly defends the truth, but al- ways with prudence. If trained to argue, it will use argument. If not, it will appeal to fact, as did the man whose blindness had been healed by Christ. When the Sanhedrin sought to draw him into a discussion respect- ing the character of his mighty healer he Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 91 grandly replied, '' Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not ; one thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see." In like manner the courageous Christian, unlearned in the false philosophy of infidelity, untrained in the use of dialectic methods, may boldly stand on the facts of his own experience, not only without parting with his courage, but in the loftiest consistency with its demands and with the best effects on the witnesses to his words. The testimony of a genuine believer, modestly expressed, will sink deeper into a skeptic's conscience than the most convinc- ing argument. The latter touches his intellect only. The former will touch his conscience, and may move his heart, if it be not given over to believe a lie. HAPPY OLD ^^^ aged man finds his type ^^^' in the wrinkled faded leaf which trembles in the breeze, ready to fall to Mother Earth. Conscious of failing strength and of approaching inability to carry the bur- dens of life, his anxious heart cries with 92 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. David, '' Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength fail- eth." Nor does he, if a believer in Christ, sigh this prayer in vain. The voice of the Eternal One responds with more than royal graciousness, " Even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you." This is consolation indeed ! Carried in the arms of the great I AM the aged man is safe, inexpressibly secure. He may feel as did the venerable Longfellow when, in his ** Mori- turi Salutamus," he said: "Old age is still old age ; It is the waning, not the crescent, moon ; The dusk of evening, not the blaze of noon ; It is not strength, but weakness ; not desire, But its surcease ; not the fierce heat of fire, The burning and consuming element, But that of ashes and of embers spent, In which some living sparks we still discern, Enough to warm, but not enough to burn." He may, he does, feel thus. Nevertheless, he does not yield to discouragement nor count himself a fruitless tree. He knows that the infinite One who carries him has Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 93 said of such as he, " They shall still bring forth fruit in old age." Hence he counts his age an opportunity to exhibit the maturity of faith, the beauty of perfect love, the power of divine grace to keep a soul burdened with the weight of years happy even in its weak- ness, "And as the evening twilight fades away His sky is filled with stars, invisible by day." Happy, therefore, is Christian old age ! And when an old man's body falls he himself as- cends to heaven to be greeted as a child newly born into the gloriou- life. PARTING WITH That man is safe who can THE BIBLE, conscientiously say with the psalmist, " Thy word is a lamp to my feet." But when a Christian ceases to make the word of God his guide in the secular affairs of life as well as in his spiritual exercises he is certainly falling away from Christ. Begin- ning with slight departures from its ethical requirements, he will be likely to slight it more and more, and, unless he repent, finally 94 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. cease entirely to use it as ^' a light to his path." It is recorded of an ancient Arabian prince that while heir to his father's throne he spent his days and nights in a mosque at Medina studying the Koran. When informed of his father's death he shut up the volume, saying, ''Here you and I part!" Hence- forth he devoted himself exclusively to affairs of state. Perhaps few backsliding disciples of Christ bid their farewell to the Bible with such outspoken emphasis as this, but is it not a melancholy fact that in the act of con- sciously refusing to do what a clear script- ural precept enjoins a Christian practically says to the Bible, *' Here you and I part ? " What then ? What, indeed, but further sur- render to the lordship of " the god of this world " and the decay of spiritual life^ It is well, yes, necessary, therefore, for every dis- ciple who hopes to hear his Lord say, " Well done, good and faithful servant," to keep in mind that his discipleship is conditioned on his fidelity to his Master's word, "7/" ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 95 ask what ye will,^ and it shall be done unto you." SOUR Sour godliness is not a fruit GODLINESS, of the love of Christ. Sweet- ness, gentleness, and pity are the qualities with which he endows his disciples. It is imperfect virtue which is sour, severe, and implacable. Perfect virtue is meek, affable, and compassionate. It thinks of nothing but doing good, of ^' bearing one another's bur- den." There is no acidity in pure Christ- love. A DESPAIRING ^^ ^^ Stricken with mortal ^^^* disease and compelled to leave the objects of one's affections on earth with no hope of happiness in the hereafter — this is torture. " I must leave all these things which cost me so much pains to acquire ! " was the despairing cry of Cardinal Mazarin, as he gazed with dying eyes on his accumu- lated treasures. To part with what one loves, without hope of meeting with things and be- ings yet more strongly beloved on the shore 96 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. beyond the mystic river we call Death, is to feel indescribable pangs. But, as Bernard Barton sings, •' Even the last parting earth can know Brings not unutterable woe To souls that heavenward soar ; For humble Faith, with steadfast eye, Points to a brighter world on high, Where hearts that here at parting sigh, May meet — to part no more." A GOLDEN When Bossuet sought to SENTENCE. gtain the reputation of the exemplary Fenelon he made a perverted use of the latter's private letter written in strictest confidence. In his triumphantly exculpatory response to Bossuet 's assault Fenelon wrote the following golden sentence: ** Nothing that is dishonorable ever proves serviceable ! " This truth appeals to selfish souls who can only be touched by a selfish motive; but a truly noble mind loves honor for its own sake, shrinks spontaneously from the base thought of dishonor, and duly heeds this hint of Burns : *' But where ye feel your honor grip, Let that aye be your border I " Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 97 That *' border " — the point where one's honor protests against a temptation — is the dead- line of character. Whoever crosses it places himself within range of those poisoned arrows from the devil's bow which give a man's in- tegrity its death-wound. THE SOFT I^ t^^ tenth book of Para- ANSWER. ^i^^ j^^^f Milton, after put- ting a scathing denunciation of Eve into Adam's mouth, makes the woman reply in a speech which for pathos stands unrivaled in the realm of poetry. Among other touching words Eve says, *' While yet we live, scarce one short hour, perhaps, Between us two let there be peace." Eve's plea for mutual peace subdued the an- ger of Adam. Pity that in all differences that arise between man and wife, between all, in- deed, who are socially connected, a similar plea cannot be made. There would be few lasting quarrels if at the outset one party would say to the other, ** While yet we live, scarce one short hour, perhaps, Between us two let there be peace." 98 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. It is the soft answer, not the angry retort, that turneth away wrath. SATAN'S One of Satan's " devices '* DEVICES. is |-Q persuade men that they may indulge in some secret, besetting sin without wholly losing the favor of God. The author of the " Synagogue" makes a soul so tempted speak to his Saviour of his cunning tempter in these words: *' Fain would he have me to believe that sin And thou might both Take up my heart for your inn. And neither loathe The other's company — awhile sit still, And part again." To this unholy suggestion the tempted soul, on perceiving its import, exclaims, " Peace, rebel thought ! dost thou not know thy King, My God, is here ? Cannot his presence, if no other thing, Make thee forbear?" What other response than this indignant self- censure for entertaining this evil thought, even for a moment, could a truly conscien- Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 99 tious believer make ? And what an effectual safeguard against the motions 01 sin and the solicitations of the tempter is the conscious- ness that God, the holy God, is always pres- ent and is cognizant of one's inmost thought ! " Thou God seest me ! " Let this awful fact keep thee, O Christian, from making thy heart a nest of evil thoughts. In forming; plans of pleas- DEATH FOR- . . . GETS NOT ure, business, ambition, or THEE greed for the coming year, '• Forget not Death, O man ! for thou may'st be Of one thing certain — he forgets not thee." It is well, therefore, while planning to live, not to omit such preparation for the life to come as will enable thee to meet Death with a smile of welcome should he be sent to con- duct thee into the realm eternal during the year just beginning. SUPERFICIAL ^^ times of revival men's PROFESSIONS, emotions are apt to be more active than their understandings. The pre- loo Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. vailing tide of sentiment then sweeps many to the penitential altar and to a profession of faith who do not clearly comprehend the ex- tent of the obligations they assume. In their eagerness to lead such to the exercise of sav- ing faith some ministers omit to instruct them with regard to the scope of that self-conse- cration which faith implies. Hence the con- science of the convert remains partially blind with respect to some practices in his former life, and when those practices confront him in his subsequent career he, too often, first hesitates and then refuses to renounce them. The result is that his profession finds its symbol in the morning-glory, which is clothed in simple beauty in early morning, but withers when the sun's rays shine upon it. Hence it is the duty of faithful ministers and Christian workers to faithfully instruct every convicted sinner with regard to the ethical scope of Christ's requirements. That con- viction which will not endure such instruc- tion is very unlikely to lead to genuine faith and sound conversion. They do well who Faith, Hopl, Love, Duty. ioi remember that superficial profession is the rock which endangers the safety of the modern Church. THY DARLING Hast thou been called, O CHILD. Christian parent, to part with a darling child, a son or daughter, whose filial affection promised to be the stay of thine old age? Does thy bereavement en- shroud thee like an impenetrable cloud ? Is it to thee a mystery, tempting thee to brood darkly upon thy trial and to doubt the love of the heavenly Father ? If so thou wilt do well to restrain thy vagrant will, since peace will not come to thee *' Through broodings vain And half rebellious questioning of God, But by a patient seeking to fulfill The purpose of his everlasting will." In doing this thou wilt surely be led to be- lieve and to feel that his love was the root of thy affliction; and in seeing that thou wilt be able to nestle thy heart on the pillow of his peace. I02 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. THE LAW OF SERVICE is a Universal law. SERVICE. j^ii nature obeys it. The sun serves every green and every living thing. The mountains serve the rivers, which in their turn serve the ocean. . Every thing in nature serves man. Man in his turn serves his fellow-man. Jesus made himself the servant of all, saying, " I came not to be min- istered unto, but to minister." What and who is he, therefore, who seeks to escape his obligation to serve either his fellow-men* or his Creator ? Is he not foolish, in that he at- tempts the impossible, since, struggle as he may, he must remain bound with the chains of this universal law ? Serve his fellow in some way he must, either willingly or un- willingly. If he be endowed with nothing higher than the wisdom of common sense he will search for the extent of his obliga- tions both to God and man, adopt for his rule of action the motto of an ancient prince, and say, *^ I serve," to every man to whom his service is due, and especially to Christ, to whom he is debtor for his life and all that Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 103 appertains to life. He v;ho is unwilling to serve others is himself unworthy to be served. LIVING IN THE- INSTEAD of living in the PRESENT. present moment, taking " a child's pure delight " in every gift of God's rich goodness, some minds form a habit of flinging the present from them as if it were only ''the rind of some sweet future," which when it comes proves "bitter to the taste." Happy, therefore, is that man who sucks pure enjoyment from every passing mo- ment, rejoicing in God, feasting on the gifts of divine love now in his possession, and learning to leave future sources of delight and all "unborn griefs" in his loving hands, " Knowing that his mercy ever will endure." SIN'S AVENG- That men will reap as they ING ANGEL, g^^^. '^ ^ ^j.^^j^ taught both by observation and by inspiration. Nevertheless, men will persist in hoping that they will I04 Faith, H(jpe, Love, Duty. gather grapes from the sowing of thistle-seeds. To such Schiller wisely sa^^s: ** Who sows serpents' teeth, let him not hope To reap a joyous harvest. Every crime Has in the moment of its perpetration Its own avenging angel — dark misgiving. An ominous sinking at the inmost heart.'* And that misgiving is the shadow of the penalty incurred by guilt — a penalty which involves final separation from all goodness, from all who are good, and from the God of the goodness rejected for the sake of the sin. Such are the fluctuations of AT THE DROWNING- business and the ups and POINT. downs of social life that, as Hawthorne observes, '' Somebody is always at the drowning-point." A moment's thought of what submergence beneath the waves of bankruptcy implies begets a shudder in a healthy mind for the victim of financial ruin. Nevertheless, there are men in society who plan to build up their own fortunes by schemes that involve the misfortunes of others. Like Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 105 wreckers on an iron-bound coast such finan- ciers burn false lights to turn their associates on to rocks and shoals whereon their business barks must go to pieces. And when they see their victims at the drowning-point they rub their own guilty hands gleefully and reckon up the value of the gains they have made from the losses of the wrecked ones. O, the heartiessness of human selfishness ! Of course no real Christian can be even a part- ner with such financial wreckers, for he ac- knowledges the authority which said to the Christians of Corinth, ^' Let all that ye do be done in love" (R. V.). Did love ever plan the ruin of another ? A VERBAL CON- ^^ ^^^ visiou of heaven John TRADiCTiON. ^^^ ^^e Church as a bride ar- rayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints — that is, of the sanctified souls composing the Church. Hence the fitness of the remark by a Scottish writer, that " the idea of having heaven without holiness is like the idea of 8 io6 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. having health without being well. It is a contradiction in ternis." The worldliness of men is HERMIT LIVES. ., • . , i not determined by the spheres in which they move, but by the affections which reign within them. Vinet justly re- marks: ^' Many a hermit lives in the world, many a man of the world lives in solitude." Thus a very active, busy man, while handling merchandise and doing much business in the marts of trade, may be maintaining secret intercourse with his Lord and looking for divine approval of his every transaction. On the contrary, a woman who lives chiefly at home may be constantly fretting because she cannot live stylishly, dress extravagantly, and be recognized as one of the queens of society. Her life is passed in comparative solitude, yet her soul is rent and torn by the storms of worldly passion which sweep through it day by day. The former is " in the world, yet not of it; " the latter does not move in the active world, yet, being filled with its spirit, is Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 107 manifestly ''of it." The real life of the former is hidden from the multitude around him as much as if he were a hermit of the desert ; the visible life of the latter, though inactive and in a measure solitary, is never- theless as thoroughly worldly as if it were spent in the crowded saloons of gayety. A SHOCKING What does that man do PRAYER. ^yY^Q repeats the Lord's Prayer, saying, " Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them who trespass against us," while his heart is full of wrath against his neighbor because of some real or imaginary offense ? He prays, but for what ? Not for pardon, but ''for a curse on his own head." His request is equivalent to asking Heaven not to forgive him. What a shocking prayer ! PICTURES OF Every wrong act resembles ^^^* a statue with two faces, in that when viewed before committed its de- formities are hidden behind its fascinations, and after it has been done its criminal aspect io8 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. stands out in bold relief. Hence even pros- perous guilt regrets that its gains were not innocently won. And there are few men who, in their reflective moments, do not feel with Wordsworth in these lines : ** O, that our lives, which flee so fast, In purity were such, That not an image of the past Should fear that pencil's touch !" By *' that pencil " the poet meant the con- science brooding remorsefully over past deeds of evil. Yet the "pencil touch" of con- science is but a rough outline compared with that perfect photograph of all his unpardoned meannesses which will flash upon the sinner's eyes when in the judgment-day the book of doom shall be opened. What shame, what sjlf-reproach, what despair those fearful re- productions of his sin will awaken in his trembling breast I But O, blessed fact ! to- day those pictures of sin already drawn may be blotted out in the precious blood of Christ and grace obtained whereby neither con- science within nor the book of doom in Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 109 heaven shall have occasion hereafter to draw aught but pictures of pure deeds which shall be to their doer not a cause of remorse, but "a joy forever." LOOKING THE That man errs who con- WRONG WAY. demns himself because his experience is not precisely like that of some other person of whom he reads or with whom he converses. A closer study of human nat- ure would convince him that '* in these deep- est, most secret workings of the soul no one man's experience will exactly fit in with that of any other man." The life of faith is sus- tained and guided by looking, not unto other men, but " unto Jesus.** '* Max is his own star " is a HIS OWN star. poetic statement of that proud disposition to live a self-centered, self-guided life which is characteristic of fallen human nature. Rejecting Him who is the '' day-star " set in the moral heavens to guide them to their proper destiny, men perversely choose, no Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. as Isaiah puts it, '^ to walk in the Hght of your [their] own fire, and in the sparks that ye [they] have kindled," thereby despising the divine guidance of Christ, the '* morning star," and reckoning their own purblind, wis- dom a safer guide than the perfect wisdom of the Son of God. Is not this man's topmost height of folly ? As to its fatal consequences the rejected wisdom of God says, " This shall ye have of mine hand ; ye shall lie down in sorrow." What a destiny ! FICKLE AS Fickle as the wind is the THE WIND, unsanctified human heart. A young disciple, speaking of himself, once said, " Now the pulse beats with love to Jesus; now it beats responsively to some car- nal liking." But when his faith had matured he exclaimed, '' How blessed to be ever rest- ing on the arm of the Beloved ! His arm is revealed in the word of the Gospel, and we lean on it by simple confidence of faith." Yes, it is faith working by love which cures fickleness and enables the purified believer Faith, Hope, Love, Duty, hi to exclaim, ''It is God that girdeth me with strength and maketh my way perfect ! " To one who is saiUns; out of AN UN- ^ CLOUDED port the city he is leaving REALITY. r I- 11 appears first dim and then unreal, while to him who is sailing into the harbor that city is an ever-increasing, un- clouded reality. It is even so with heaven. To the lovers of this world it is as a city out of sight, a mere cloud-land, an unsubstantial dream. But to those who are seeking it by faith, and approaching it as to their home, it is as real as their own consciousness. Their eyes behold its grandeur, their ears catch echoes of its songs, their hearts leap with rapture at the thought of soon seeing Him whom their souls love. To them there is nothing less unreal, nothing more real, than the many mansions of their Father's house. THE FOLDED ^^ Stand beside the *' folded TENT. tent " of one's departed friend wTth a faith that can look into heaven and 112 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. confidently say, " I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me," is to have the sting taken out of one's bereavement. To Him who is well stricken in years there is, in ad- dition to this gladsome expectation of reunion, the certainty that his separation from the friend of his youth and manhood will be but for a short time. Placing his hand ten- derly on the marble brow of the dead he can say, as Longfellow said of his friend Charles Sumner, ** Thou hast but taken the lamp and gone to bed ; I stay a little longer, as one stays To cover up the embers that still burn." A beautiful image this of the delightful fact that the aged Christian who weeps at the grave of his friend will soon joyously clasp his hand again in the beautiful land which knows no death. IMAGINARY ^^^^^ P^ople have real TROUBLE. trouble and find strength of character, as athletes do, by contending for victory. Others, having no real occasion for Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 113 anticipating evil in the future, live amid imaginary dangers and are disturbed by grin- ning though impalpable images and ground- less fears. It has been humorously but truly said of such that in many mysteries of life and death they resemble the good knight Don Quixote when he hung by his wrist from the stable window and imagined a tremendous abyss yawning beneath his feet. Maritornes cut the thong with lightsome laughter, and the gallant gentleman fell — ^four inches ! This is laughable, yet it fairly illustrates the folly of those morbid minds who feed their doubt- ing souls on the chaff of idle apprehensions unworthy of men who profess faith in God. It were far wiser and better for such if they were to cast their fears to the winds and habitually say, " Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me ! " DEATH IS ^^ DYING child. Wearied with BEAUTIFUL, j^j^g sickncss, looked into the face of a sympathizing visitor and exclaimed. 114 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. *' O, death will be so beautiful ] My Saviour loves me!" And death is beautiful to all who, like that child, can say, " My Saviour loves me ! " For to such is not '* the king of terrors " only the conquered slave of Jesus, appointed to unbar the gate which stands betw^een the present and the future, and to admit his Master's friends into his gracious presence ? Hence a poet fitly says: '' The sting of death doth neither fright the worm That spins itself a silken tomb, Nor the forgiven child." How can a man to whom death ** is gain " help exclaiming with the dying child, *' O, death will be so beautiful ! My Saviour loves The spiritually-minded man THE HIGHEST ^ ^ POINT OF finds himself lifted to the HONOR. , . , , , , highest point of honor and joy just where he sinks the lowest before God. He reaches the goal of rest where he aban- dons his last proud aspiration. His virtues grow apace when his heart becomes a garden Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 115 planted with the meekness and lowliness of Christ. For he then finds by sweet experi- ence that " Lowliness is the base of every virtue, And he who goes the lowest builds the safest.' And this is because God " giveth grace to the humble" while "he resisteth the proud." Hence it is that folly enthrones itself in the house of pride and wisdom builds its nest in the heart of the humble man. SEEDS OF SIN ^^^j ^^^^ ^^^ daiideUon, bears HAVE WINGS, winged seeds, "Which through the free heaven fare," tak? root, and are seen in the future •' Bringing forth many a thought and deed " which, like spectral phosphoric lights in the bleak morass, lure men into bottomless depths of death. Therefore, " No one can be a sin- ner and not hand on the sin; " and, says Holy Writ, " One sinner destroyeth much good." Hence one cannot be a sinner with- out being also a destroyer. ii6 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. FINGER-POSTS BuTLER built his famous IN NATURE. Afialogy on the observation by the son of Sirach that '' all things are double one against another, and God has made nothing imperfect." A later English writer puts this pregnant thought into simpler phrase, saying, " Every object in nature is a finger-post to some great spiritual truth, to which it has a typical relation." And then he pertinently remarks that the antichristian scientist "worships the finger-post," but the Christian thinker more wisely passes on to the spiritual truth which it indicates: " He looks through nature up to nature's God." **The things that are made" guide him to the study of those " invisible things " which it is the especial purpose of the divine word to bring within the compass of human thought and human affection. The most delightful de- HEAVEN'S ^ SWEETEST scription of heaven is sug- PLEASURE. , , XI, gested by our Lord s assur- ance that where he is there his disciples shall Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 117 be also. His companionship will be their heaven. Hence Cowper says of heaven: " There, like streams that feed the garden, Pleasures without end shall flow ; For the Lord your faith rewarding All his bounty shall bestow." And all his bounty will be comprehended in the unending fellowship of his infinite love. DETHRONING ^^ fathom the depth of his SELF. Q^yj^ vileness a man needs to look not alone on his outward acts, but chiefly within himself. Holding God's word in his hand for a light, he will then perceive that his ^^ self-will is reigning, perhaps uncon- sciously, when God's throne ought to be in the capital and citadel of his being. This is sin in its essence." And of this essential monster-sin of self-assertion he will feel obliged to confess himself guilty. The dis- covery will shock him. If he will be suffi- ciently wise, and honest enough with himself to let this thought accomplish its proper work in his conscience, his experience will speedily ii8 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. be such as to enable him to adopt the follow- ing lines as its fitting expression. After searching vainly for relief in every thing hu- man he will say at last, " Nothing I find, except the self-same thing, One deep expression of tremendous want, Nothing that even pretends to seal the grant That to the heart's great void shall fullness bring ! Then, Saviour, I sink back before thy knee And all things find in thee, and only thee." By thus dethroning self and enthroning Christ his sin is driven out. He is a sinner saved. SIN AND THE ^' To show you siu," says NEWSPAPER. T\ r^ J \7 u '< Dr. C J. Vaughn, a news- paper is almost more than a Bible." This is true, seeing that the modern newspaper is, very largely, a record of the crimes and vices of mankind, while it has very little to say of the innumerable virtues hourly practiced by the good. It needs, therefore, to be read in the spirit of one watching against the influ- ence of evil, lest by becoming familiar with images of evil deeds " We first endure, then pity, then embrace." Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 119 To the senses and to one's DEATH AS SEEN BY human affections death is re- FAITH. pugnant, but to the eye of faith death has many attractions. Paul cdls it ^^gain," and '^being with Christ." To the dying thief Christ describes it as being with himself " in Paradise." Standing in the light of this faith Longfelbw wrote, " The grave itself is but a covered bridge Leading from light to Hght through a brief darkness.'* Blessed, therefore, are they who walk v\-ith Christ toward the grave, knowing that he will go with them while crossing that bridge and beyond it into his glory. CLOWN OR ^^ would be difficult for one KING ? standing at a distance to dis- tinguish a clown from a king, provided both were enthroned and clothed in robes of roy- alty. It is often correspondently difficult for men to distinguish a nominal from a real Christian. Externally they may closely re- semble one another. The difference may be chieily in principle, v>^hich is invisible except I20 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. to Him who sees the roots of men's actions, sounds the depths of their emotions, and knows whether one's religious Ufe is the out- grovrth of a regenerated heart or the sickly- blossom of self-love and empty sentiment. He knows how to discriminate between him who is truly spiritually-minded and him who, while paying outward respect to religion, ** abuses the freeness of grace to looseness, and security and the power of grace to negli- gence and laziness." Blessed, therefore, is that man whom the all-seeing Redeemer rec- ognizes as a true-hearted disciple ! That evanojelical Christians PAINFUL ^ DEATH- *^ die well " is a fact demon- SCENES, , , , 111 strated by unnumbered death- beds. But Costabel, a Vaudois pastor, speak- ing to some English travelers of papists in Italy, said that " the fear of death among them is awful," and that he often witnessed "the most painful death-scenes." Their priests perform their empty ceremonies over their expiring bodies, but cannot give them Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 121 peace of mind; " and,'' said he, ^^they die in agonies of terror." That papist death-scenes are of this character every-where, except in cases of real spirituality, of which no doubt there may be not a few in that great Church, is hardly to be doubted. How can the words of a priest quiet the consciences of men whose religious life is wholly made up of formal, semi-idolatrous observances which neither renew the heart nor purify the life ? Mani- festly the mummery of ^'extreme unction'* cannot effect that for which personal faith in the blood of Christ is alone sufficient. But what a motive there is in such " painful death- bed scenes " for faithful missionary work among the deluded followers of Romanism ! WHAT GOD Why is it that men doubt WISHES. the willingness of God to grant them pardon and grace ? " As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth." And Christ said, " If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall 9 122 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him ? " Surely " the evil heart of unbelief " must be both strong and perverse in him who, with that divine oath, and this divine assurance, taken in conjunction with the central fact of the Gospel, that ^*by the grace of God, Jesus Christ tasted death for every man," can dare to doubt, not the will- ingness merely but the infmite desire of God to save him. Away then, O doubting soul, with thy fears ! They hurt thee; they dis- honor God. If thou really desirest mercy, it is thine for the asking, for " God wisheth none should wreck on a strange shelf; To him man is dearer than to himself." OUR HEARTHS ^^ every ancient Roman's ARE ALTARS, hearth-stone, the fire sacred to his /ares, or household gods, was kept perpetually burning. Can it be said with equal truth that in every Christian household a perpetual fire of devotion is kept burning on an altar consecrated to domestic worship ? Are there not many homes claiming to be Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 123 Christian in which no such ahar stands ? No wonder if in such households there is a lack cf that perfect domestic love which it is one of the ends of the Christian religion to pro- duce; no wonder if in such homes there are haunting fears, gnawing anxieties, and timid apprehensions of evil, since God is not in- voked in joint worship to be their defender. And it is no wonder that in those house- holds where God is recognized as their Lord, and trusted as their protector, their inmates look calmly and fearlessly on all the ills of life, knowing that, having by their common faith made God their shield, nothing can harm them without his permis- sion, and that consequently they cannot be really hurt at all. It is of such a home as this that Keble beautifully sings in these sweet lines: *' Around each pure domestic shrine Bright flowers of Eden bloom and twine, Our hearths are altars all ; The prayers of hungry souls and poor, Like armed angels at the door, Our unseen foes appall." 124 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. WAY-SIDE Opportunities for self- FLOWERS. improvement and usefulness lie along the paths of men like flowers growing by the way-side. But he who wills to profit by them must pluck and use them, because they are as the roses of which Bryant sung: " If man come not to gather The roses where they stand, They fade among their foliage ; They cannot seek his hand." Alas ! how many neglected opportunities lie, like faded foliage, in the past of every human life. One cannot review them without blushes of shame and sighs of regret. But sighing cannot make them other than lost opportuni- ties. Yet, if one's regret be honest, it will be a spur to the faithful use of such opportuni- ties as still lie about one's path, and concern- ing which the voice of inspiration is saying, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might ! " THE SHAME There are times in the life OF SELF. q£ ^ regenerated man in which recollections of his past sins rise like black Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 125 and angry clouds on a summer day between his aspiring soul and his Saviour. Such re- membrances paralyze his longings for closer fellowship with Christ and give birth to a stinging sense of shame such as Ezra felt when he said, " I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God, for our [my] iniquities are increased over our [my] head.*' This blending of shame and longing is de- scribed by Cardinal Newman as " These two pains, so counter and so keen, The longing for Him when thou seest him not, The shame of self at thought of seeing him." Relief from these keen pains can be found only in a resolute turning of one's thoughts away from one's sins to that love of God which moved his Son to shed the blood which cleanseth from all sin. In presence of the thought of God's unbounded love shame drops its sting and is transformed into grati- tude; faith recovers its strength; love revives and bursts into joyous praise, and the pain of longing gives place to the sweet satisfac- tion of conscious fellowship with the Re- 126 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. deemer. O, wondrous love, which invites a creature once guilty of shameful sins to look, not with the blush and pang of shame, but with the joy of a happy child, into the face of his reconciled Lord, and to sing, " Hallelujah ! Love and praise to thee belong ! " A MARVELOUS ^HE highest and most FACT. blessed life is attainable by the lowest man. The poorest tramp who wanders through the land a homeless vagrant is offered the opportunity of acquiring God- likeness here and a seat on the Redeemer's throne hereafter. The same amazing privi- lege lies at the feet of every man, and O, marvelous fact ! God beseeches him to pick it up and make it his own. Can there be any folly equal to that folly which spurns this costly, this blood-boiight privilege? If he finally rejects it will not the thought of his unspeakable folly gnaw the sinner's heart as the worm which dieth not ? Will he, can he, ever forgive himself ? Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 127 THE VULTURE ^^ Goethc's " Faust " the hero OF REGRET. q£ ^j^^ drama has evil spirits placed at his service by Mephistopheles, the demon who had led him astray. Faust bade them dig a canal on his estate. They took their spade and began digging, but when he went to inspect their work he found not a canal, but a grave ! How like to these mis- chievous sprites are men's animal appetites ! Choosing to make life a long play-day with sensuous pleasure as its chief end, the sensualist bids his appetites minister, not to his duty, but to his enjoyments. They prom- ise him the mirth that is exhaled from the wine- cup, the beastly delights of unlawful lust, the gratification of a pampered appetite, and the jollity of abandoned society. Putting faith in these promises, he surrenders his whole being to the pursuit of material enjoy- ments. With what results ? Behold him in a few years sitting on the ruins of his life ! Hear him saying in the words of Amiel, **The vulture of regret is gnawing on my heart, and the sense of irreparable loss chokes me 128 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. like the iron collar of the pillory. I have failed in the task of life, and now life itself is failing me ! " Sad spectacle ! And still more sad is the darkness of the second death into which his guilty spirit is hurled when summoned from its ruined body. Is the reader tempted to devote his life to such pleasures ? He may if he vrill, but, as sure as inexorable destiny, " the end of these things is death ! '* THE LIVING ^ TRULY good man's esti- WORM. mate of sin moves him to hate it^ to dread it, as his most deadly enemy, and to shrink from it as from the attack of a viper. Hence, though he may love innocent wit, he will not be beguiled into laughter by a pro- fane witticism, knowing that he cannot in- dulge in such merriment without deadening, in greater or less degree, his moral sensibil- ity. How can a man smile at sin, even though it be inclosed in sweetness, when he believes it to be as Bunyan describes it in these impressive lines ? — Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 129 *' Sin is the living worm, the lasting fire, Hell sOvon would lose its heat, could sin expire. Better sinless in hell than to be where Heaven is, and to be found a sinner there. One sinless with infernals might do well, But sin would make of heaven a very hell." Holding such views of sin, one is not sur- prised to find the homely poet adding to this description the following caution, to which, by the way, even the reader may wisely give due heed: " Look to thyself, then, keep sin out of door, Lest it get in, and never leave thee more." The autobiooraphy of the DANGEROUS tor.; BORDER- late Anthony Trollope con- LANDS. . ,- , tams a passage well worthy the consideration of every young man and woman. Here it is: *' The regions of abso- lute vice are foul and odious. The savor of them, till custom has hardened the palate and the nose, is disgusting. In these he will hardly tread. But there are outskirts on these re- gions, in which sweet-smelling flowers seem to grow and grass to be green. It is in these 130 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. border-lands that the danger Hes.'* This is true, and it is also a truth not to be gainsaid that at the entrance to these border-lands Satan stands robed as an angel of light, to woo the young, with flattering words, to taste, not the vices, O no ! but the seemingly harm- less pleasures of sin. It is not to drunkenness, but only to the single glass of sparkling wine, that he invites; not to the abode of avowed profligacy, but to the parlor cotillion; not to the gambling-table, but to the friendly game of cards at some private fireside; not to the companionship of prodigals, but to the fasci- nating theatrical performance; not to the crime of absolute dishonesty, but to some hidden trick of trade or speculation. It is only to a little thing, a momentary indulgence, the plucking of a rose within the charmed in- closure, that the hypocritical devil tempts. What he really seeks is to make the tempted one false to himself, to duty, and to God. The prize the tempter wants is that soul's inno- cence. What the tempted one needs in that critical moment is incorruptible loyalty, Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 131 proving itself true in a little thing; power to stand immovable against the beginning of evil, to refuse to take one step into that bor- der-land whose farther side is hell. A MAN may hide his sins SELF-RUINED. ^ , ^ , from the gaze of other men, but he cannot conceal them from himself. As a Roman poet said, " Still in the mind the fault doth lie That never from itself can fly." Hence in the last day, when the books shall be opened, every man will be compelled to be a witness against himself. And to noth- ing will his self-testimony be more conclusive than to the fact that the unbelief by which he refused the mercy offered him by Christ was his own willful, deliberate act. *^ I am self-ruined ! " will be his endless moan. SAD MEMO- ^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^ sonnets to his RiES. mother Heinrich Heine con- fesses that while he could stand before the face of a king without a downcast eye he could not help being " smit with shy humil- 132 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. ity *' when in his mother's presence. And he ascribes thi.s feeling to the " Sad memories that tell How many a time I caused thy dear heart pain, Thy gentle heart, that loveth me so well." In this confession of the poet one finds the universal truth that offenses committed in youth against the law of filial affection be- come "sad memories" in life's after-time. The parent's love pardons the fault, but no child ever fully forgives himself for having wounded a parent's heart. The sad memo- ries live on, fretting the soul and begetting the profitless cry, '^ O, that I had never wounded the loving hearts of my father and mother ! " Happy, therefore, are those youths who, by honoring their parents, put no acts into their lives which can grow into such " sad memories " as those which burned themselves into the soul of Heinrich Heine ! THE SPELL OF There WES beauty in the ^^^- color and sweetness in the taste of the forbidden fruit which grew on Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 133 the tree of knowledge. To the tempted pair in paradise it did not seem possible that to taste it would be to bring " death into the world with all its woe," albeit the Creator had told them it would. Refusing to believe the God of truth, they ate it and thereby made the world a vast hospital, a theater of many woes, an insatiate grave-yard. The un- godly man suffers to-day in body, soul, and spirit because of that first pregnant act of dis- obedience. Yet, despite of what he suffers, of what he sees of the fruits of sin in others, and of Heaven's warnings against the deceit- fulness of sin, he sins on, refusing to believe that sin will hurt ////;/, and mocking at the voices of God and of the Word which bid him beware! Alas for his folly and his fate i since only •' Fools make a mock at sin, will not believe It carries such a dagger in its sleeve ; How can it be, say they, that such a thing. So full of sweetness, e'er should wear a sting ? They know not that it is the very spell Of sin to make men laugh themselves to hell. Look to thyself, then, deal with sin no more, Lest He that saves against thee shut the door." 134 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. A PRECIOUS The tear of a penitent sin- OFFERiNG. j^gj. jg doubtless one of the most precious offerings he can make to his justly offended Maker, but it is not, it cannot be, a solvent of his guilt nor a purifier of his sin-stained nature. To one who thinks that tears can purge away sin a Christian poet most truthfully sings : ** You cannot cleanse your heart with tears, Though you should weep as many years As your great Father, when he sat Uncomforted on Ararat. This would not help you, and the tear Which does not heal will scald and sear." That this is true is evident from both Script- ure and universal experience. The former declares that not tears, but the precious blood of Christ, cleanseth from sin; the latter shows that no man ever gained either peace or purity by the mere shedding of tears, even though those tear-drops were the sheddings of a truly penitent heart. But whenever penitential sorrow has been followed by a faith which saw in Christ's blood the price paid for human pardon, and said undoubt- Faith, Hope, Lovr, Duty. 135 ingly, " Jesus bore viy sins; 7?iy iniquities were laid upon him; I take him to be my Saviour," then, in cases as innumerable as the stars, a peace, sweet and delightful as the atmosphere of paradise, has overspread the heart and righteousness has been born into the life. Thus the facts in human life are in harmony with the theory of the Gospel, which thus be- comes constantly self-demonstrative of its divinity. Therefore, O, penitent sinner, add to thy tears the faith which says, " Christ is mine ! " There comes to most young PURE AS YET. ^ ^ souls a moment of powerful temptation to some sin which, once committed, becomes their life-long tyrant. A critical moment that, as the youth's soul stands face to face with sin, right on the narrow line which divides virtue from vice ! " Yet is it pure — as yet ! The crime has come Xot o'er this threshold yet ! so slender is The boundary that divideth life's two paths." Happy is that youth w^ho, when standing on that fateful line, looks away from the sin, lifts 136 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. his eyes heavenward, and, seeing the pitiful face of his Redeemer gazing upon him as he did on faithless Peter, exclaims with the best of Jacob's sons, '^ How can I do this grea' wickedness and sin against God ! " RUINED The recent experiences of PALACES. certain millionaires, whose immense fortunes, rapidly accumulated by daring and abnormal speculations in w^heat, in mines, and other objects of value, have dissolved like Aladdin's palace as quickly as they were built up, remind one of the follow- ing lines from the pen of Goethe: " All men, both great and ^mall, are fain To weave a web out of their brain, While in the middle they sit at ease To clip and snip as they may please ; Then if a breeze comes some fine day To sweep their flimsy threads away, Straightway they cry, * What fiendish malice To overthrow our splendid palace! " How many of such golden palaces have crumbled over the heads of the men whose cunning seemed for a time to make them Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 137 masters in the world of finance ! Those men played with values as the spider plays with his web. They believed themselves invinci- ble. They held their millions to be imper- ishable and inseparable from their coffers. Yet an unexpected melting away of public confidence, like a sudden thaw in early spring, caused their fortunes to float from them like bubbles on a swollen stream. It was not ** fiendish malice,'* as the poet puts it, that did it ; but that invisible, inexorable law which pervades nature, penetrates society, and sooner or later brings all things into judgment. All history proves that whatever is built up on false principles, though it may appear to flourish a while, is destined to perish in the end. Justice, honesty, truth, fairness, are alone eternal; but injustice, dishonesty, false- hood, and supreme selfishness are shifting quicksands sure as destiny to swallow up at last whatever structures men in their vain pride may erect upon them. Recent facts strikingly illustrate this truth, and ought to teach our commercial men, our statesmen, 10 138 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. and all others that the permanent well-being of society cannot be secured by the abnormal methods which of late years have taken pos- session of our exchanges, our counting-rooms, and our political organizations. We must reform by giving the second commandment a place among our business principles and by bringing our political life within the sphere of the great truth that righteousness — and righteousness only — exalteth a nation. THE EGG OF ^HE egg of Unbelief is UNBELIEF. hatched in the nest of human passions. As Massillon observes: "The yoke of faith is never rejected but in order to shake off the yoke of duties; and religion would never have an enemy were it not the enemy of self-indulgence and vice." Thus a fact which is a reason why men should embrace religion is made an excuse for rejecting it. A DISGUISED " To-DAY is a king in dis- KiNG. guise," said Carlyle. The saying is an odd one, but it expresses a pro- Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 139 found truth. The kingliness of to-day ap- pears in the fact that it holds a royal gift in its hands — such a gift as no human king can offer, to wit, the opportunity to secure eternal life. *' To-day," says the Holy Spirit, ^* if ye will hear his voice. . . . Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." It may also hold the key of a man's immortal destiny in that it may have a commission from the Master of Life to sur- render him into the hands of death. Assur- edly to-day is a king, but whether its gifts shall be mercies or judgments depends on the disposition of each individual to respect or disobey the commands of the King of days. Behold, now is the day of salvation; it may be thy day of evil destiny, O, unregenerate man ! GOD'S PAY- Memory and conscience are MASTERS. God's pay-masters of the wages of sin. A man may conceal his vices, at least in part, from the gaze of men, or his offenses against humanity may be forgiven I40 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. by the injured parties, but he can neither forgive himself nor forget his own criminaHty. His too faithful memory will relentlessly drag his evil deeds into the presence of his con- science, which will in its turn persist in tort- uring him with burning rebukes. Shelley, writing from his own sad experience, de- scribes this self-judgment of a guilty mind with terrible force when he says : *• Forget the dead, the past ? O, yet There are ghosts that may take revenge for it ; Memories that make the heart a tomb, Regrets which glide through the spirit's gloom, And with ghastly whispers tell That joy once lost is pain." Yes, the joy of lost innocence is replaced with the torments of guilt, and thus every man tastes, at least in part, the penalty of his sin even in this life. He is forced to live in the deep shadow cast from the doom of that hnal judgment which awaits all who do not by timely faith wash out their guilt in the pre- cious blood of Christ ! Therefore let him who is yet innocent of presumptuous sin seek grace Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 141 by which to keep his innocence unstained, and let him who is steeped in guilt " Plunge into the purple flood, And rise into the life of God." AGNOSTIC Coleridge shows the folly FOLLY. q£ agnosticism and atheism in the following pertinent lines: " Forth from his dark and lonely hiding-place, Portentous sight ! the owlet Atheism, Sailing on obscene wings athwart the noon. Drops his blue-fringed lids, and holds them close, And, hooting at the glorious sun in heaven, Cries out, Where is it ? " What is this but a poetical putting of the divine declaration that none but fools say, " There is no God; " for who but a fool would stand in the blaze of noon asking, '^ Where is the sun ? " Pascal affirms that '' there TRUNK VICES. are some vices which adhere to us only because of others, and which, when the trunk is removed, fall away like branches." This profound thought has its illustration in the "trunk" vice of covetousness, out of which there naturally grows the branch vices 142 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. of falsehood, deception, dishonesty, niggardli- ness, and envy. Many men wnose characters are disfigured by these latter vices would have been true, honest, liberal, and noble-minded had they not given place in their affections to the trunk vice of covetousness. Who, therefore, need wonder at that caution of Holy Writ which bids every man beware of covetousness ? A DYING MAID. When the spiritually- EN'S WHISPER, minded Miss Newton was at the point of death she whispered to her mother, '' Dear mamma, here is my parting gift to you — ' For one look to self, take ten of Jesus.'" Simple yet golden words were these, since to look unto Jesus is to draw life, peace, strength, hope, and joy from him as the branch draws fruitfulness from the vine to which it is united. NO SATIETY IN That the **sweetest things HEAVEN. shall soonest cloy" no man can truthfully deny ; but it does not follow that the satiety which kills the life of joy will Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 143 be known in heaven, as the foolish heart is, in its moments of reverie, sometimes tempted to fancy. It is assuredly true that religious joy does not cloy truly devout souls even here, since in none is such joy so rich, so sweet, and so abounding as in those who have through long years most earnestly sought it. Why, then, should it cloy those who, when in the realm of the Infinite, with none but spiritual tastes and with constantly enlarging capaci- ties, will find unlimited food for lofty thought and boundless spheres for activity ? No, the thought is a suggestion of the tempter, who delights to annoy the souls he cannot subdue. Away with it, therefore, O, Christian! Fear not that there can be satiety in heaven. But if you will cherish a fear let it be *' Lest an eternity should not suffice To take the incasure, the breadth and height Of what there is reserved in paradise — Its ever-new delight." THE BUBBLE There is a Strange fascina- REPUTATiON. ^,^^ ^,^ ^^^ "bubble reputa- tion," which charms even some good men as 144 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. soap-bubbles floating in mid-air do little chil- dren. To have one's name in the mouth of the world, to be sought after, to be treated with exceptional deference, to be placed in seats of honor, and to be ranked with the great men of one's age are prizes which to many appear worth winning at the cost of painful effort. But are they ? If high repu- tation comes to a man as the spontaneous tribute of the public to great achievements and pure character it doubtless yields a high degree of innocent satisfaction, provided he does not make it his idol and so become a worshiper of himself. In such case it be- comes a curse. But even when accepted with humility and with due gratitude to Him to whom belongs the ability of which it is the crown it soon loses its charm, and, as the testimony of many great men shows, becomes more a burden than a blessing. It is, there- fore, folly for any man to fret himself into discontent because he cannot win the top- most height of his profession. Better far to seek the honor which comes from God by Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 145 doing the very best work -possible to one's ability, even though it has to be wrought in some quiet sphere unnoticed and unapplauded by the changeful voice of the fickle public. He who saw Nathaniel under the fig-tree ob- serves such a worker, and in the day of his presentation before the throne of His glory will say to him, " When thou wast faithfully toiling in that lowly parish I saw thee ! '' DIVINE CON- What infinite condescen- DESCENSION. ^[^^^ ^^ ^^ f^^ Q^^ ^^ i^vite men to meet him as children meet a father in their private chambers ! Yet he has done this through his Son, who bids us pray to our heavenly Father in the secrecy of our closets, and assures us that he will reward us openly if we thus talk with him alone in our quiet hours. Hence Hannah More fitly says : ' ' The secret heart Is fair devotion's temple ; there the saint, E'en on that living ahar lights the flame Of purest sacrifice which burns unseen, Yet not unaccepted." 146 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. A MAN is capable of decid- WHAT IS ^ YOUR iNFLU- ing whether his influence is ENCE? , - tor good or evil, but no man can estimate the measure of his influence, whether it be good or evil. Longfellow tells us that " Each one performs his life-work and then leaves it ; Those that come after him will estimate His influence on the age in which he lived ; " but this, though true in part, must be taken with qualifications. It is true of such leading minds as Wiclif, Erasmus, Luther, Wesley, etc., that posterity reaches a just judgment concerning the good or evil results of their work, but it is never able to estimate, with any thing like exactness, the extent of those results. None but the omniscient One can do this, seeing that no other eye can trace it from mind to mind from the moment of its birth to the end of time. To a man whose influence is evil this thought should loom up like a thick cloud burdened with the force of a whirlwind. To him who is conscious that his work ^* makes for righteousness *' it is as Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 147 a brilliant rainbow having the promise of a divine unfolding in tlie day ot doom which will fill him w4th ecstatic and never-ending joy. Which is it to thee, O, immortal man, a cloud or a rainbow ? THE GREATEST ^HO ever heard of a man so OF FOLLIES, foolish as even to think of mooring his ship in mid- ocean t Such a fool was never yet known. Nevertheless, a greater folly is committed by the man w4io is so cap- tivated by a life of sin as to settle down to its commission without a thought of providing for the immortal destiny to which, in spite of himself, he is being borne. Is he not like one trying to cast anchor in a restless, fath- omless deep, within which there are resistless currents sweeping his bark toward an iron- bound shore ? HELL IN THE SoME One writing of sin HEART. while it is as yet only a concept tion soliciting the passions calls it " hell in the heart," because the lawless desires it 148 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. kindles are sparks from the pit of darkness. Shakespeare, who was no stranger either to sin in prospect or in fruition, puts the difference between anticipated and completed sin in these expressive lines. Before commission it ap- pears " A bliss in proof ; but proved, a very woe ; Before, a joy proposed ; behind, a dream. All this the world well knows ; yet none know well To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell.'' To escape this hell of punishment one must refuse to enter into the hell of temptation. He must not permit the masked tempter to kindle those base desires which constitute a **hell in the heart." He must trample out the first spark, remembering these significant words of the apostle James: "When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death ! " A MiscHiEV- *' ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ choose the ous MAXIM, least," says the proverb which often fails from the lips of '^ Mr. Worldly Wiseman.'* Applied to merely phys- Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 149 ical evils the maxim is not obiectionable; but where the evils are incral it is false and mis- chievous. No man is at liberty to choose to do a sinful act under any supposable circum- stances. Of the noble ^*army of martyrs" now before the throne of God many, perhaps most, might have escaped prison, rack, and stake by choosing the evil of concession to the demands of their persecutors. But had they made that choice they would not now be numbered with that glorified host. Re- member, therefore, O, man of God, that you cannot innocently choose a moral evil that *^ good may come " either to yourself or others. If tempted to do so let your quick, firm, final response be, " I can suffer loss; I can, if necessary, surrender my fortune and my life, but I cannot, I will not, choose to do any evil deed which my Saviour wouM pro- nounce sinful ! " HIS DEATH- An ungodly man who is WARRANT. aiiiicted with a mortal disease is like a condemned criminal who carries a 150 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. copy of his death-warrant in his pocket, not knowing at what hour he may be summoned to meet his doom. To him the death-angel is a grim and dreaded executioner. But to the "man in Christ " death is not a king of terrors, but heaven's smiling messenger to conduct him to the audience-chamber of his beloved Lord. Dr. Donne gives fine expres- sion to a Christian's thought of death in these lines: " Think then, my soul, that Death is but a groom Which brings a taper to the outward room, Whence thou spy'st first a glimmering light ; And after brings it nearer to my sight ; For such approaches doth heaven make in death." It was because Paul spied even more than a ** glimmering light " streaming from the gate of heaven that he said, " For me to die is gain,'' and " I have a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better " than to live in the flesh. Truly, while, to an impenitent sinner, death is the dreaded door of doom, to the believer in Christ it is the golden gate of blessedness I Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 151 THE SOUL'S Life is opportunity, the SEED-TIME, soul's secd-time, the vestibule of hell or heaven, as its possessor may choose to make it. Its issue will soon be determined, for, as Bishop King sung of life, it is " Like to the falling of a star, Or as the flight of eagles are, Or like the fresh spring's gaudy hue, Or silver drops of morning dew, Or like a wind that chafes the flood, Or bubbles which on water stood : E'en such is man, whose borrowed light Is straight called in, and paid to-night. The wind blows out ; the bubble dies ; The spring entombed in autumn lies ; The dew dries up ; the star is shot ; The flight is past — and man forgot." Yes, forgotten on earth, alas, how soon ! but not forgotten in the future life. There he will have his place forever, in weal or woe, in honor or disgrace, an everlasting reaper of the seed he sowed during his life on earth. The character of that harvest must be as the seed sown. Corruption, isolation from God, if the sowing now is to the flesh; everlasting felicity if the sowing is to the Spirit. To which art thou sowing, O, immortal man ? 152 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. PLANNING FOR MiDWiNTER is the scason in THE FUTURE, ^y^ich men form plans for the business of the approaching spring and sum- mer. The sensualist schemes for opportuni- ties to drink from ** Pleasure's full bowls," the man of business for large profits, the ambitious man for higher honors. Of the first it may be said that the pleasure he seeks, if quaffed, will "taint his blood" and animalize his soul; of the second, that, if too ardently sought or unjustly gained, it will make him like one who '' chews on stones that choke; " and of the third, that it "fats not, but fills with smoke." Hence the Chris- tian, while planning for the future, will never eliminate the thought of righteousness and duty to Christ from his schemes, will never forget that unholy pleasures, profits, and honors are in reality not gains but heavy and irreparable losses. Rather, in tha midst of his reveries on the near future of his earthly life he will readily adopt the sentiments, if not the language, of the old poet who quaintly sings: Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 153 *' And whilst my thoughts are greedy upon these. They pass by pearls and stoop to pick up peas. Such wash and draff is fit for none but swine ; And such I am not, Lord, if I am thine. Clothe me anew, and feed me then afresh ; Else my soul dies, famished and starved with flesh." SELF-BLINDED MoLES and earth-worms MEN. burrow and thrive in dark- ness under the ground, but men are so made that Hght is essential to their lives and happi- ness. Hence no sane man shuts out the light of heaven from his dwelling. Yet there is in many a moral insanity which moves them to resolutely close their souls against that divine light which is as essential to their mental peace and joy as sunlight is to their bodily well-being. They prefer walking in darkness and trampling on truth and duty to walking in the light and enjoying that forgiveness of sin and that cleansing from all unrighteous- ness to which that divine light leads. O, self- blinded souls ! Who can estimate what their folly costs them here ? Who can even im- agine what it will cost them in the here- after ? Milton pictures the present difference 11 154 Faith, Hope, Love^ Duty. between one who walks in the light and one who walks in darkness in these expressive lines: '* He that has light within his own clear breast May sit in the center and enjoy bright day ; But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts Benighted walks under the midday sun ; Himself is his own dungeon ! " Would the self -blinded man see what awaits him in the hereafter? Let him study Christ's picture of the rich man and Lazarus as they were after death ! UNHAPPY Longfellow, in his pos- IDLERS. thumous poem, makes Michael Angelo describe his idle friend Benvenuto as "An artist, Richly endowed by nature, but who wraps His talent in a napkin, and consumes His life in vanities.'* Do not these lines portray very many modern men and women? Assuredly they fit every life that is being spent unguided by high and noble purposes and wasted in devotion to profitless amusements and idle dreaming over Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 155 silly, sentimental, sensational fictions. To such idlers the necessary occupations of every day are regarded as burdensome drudgeries, and all they esteem as "life " are the vanities which perish in the using, leaving no fruitage but the intellectual and moral degradation of their unhappy devotees. Unhappy idlers • They do not know the sweetness of the fruit which earnest business, joined to high moral and religious purpose, offers to the taste of every busy man. They do not even know the measure of their own capacities, which, owing to their purposeless indolence, remain like undeveloped mines perhaps of exceeding richness. A purpose to live for God and humanity, put into a life hitherto devoted to idle vanities, transforms it, and makes it peaceful, beautiful, useful, and happy. Awake, therefore, O, listless soul ! and " whatsoever thine hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." Thy diligence shall make thee rich, if net in the gold of the mine, yet in that nobler wealth which corruptible gold is too poor to buy. 156 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. TONGUES OF Calumny, savs Sir Arthur CALUMNY. Helps, can make a cloud seem a mountain; can even make a cloud become a mountain. Did it not make the Christ's simple habit of eating ordinary food the basis of a charge that he was a wine-bib- ber and a glutton ? How base a thing it is! Inspiration affirms that the calumniator's false tongue is ^' set on fire by (R. V.) hell.'* Satan, the malicious liar, prompts him who invents a lie to injure his neighbor's repu- tation, and thereby brings him into close kinship with himself. Who can wonder, therefore, at the pointed declaration of St. James, that the possession of an unbridled tongue is conclusive evidence of self-decep- tion and of a hypocritical religious profes- sion ? Is any man base enough to defend a calumniator ? Few things prove the real- HEAVEN'S ^ / OWN SWEET- ity of the spiritual life more NESS. , . 1 1 stnkmgly than the effect which close intimacy with Christ has upon Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 157 human character. That effect is beautifully expressed in these lines: "As some rare perfume, in a vase of clay, Pervades it with a fragrance not its own, So when Christ dwelleth in a mortal soul, All heaven's own sweetness seems around it thrown." No one inhaling the perfume of the vase could reasonably doubt the presence of some- thing not clay. Is it not equally reasonable to believe that spiritual beauty in character must come from a power in it more than hu- man ? NOT LOATH TO " ^^^^ V^^ willing to die ?" ^^^* inquired one addressing his dying friend. The aged sufferer turned his filmy eyes upon his questioner and said with energy, '* Let him be loath to die who is loath to be with Christ." Yet some Christians cling to life with such tenacity as to shrink from death. Good Richard Baxter is some- what severe on such. He says of them: "As the prince, who would have taken the lame beggar into nis coach and he refused, said to him, ^Thou well deservest to stick in the 158 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. dirt/ so may God say to the refusers of rest, * You well deserve to live in trouble.' " This is, perhaps, in a measure, unjust to some really good men whose interest in the present life is so deep as to weaken their aspirations after a present heaven. Nevertheless, such men need be slightly suspicious of such an interest in this life as prevents them from heartily saying with Paul, ** For to me to live is Christ, but to die is gain." WHAT WE The things which we see are CANNOT SEE. Qj^jy shadows of things un- seen. What we see is perishable, what we cannot see is imperishable. The visible world is made up of phantoms which, like ourselves, are gliding toward their hour of dissolution. The eternal is the only real, and that lieth above and beyond the temporal. God has given us a desire to reach the eternal, a presentiment that we may attain to it, and a revelation confirming our presentiment, and meeting and guiding our desire to its fulfill- ment. Who, then, but a fool or a madman, Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 159 will limit his labors to the accumulation of the perishable ? Who but tlie willfully un- wise will incarnate in the dust upon which their feet trample those aspirations after the infinite which, if permitted to guide their lives, would lead them from the unrest of the tem- poral to the blissful restfulness of the eternal ? iRREPRESSi- Some good men are so irre- BLE MEN. pressible, especially at camp- meetings, that they will speak regardless of the proprieties of time, place, or circumstance. Wesley had such a man in one of his early Conferences, who insisted on telling his ex- perience during a business session. Charles W^esley cried out, " Stop that man from speak- ing ! Let us attend to business !" But the warm-hearted brother kept on speaking, heed- less of his rebuke. Charles continued, " Un- less he stops I'll leave the Conference." Wesley, who was enjoying the good man's words despite their untimeliness, cooled his brother's rising anger by quietly saying, *' Reach him his hat!" Perhaps Charles i6o Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. deserved this witty retort for his impatience with the spiritually-minded speaker. Yet his anger was no justification of that irrepressibil- ity which excited it by doing violence to the fitness of things. Emotional men should re- member that there is a time to speak and a time to keep silence even about spiritual joys, and that their '' good " may be so unwisely displayed as '4o be evil spoken of." IDEAL ^"^^ John says love in be- PERFECTiON. lievers is, or may be, " made perfect." How, then, ask some, can there be further growth in a perfect Christian life ? One answer is that there is an infinite dis- tance between absolute perfection and that perfection in love which John teaches. Look- ing at the former, the Christian, however rich his attainments, will always say with Paul, " not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect." Even in heaven there will be an ideal perfection toward which the redeemed will forever tend, but which they, being finite, will never reach. Absolute per- Faith, Hope, Love^ Duty. i6i fection belongs to God only. Nevertheless, it is our sweet privilege to reach after it and to approximate toward it. In his Imaginary Conver- A HARD HIT. sations Landor makes one of his characters, while talking of the Italian language, say, *' Governare means to gaveim, and to wash the dishes. This, indeed, is not so absurd at bottom; for there is gener- ally as much dirty work in the one as in the other." This is a hard but deserved hit at those administrators of government who too often feel compelled, like Pilate, to sacrifice justice, right, and purity at the clamorous bidding of selfish politicians. Their submis- sion to such demands is, however, never a real necessity; for a wrong act can never be necessary to a right result, either in a govern- ment or in a private individual. He who succumbs to a wrong, therefore, only demon- strates the unsoundness and weakness of his own character. A truly great man will never degrade himself by saying " I feel compelled " i62 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. to any demand which requires him to sacri- fice his convictions of duty. Dr. Coke once solicited and COKE'S PERSUASIVE obtained a missionary contri- POWER. ... . . , bution from a captam m the British navy. Meeting a friend the same day, the officer said, "Pray, sir, do you know any thing of a little fellow who calls himself Dr. Coke, and who is going about begging money for the missionaries?" The gentleman re- plied, "Yes, I know him well." The cap- tain rejoined, ^' He seems to be a heavenly- minded little devil. He coaxed me out of two guineas this morning." That Coke could coax such a gift from an irreligious man illustrates his persuasive powers. The para- doxical phrase by which the captain described him proves the profound spirituality of his appeal. It evidently made that godless sailor feel that Coke was indeed the messenger of God pleading for help to save the world. And is not this ihe spirit in which all mis- sionary appeals should be made ? Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 163 AN UGLY CowpER uscs a significant SMUTCH. £g^^j.e in The Task. Describ- ing a "plump convivial parson," who was both magistrate and minister, he bids his reader " examine well his milk-white hand " on which **here and there an ugly smutch appears." The man had touched corruption in the shape of a bribe. Hence the " ugly smutch " on his palm. Here the poet has given us a startling typical illustration of the really appalling truth that corruption of every form leaves an " ugly smutch," not merely on a " milk-white hand," but also on the con- science. It defaces character. The act may be forgotten, but the ^'ugly smutch " remains to fill the guilty with the fiery pangs of self- reproach whenever he takes time to look at himself as he is reflected in the divine mirror — the word of God. Should he fail to see himself as God sees him until he has leaped into eternity he will find the "ugly smutch " made by his sin on his character to be in- effaceable. There is no fountain for sin in hell. But here, thanks be to our merciful 164 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. Lord ! the '^ ugly smutch," he it ever so large or black or hateful, may be washed out by that precious blood which cleanseth from all sin. FITNESS TO Neither willingness nor ^^^- desire to die is proof of fit- ness to meet one's final doom. When the irascible Walter Savage Landor thought him- self on the brink of death he said, ^' W^hat a pity Death should have made two bites of a cherry ! He seems to grin at me for saying so and to shake in my face as much of a fist as belongs to him. But he knows I never cared a fig for his menaces, and am now quite ready to let him have his own way. ... I take it uncivil in Death to invite and then to balk me. It was troublesome to walk back when I found he would not take me in. I do hope and trust he will never play me the same trick again." If this was irreverent trifling with a serious matter it was, no doubt, sin- cere. Landor was disgusted with life which his own lawless action had made thorny and Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 165 vexatious; but he had no fitness for Death whom he invited. He was scholarly, keen in intellect and wit, a genius, indeed, but he knew nothing of spiritual religion. He did not fear to die because he was physically brave and spiritually blind. For the same reasons the wicked often ^' have no bands in their death." Nevertheless, their fearless leap into eternity involves, as in the case of Dives, a terrible waking. He only is fit to die whose willingness is the happy result of faith in Him who by dying conquered death. souL-WHiTE- The key-note to Christ s NESS. preaching was, ''Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righte- ousness, for they shall be filled." Hence the key-note to a genuine Christian life is right- eousness. " Virtue, virtue, always virtue/' soul-whiteness, purity of conduct. All his faith in Christ, all his prayers, all his endeav- ors, all his hopes, will be but as the "baseless fabric of a vision," unless they lead him to be " good as God is good, righteous as God is i66 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. righteous, holy as God is holy." And O, blessed truth, Christ to the believer is the end of the law for righteousness ! gyjL Thoughts on things evil are THOUGHTS. j^Q|- necessarily evil thoughts. All the vile deeds of men and devils are al- ways present to the mind of God, who is, nevertheless, infinitely and unchangeably pure. In a vastly lesser degree the story of human corruption is brought by reading and obser- vation daily before the Christian, but it does not necessarily defile his soul. Yet if, in- stead of awakening strong repulsion, it begets sympathy witTi wrong and desire for forbid- den indulgences, it then becomes a source of defilement. His thoughts are then evil thoughts — birds of ill-omen to be instantly driven away by fervent prayer. greeting the ^ MISSIONARY when living SUNRISE. among the Fuegeans heard them shouting and howling at sunrise. Asking the reason of these morning cries, he was told Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 167 by a native, "People very sad; cry very much." Thus he learned that the daily misery of their lives had taught them to give a pathetic greeting to the sunrise as ushering in the beginning of another evil day. Let the reader contrast with these gloomy fore- bodings the joyous morning anticipations which fill the breasts of believers in Christ, who, beholding the first beams of every new day, can sing with the saintly Keble, " New mercies each returning day Hover round us while we pray; New perils past, new sins forgiven, New thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven." What a vast gulf lies between these opposite states of mind ! Yet, thanks be to God ! Christianity can bridge it. Teach the now wretched Fuegean to know Jesus, and his sunrise howls will be replaced with sunrise thanksgivings and joyous anticipations. Who, then, that is worthy to be called by the name of Christ will fail to do his utmost to send our night-transmuting Gospel to the ends of the earth ? i68 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. CORRECT SELF- HUMILITY is not self-dcprc- VALUATioN. ciation, but correct self-valua- tion. The word comes to us from humilis and humus ^ the ground; not under the ground, but on it. That is, it signifies that the hum- ble man sees himself in his true and proper relations both to God and man. Looking to the former, he sincerely says, ^' I noth- ing have, I nothing am." Absolutely de- pendent, inherently impure, essentially help- less, he sums up his condition in the simple lines: ** I'm a poor sinner and nothing at all, But Jesus Christ is my all and in all." Looking to his fellow-creatures, he sees noth- ing of which he can boast in their sight. He may properly enough be conscious of genius, talent, culture, gifts, or social status superior to many, since humility is never at war with truth; but that knowledge does not elate him, because the humbleness of his mind moves him to ask, " What have I that I have not received t Strike the grace and provi- Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 169 dence of my Lord from my life, and what should I have left?*' Thus he does not glory in himself, but in God; and his humil- ity clothes him in a robe which is beautiful in the sight of men, because it was woven in the looms of heaven. TAKING ROOT -^^ ^^^^ would taste the DOWNWARD, rapture of spiritual fellow- ship with his heavenly Father must first sink into the depths of humility at his feet. The saintly Lady Huntingdon learned this sweet secret by experience, and she told it to Dr. Doddridge m these words: "Did we enough take root downward we should bear more of this fruit upward. 'Tis humility must make us ascend by the fiery chariot. That divine Being whom my soul most delights in shows me my lesson in these few words: * Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly.' " The count- ess spoke the truth, for God is never visible to him who is on the mount of pride, but only to him who abides in the beautiful vale of humble love. 12 lyo Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. FORBIDDEN ^' They have made void thy MARRIAGES, law," Said the psahiiist, when speaking of men who paid formal respect to God's worship but refused to incorporate his precepts into their practice. They were seek- ing to divorce reHgion from moraHty. Doubt- less such men w^ere ready to say with senti- mental w^armth, ^' We love thy commandments above gold," but they could not add, as did the psalmist, "We hate every false way," in- asmuch as their professions of admiration for their national religion were essentially false in that they did not permit their creed to regulate and mold their morals. False ways were the very things they did not hate, but love. Those Jewish Antinomians have always had their imitators in the Christian Church. They are found in all denominations to-day vainly endeavoring to wed the immoral prac- tices of business, politics, and worldly living to faith in the pure-minded Christ. Vain en- deavor ! God has put his ban on that unholy marriage. Between a deliberately bad life and a living faith there is a ^' great gulf fixed." Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 171 The price of the faith is the renunciation of the evil deeds; and he who professes the former while practicing the latter is either a conscious hypocrite or the victim of Satanic delusion. "What doth it profit though a man say he hath faith and have not works ? Can faith save him ? ... As the body with- out the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." IN PURSUIT OF ^^^^ folly o( the fabled dog SHADOWS. ^yj^Q jQg|. j^jg meat by leaping after its shadow in the stream is not to be compared with the folly of that man who studies to prolong his present life while neg- lecting to secure his interests in the life eternal. His utmost care cannot add much to the length of the former; but his neglect of the latter, if continued, must involve him in endless, irremediable ruin. Thus by his eagerness to secure the pleasant things of this life, which is but as a shadow of the future, he loses the life everlasting, which contains the only substantial things on which 172 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. souls can feed, grow, be truly satisfied, and really happy. Is there any folly to which such folly can be fitly compared ? Surely, the dog in the fable was wise in comparison with him who to do his own pleasure in the life that nov/ is dooms himself to toil forever on the trc-ad-mill of retribution ! OUR WHITEST How eloquent onc would be PEARLS. j£ Qj-^g could but givc full ex- pression in speech to the brilliant thoughts which one has in moments of mental and emotional elevation! But, said the poet, '*Our whitest pearls we never find, Our ripest fruit we never reach, The flowering moments of the mind Drop half their petals in our speech." This is one of the limitations of human power. Yet even with this limitation what wonders have been wrought through human speech by such men as Wesley and other great revivalists ! But, be it remembered, especially by the preacher, that it is the power of the Holy Ghost in imperfect human Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 173 speech which makes it mighty to break that hardest of rocks — a hmiian heart petrified by sin. SELF-INTRO- ^^^ much self-introspcction SPECTiON. ig ^Q^ profitable to either intellect or heart. This truth is oddly yet expressively put by Professor Amiel in his journal. He says: " The hankering after self- knowledge is punished, like the curiosity of Psyche, by the loss of the thing sought. The goose lays no more eggs from the moment she begins trying to find out why her eggs are gold." Of course, the professor does not here condemn all reasonable search after self- knowledge, but only that morbid self-intro- spection which breeds melancholy and de- spair. Hence, though it is well to know one's self to be both sinful and morally helpless apart from the mercy of God, it is not well, but ill, to keep self so completely before one's mental eye as to exclude its vision of Jesus. The victories of faith are v>'on, not by looking into one's self, but by ^Mooking unto Jesus." 174 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. OUR RUDE BAD ^HE devout Kcblc, in one THOUGHTS. q£ i^jg devotional poems, asks what a man's friends would do if Heaven loaned them its light to see " The rude bad thoughts that in our bosom's night Wander at large, nor heed love's gentle thrall." Answering his own question, he assumes that the sad disclosure would cause one's friends to shun and leave one friendless and to *' die unwept." • He then prays to the merciful One whom he addresses as, •* Thou who canst love us, though thou read us true." In this last line there is a most comforting thought to the believer, who is often baffled in his moments of prayer and meditation by the host of '^ rude bad thoughts " which will persist in coming up, like troops of unbid- den ghosts, from the hidden depths of his heart to vex his soul. How he hates himself because of their obstinate persistence ! And how often he is tempted to believe that his Lord turns from him in holy disgust ! But not so. His Lord is very pitiful, and, seeing the Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 175 sfri/ggldoi his follower to drive away these rude troubles of his soul, he loves him still. Be of good cheer, therefore, O, tortured disciple ! 1 hink of the greatness of the love that clings to thee despite those vain thoughts; for no soon- er will thy mind have fairly taken hold of his imao-e than all thv vain thoughts will have van- ished like morning mists before the risen sun. A LEAP IN THE LORD CHESTERFIELD, notO- DARK. rious both for wit and infidel- ity, was so charmed by ^\^litefield's preaching that Lady Huntingdon vrrote cf him to Dr. Doddridge saying, ** Sometimes I do hope for dear Lord Chesterfield." But her ladyship's hope was vain. The proud nobleman jested and said that death was only a ** leap in the dark," until he was summoned to test his skeptical theory by actual experience. Then says Lady Huntingdon, who saw him a few hours before he died, " The blackness of darkness, accompanied by even/ gloomy hor- ror, thickened most awfully around his dying moments." Thus shadows cf the " outer 176 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. darkness *' fell fearfully upon his dark, de- spairing soul when he made the fatal leap of which he had delighted to jest. Five years later his widow, who had followed the coun- sel which he had slighted, was called to pass the same mystic gate. To her, however, it was not a leap in the dark, but an ascent to eternal light. In the crucial moment she gazed, with affection in her glance, on Lady Huntingdon, and exclaimed, "O, my friend, I have hope — strong hope — through grace ! ** Then seizing the hand of the countess with a convulsive grasp, she cried, " God be merci- ful to me a sinner ! " The next moment her humble, trusting soul was in heaven. What a measureless distance lay between these two deaths ! Yet what was that distance but the difference between willful unbelief and peni- tential faith? Hast thou that faith, O, im.- mortal man ? LET HIM The worst thing that can ALONE. happen to a sinning man is to be let alone. The loss of health, of friends, Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 177 of fortune, or of position may be repaired, but vvhen a man, by deliberate determination to continue in sin, moves God to say, *^He is joined to liis idols, let him alone ! " he suffers an irreparable loss. Henceforth the devil is his despotic master, and his evil pas- sions lord it over his conscience, his reason, his will. Unhappy man ! What worse thing could befall thee ? DIVINE GRA- I^^" forgiving human sin God ciousNESs. (jQ^g [^ ^yi^Y^ ^ breadth of gra- ciousness which inflicts no wound on the par- doned man*s self-respect. '^I will forgive their iniquity, I will remember their sin no more," is his promise. Once forgiven human sin is as if it had not been committed. The forgiven may censure themselves, but their Redeemer will no more condemn them. Hence, says the poet, " Not as mortals do The Saviour doth ; lie raiseth from the ground The crushed one, and restores from eveiy aa ound The self-respect of man. No friend untnie Is he, with past offense to make thee sad.'* 1 78 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. DEADENED, ^i^^^ the prodigd son NOT HEALED. « ^^^^^ ^^ himself " he found no comfort until he was folded in his father's warm embrace. It is even so v/ith every hu- man soul when it is once brought by reflec- tion to feel the pangs of guilt. No philo- sophical theory, no denials of the inspiration of the Bible, no sentimental communion with nature, no attempt to argue the conscience into silence, will extract the sting of guilt from a divinely wounded soul. Its pain may be deadened by resolute plunges into the excitements of pleasure or business — deadened^ but not healed. To be healed it must be dressed with that precious balm which " Grows In that sole garden where Christ's brow dropped blood." " The blood cf Jesus Christ, his Son/' and that blocd only, ^' cleanseth us from all sin." Go then, C, guilty soul, wash in that precious blood and be healed of all thy pains ! Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 179 False men cannot win the FALSE MEN. confidence of society, and are not, therefore, the possessors of much moral authority. But men who are true to them- selves, to their fellow-men, and to God, com- mand respect and have great influence. Hence Professor Amiel is justified in say- ing, ^* Let us be true; this is the highest maxim 'of art and life, the secret of elo- quence and of virtue and of all moral au- thority." Jesus was an example of perfect trueness, and no man ever spoke with such authority as he. JUDGING MEN " J^DGE not of men or HASTILY. things at first sight," says an old proverb. ^' Judge not according to ap- pearance, but judge righteous judgment," is the profounder precept of the Master of all wisdom. Both the proverb and the precept bid one restrain that disposition to sit in that Rhadamanthine judgment on the actions of others which is an outgrowth of one's excess- ive self-esteem. Mary Lamb, the sister of i8o Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. the genial author of the Essays of Eiia, gave a good reason for not forming hasty, ill- considered judgments, when she said to a friend who had asked her opinion of a particular act, *' As I cannot enter into your feelings and views of things, your ways not being my ways, why should I tell you what I would do in your situation ? I have a knack of looking into people's real char- acters, and never expecting them to act out of it — never expecting them to do as I would in the same case." The wisdom of Mary Lamb's principle is apparent when one reflects that most of men's false judg- ments of each other originate in the as- sumption that their own view of things is the view taken by parties they condemn. This is judging according to appearance without just consideration of the views and motives of the parties concerned. Such judgments are forbidden by common sense, by charity, and by our Lord's precept. Better " judge not " at all, than to judge unright- eously. Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. i8i A TWO-EDGED ^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^ converse well SWORD. ig a valuable gift. Of one so gifted Joanna Baillie says, ** He is so full of pleasant anecdote, So rich, so gay, so poignant in his wit, Time vanishes before him as he speaks." Yet such wit is a two-eged sword. It maybe used either for or against truth and goodness. If seasoned with the salt of divine grace it makes its possessor a social benefactor; if in- spired by godlessness it makes him a dispenser of poisons. Hence a gifted conversationalist does well to heed the counsel of Oliver Gold- smith, who says: " Laugh at folly alone — find nothing truly ridiculous but villainy and vice; " and of Paul, who with still higher wis- dom said: '^ Only let your conversation be as becometh the Gospel." CONDUCT AND ^^ HV is ouc's character what CHARACTER. [^ jg p What made it so strong or so weak, so exalted or so imperfect ? Dr. Dykes says: " It is our own past which has made us what we are. We are the children 1 82 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. of our own deeds. Conduct has created character; acts have grown into habits; each year has pressed into us a deeper moral print; the lives we have led have left us such as we are to-day." Let him who questions these clear-cut statements take a retrospective view of his past life, seeking the roots of his present character. He will surely find the faults of his past incarnated in the habits of his present life. He will see much that now mars the beauty of his character to be the outcome of past wrong indulgences, past neg- lects to improve his opportunities, and past acts of unwisdom. Remembering this, let him learn to put nothing m.ore into his life that will give wrong shape to his character next year, but after seeking complete renova- tion of his present self at the hand of our merciful Lord let him henceforth keep him- self pure. THE HEAV- " Have we not all eternity ENLY REST. £qj. q^j- rcposc ? " asks Ar- nauld. To this one must reply, " Yes and Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 183 no." Yes, if by repose rest from burdensome activity, from temptation, from anxiety, from the vexations of the present is meant. From all these there " remaineth a rest for the peo- ple of God." But if by repose Arnauld means a stagnant, idle, unemployed life in the future, one must say with emphasis Jio^ a thousand times no ! Inactivity in heaven would make it unendurable. It must be a life of action, but of action that will never weary, but always refresh. The soul will be like a fountain there, finding constantly re- newed delight in pouring out its energies in the service provided for it by Him who '' him- self inactive were no longer blest ! THE UNGRATE- The peasant who lives on FUL MAN. ti^g banks of the swiftly flow- ing Rhone gazes daily on its waters, yet never gives even a passing thought to the glaciers from whose slowly melting snows they are constantly replenished. Is it not even so with thee, O, unchristian man ? God's count- less mercies lie thick around thee, above thee, 184 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. at thy feet, yet, like that thoughtless peasant, thou never thinkest of his unmeasured love from which all those mercies flow. He scat- ters the signs of his love for thee every- where, yet thou refusest to see his hand, O, un- grateful man ] THE SACRi- The Church is the body of LEGiousMAN. ^^^.^5^, How wickcd, then, must that man be who originates or promotes a church quarrel ! Sacrilegious man ! He wounds the body of his Lord. He divides men whom he ought to unite. He inflicts in- calculable evils on society, for who can tell how deeply a church quarrel unsettles the faith of men in the Gospel of Christ ? Writ- ing of church division Moore said: '* Hearts fell off that ought to twine, And man profaned what God had given ; Till some were heard to curse the shrine Where others knelt to heaven." To that man who is involved in this dreadful work of shooting burning arrows into the body of Christ the prayer of David is emi- Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 185 nently suited and will be curative if sincerely offered. ^' Let not them that wait on thee, O, Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake; let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel." A FALSE -^^' ^^^ early days of Chris- BELiEF. tianity the standard of pub- lic morals was so low, the life of general society was so gross, that it was less difficult for the individual Christian to be ethically superior to the world than it is now since the Christian religion has raised the standard of public morals so much nearer to its own than it was then. For the same reason the in- dividual Christian of to-day is more easily captured by the world. The grossness of heathen immorality repelled the primitive be- liever; the fair aspect of the world to-day deludes the modern disciple into a belief that he may innocently mingle with it. O, false belief ! The spirit of the modern world is as hostile to Christ as was the spirit of the heathen world, and no man can love it with- 13 i86 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. out breaking faith with Christ and ceasing to love the Father. To be of the modem world is to part company with the Lord Jesus. VEXATIOUS There are days in the lives DAYS. Qf lY^QYi when the atmosphere of one's place of business resembles the raw air of a day on which the east wind is lord of the weather. On such days the spirit of vexation seems present, irritating one's nerves and disturbing the order of affairs, so that one goes home at night saying, ••The fretful stir Unprofitable, and the fever of the world, Have hung upon the beatings of my heart." When in this mood the weary-hearted man, instead of sitting down to brood over the vexations of the day, should imitate his Mas- ter, who, when wearied and worn by the hardness of men's hearts, was in the habit of seeking a retired spot in which to commune with his Father. Thus his disciple should flee to the refuge of secret prayer, and tell his vexations, not to men, but to God. He will Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 187 thereby rise into the bracing atmosphere of spiritual fellowship with the Highest, where his vexed feelings will vanish like the mist of the night when breathed upon by the morn- ing sun. The most brilliant and suc- AT THE GRAVE'S cessful sinner, when he MARGIN. , , ... reaches the margm ot the grave, in summing up the results of his ca- reer, finds that he has spent his day in ''The toil Of droppinij buckets into empty wells, And growing old in drawing nothing up." MERCANTILE ^^^ ^is Liv€s of American HONOR. Merchants Mr. Freeman Hunt says of that noble merchant prince, Amos Lawrence, that "' He was no speculator. . . . He had a high sense of mercantile honor, and the first condition of speculation is that it shall place that honor in imminent peril. The truth of this latter assertion finds sad demonstrations to-day in the vast number of financial speculators whose soiled reputa- i88 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. tions and wrecked honor lie along the path of commerce like the fragments of wrecked ships swept upon the sea-shore by tempest- uous gales. God, nature, public good, and the moral sense of mankind are at war with selfish speculation, and, therefore, sooner or later, ruinous retribution overtakes the un- principled speculator. Assuredly, mercantile honor is more precious than much ill-gotten gold. A TELLING JoHN BuNYAN made a tell- poiNT. ij^g pQii^t in his immortal alle- gory when he described poor Christian start- ing up from his dungeon floor in Giant De- spair's Castle, and exclaiming, " What a fool am I to lie in this filthy dungeon when I have a key in my bosom that I am persuaded will open every lock in Doubting Castle ! " How true is this to Christian experience ! The be- liever, by falling into temptation, grieves the Holy Spirit, loses his faith, sinks into an abyss of gloom, grows weary of well-doing, restrains prayer, and lives a cheerless, despairing life. Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 189 But the Good Shepherd seeks him, and with secret whispers moves his disheartened, wan- dering sheep to penitence and prayer. Sud- den gleams of heavenly light follow ; and, wondering at his folly in so long neglecting to pray, the disciple bows again at the throne of grace; and, being freely forgiven, once more goes on his way rejoicing. How much better it is, however, never to cease praying, since prayer is comfort and prayer is power ! As the poet sings, *' We kneel, and all around us seems to lower ; We rise, and all, the distant and the near, Stands forth in sunny outlines, brave and clear. We kneel ; how weak ! We rise ; how full of power ! Why, therefore, should we do ourselves this wrong, Or others that we are not always strong ; That we are ever overborne with care, That we should ever weak or heartless be. Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer; And joy, and strength, and courage are with Thee? " GRIEVING THE SoME men SO use their gifts CHURCH. as not to edify, but to grieve, the Church. They even glory in their offen- sive idiosyncrasies and censure those whose 190 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. tastes are justly wounded by their unwisdom. To such persons Paul's statement of God's intention respecting the use of gifts for Chris- tian work is eminently pertinent. They are given, he says, " for the perfecting of the saints, ... for the edifying of the body of Christ." THE TREACH- "^^ ^ long-continucd calm at EROUS CALM, g^^ ^Y\Q inexperienced voyager is apt to say, " We shall have no more gales on this voyage." A similar expectation of continuous exemption from temptation and trial arises in the heart of a young believer when showers of refreshing fall frequently and many days of spiritual sunshine succeed each other. But the result of such expecta- tion is to throw him off his guard, to induce unwatchfulness, and to tempt the ever-watch- ful devil to assault him with strong and unlooked-for temptation. The experienced disciple, knowing this, sets a double watch over his heart in his hours of spiritual delight, praying with the poet, Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 191 ** Whene'er becaimed I lie. And storms and wind subside, Lord, to my succor fly, And keep me near thy side. For more the treacherous calm I dread Than tempests bursting o'er my head.'* THE GIFT AND ^^ thosc sweet seasons of ITS GIVER. spiritual refreshing which come to individual believers, and at times to an entire Church, one is in danger of trusting rather in God's blessings than in God himself — of depending rather on the refreshing than on the Holy Spirit from whom it proceeds. The result, if this failure to discriminate be- tween the gift and the Giver continues, is to the believer what an unnoticed current is to a ship. It causes him to drift unconsciously away from God, because his faith fails to lay hold upon him. To prevent this misfortune the believer must be sure to touch the hem of the Master's garment — to enter into such con- scious fellowship with him as to be able to say with St. John, " Truly, our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ." 192 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. EFFECTS OF There* is a State of mind SELF-CONCEIT, called self-conceit. When by dwelling too much upon his own attainments a disciple falls into it, he vainly imagines that though all other men should fall into sin he would stand firm. Such a man is, alas ! al- ready fallen, at least from his humility. When he comes to himself after stumbling, as he is apt to do, he will sit on the footstool of contrition, and, instead of boasting, say, *^ Woe is me ! for I am a man in danger of falling into almost any sin if God should leave me to myself." Then his humble prayer will be, '' Hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe, and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually." THE DAY The man who comprehends OF GOD. that God made the Sabbath for the needed rest of the human body, and to give the renewed soul a foretaste of its rest in heaven, can say from his heart, " I love thee, day of God ! " But he who makes it a day of business or sensuous pleasure thwarts Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 193 the divine aim and turns God's remedy for the weariness of the necessary toil of life into a source of moral disease. He breaks " The loveliest charm Of all our toilhig^ days,'* and forces that holy day, which was meant to bless, to do him harm. PAINFUL AP- How natural it is for the PREHENSION, aged and comparatively help- less to shrink with timid apprehension from possible destitution ! This is a cold world, and, despite all the warmth and kindness the religion of Jesus has breathed into its heart, there is not much in it to awaken the cheerful trust of helpless age in its charities. Hence the aged poor who belong to Christ will find their escape from apprehensions of distress, not in what the world has to offer, but in him who feeds the ravens and clothes the grass of the fields. He has helped them. He will help them because his care-taking love never fails. They may soberly trust him because he is their Father who knows their 194 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. need and is pledged to provide for their wants. And this trust is no idle fancy, for, as Whit- tier sings, *' The steps of faith Fall on the seeming void, and find The rock beneath." MADAME GUY- There is exquisite beauty ON'S SECRET, ^j^ Madame Guyon's descrip- tion of her feelings at the time she was im- mured in a cell within the castle of Vin- cennes, charged with teaching dangerous doctrines, ^' It sometimes seemed to me," she said, ** as if I were a little bird whom the Lord had placed in a cage, and that I had nothing to do now but to sing. The joy of my heart gave a brightness to the objects around me. The stones of my prison looked in my eyes like rubies. I esteemed them more than *all the gaudy brilliances of a vain world. My heart was full of that joy which Thou givest to all those who love thee in the midst of the greatest crosses." Does the reader ask how Madame Guyon learned the divine art of transmuting her bitter trials and cruel crosses Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 195 into joyousness ? She herself shall tell him in a stanza from a poem written in her gloomy cell. She says: " Love is my teacher. He can tell The wonders that he learnt above ; No other master knows so well — *Tis love alone can tell o{ Love.''' This was her secret. She had learned to love Christ because he first loved her. And all who will may learn that sweet lesson too, and be as glad as she was even when in the fiery furnace of manifold adversities. PILLARS OR ^^ ^^^ Church some men are REEDS. "pillars," as Paul said James, Cephas, and John were in the Church at Je- rusalem. **And some are reeds that one time sway to the current, And to the wind another." These double-minded ones, being weak- willed, add nothing to the strength, consist- ency, or growth of the Church. They rarely succeed in overcoming either themselves or 196 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. the world. But the former, being '* strong in the Lord," are the glory of the Church, and are destined to conspicuous honor in the world to come. Of such the Christ says, *' Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out forever." Remember, therefore, O, fickle disciple, that God does not make the *' reeds " of the present life into ** pillars " of the eternal temple. A PRECIOUS There is an ornament ORNAMENT. ^y[^Y^[^ ^hc rcach of Chris- tian men and women which is of higher value than emeralds, rubies, or diamonds. It is so precious that He to whom these gems are but as pebbles of the brook esteems it as '* of great price." St. Peter calls it " a meek and quiet spirit." Not the mean, cringing spirit of a slave, but the manly, self-contained spirit which suffers injury without a desire to retal- iate, and endures provocations to anger with serene, silent dignity. Its highest type was set before the world when the Lord Jesus Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 197 stood in Pilate's hall listening to his false ac- cusers, to the mocking of the spiteful Jews, to the coarse comments of the Roman sol- diers, and to the questioning of his judge, without uttering an angry word, and wearing an air of moral majesty that compelled the respect and moved the fears of the man whose lips had in them the power of life and death. The man who, through his purpose to please his Lord, has acquired the habit of holding his temper under similar restraint when others speak ill of him, insult him, or heap indigni- ties upon him, is adorned with this precious ornament. He is a meek man. He has so deeply communed with Him who said, " I am meek and lowly in heart," as to acquire his lovable spirit and to ** find rest unto his soul.'* THE DissAT- -^ MAN who is habitually ISFIEDMAN. dissatisfied with others is usually dissatisfied with himself. In its shal- low cunning his heart " quarrels with what is outside of it," in the vain hope of thereby " deafening the clamor within itself," 198 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. A SEEMING I^' ^he Lord's dying coun- PARADOX. g^ig ^Q j^-g (lisciples he bade them, '* Watch and pray lest ye enter into temptation; " in the Epistle of James we are instructed *^to count it all joy when yc fall into divers temptations." These two texts make a seeming paradox, prompting one to ask, ** Why should one pray against a thing which when it comes is an occasion of joy ?'* The key to this paradox is found when one remembers that there are two kinds of temp- tations — temptations which are simply tests of faith and loyalty, and temjnations to commit sin. The former are God's discij^linary in- strumentalities designed to strengthen char- acter and to increase piety; the latter are the offspring of uncrucified lusts, stimulated by the devil and tending to one's spiritual ruin. The first, heroically endured, result in blessed- ness, honor, and a brighter crown; the second, entered into — that is, parleyed with and yielded to — first deface the beauty of the soul and then destroy its hopes of happiness. Against these we should watch and pray, Faith, Hopk, Love, Duty. * 199 '' Save us from temptation to do evil I " Concerning the foniier our prayer should be, ''Grant us the grace of endurance, the blessedness and peace of an unconquerable patience!" '* Behold," says James, *' we count them happy which endure." GNAWING That gnawing anxiety which ANXIETY. results from constant brood- ing over the possible approach of overwhelm- ing troubles has been forcibly described as " The broad consumptive plague Which breathes from the city lo the farthest hut " The Christian has a sure ]>rophylactic against this wide-spread plague in his Lord's assur- ance that his heavenly Father knoweth all his needs, and has pledged himself to add all necessary earthly things to him who seeks first the kingdom of God and his righteous- ness. His faith in this promise is proof against the poison of anxiety. HIDDEN **What a godlike beauty BEAUTY. ihoxi hidest ! " exclaimed an ancient sculptor, as he gazed in deep thought- 200 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. fulness on a rude block of marble. The pos- sibilities of the shapeless stone, it subjected to the strokes of his transforming chisel, were clearly outlined in his vivid imagination and prompted his enthusiastic exclamation. In the Gospel we see Christ looking upon the rich young man who refused to follow his directions, and loving him, '" Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him.'* Why did he love him ? Not because of his goodness, or will- ingness to be his disciple, which he was in the very act of refusing to be, but because of the possibilities he saw in his nature would he but submit his spirit to the molding fin- gers of divine love. And does he not behold the same glorious possibilities in thee, O, dis- obedient soul? Rude, wicked, self-willed as thou art, he sees that his grace can make thee beautiful as holiness. Thou hidest beneath thy selfishness a godlike beauty which he and he only can call into actual being. Therefore, beholding thee, he loves thee. Obey him, and he will make thee godlike; turn from him, and thy sinful Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 201 nature will increase in moral deformity until it will become a , perfect image of the evil one. A QUICK ^ NATURALLY quick tem- TEMPER. pgj.^ jj],^ r^^ indocile horse, does not readily submit to its owner's will. " It has been said that it is easier to act the martyr than to conquer one's temper." There may be some exaggeration in this say- ing. It is true, however, that to the unas- sisted will the conquest of a fiery temper is next to impossible. But ** impossible " is an unbeliever's adjective. It has no proper place in a Christian's vocabulary, inasmuch as to him no duty is impossible. He who com- mands the duty says to him, ^* My grace is sufficient for thee." It is, therefore, his great privilege to stand against his self-asserting passion like a lion-tamer amidst his subdued animals, holding them in abeyance and tri- umphantly exclaiming, " I can do all things through Christ strengthening me." Thus, divinely aided, the believer, though naturally 14 202 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. as furious as Jehu, may become as meek as Moses. Yea, he may clothe himself, as in a beautiful garment, with the meekness of the lowly Lord. THE LOOK OF Faith has been succinctly THE HEART, defined as ^^the look of the heart toward Christ crucified," and gratitude as *'the memory of the heart." But no man can have the gratitude without the faith, ncn* the faith without the gratitude; seeing that one must ** Behold the man ! " before he can be grateful for his great love, and having beheld him with loving trust one cannot help remembering him forever. Love and grati- tude are twin children of faith. VIRTUE that Ood's vineyard is no place SHINES. f^j. ^i^g supine and idle, but only for active, industrious laborers. Taking this view of Christian duty, John Milton said, " I cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue, unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and sees her adversary, but Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 203 slinks out of the race where that immortal garland is to be run for, notwithstanding the dust and heat." This is a just remark, see- ing that a virtue unexercised, like a lock un- used, gathers rust and is spoiled by the vice of idleness. Only the active virtue shines. Yet it must be remembered that there are many arenas in which virtue may find its ad- versary and win the garland. For some there is the noisy race-course of public life; for others the less conspicuous social circle; for still others the obscure country school-room or the humble and unnoticed cottage home. And Christian virtue may meet its foe face to face and win the victor's wreath as gloriously in the one as in the other. It is not the sphere, but the courage and faithfulness of the contestant, that secure the prize. A life spent before the public may make its actor conspicuous among men; but a quiet, com- paratively silent life may win as rich a prize for the unknown disciple from Him that seeth not as men see. Of such a disciple the poet says: 204 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. *' His life grew fragrant with the inner soul ; And weary folk who passed him in the street Saw Christ's love beam from out the wistful eyes, And had new confidence in God and man. And so he worked, and longed, and lived, and loved, Did noble deeds, not knowing what he did. Thought noble thoughts, unconscious of their worth, And lived that greatness he desired in vain." AN AWFUL Young sinners, when break- GiFT. jj^g away from the restraints of virtue, often boast of their purpose " to do as they please." God, in his desire to exalt them to a dignity but little lower than the angels, endowed them with that high degree of liberty. But it is an awful gift, since it gives them the power to rise to godlikeness, on the one hand, or to sink themselves into the depths of moral shame and misery, on the other. Remember, therefore, O, young sinner, that in doing as you please, if it please you to do wrong, you will find your- self in the iron grip of God's eternal law which with an irresistible force will lead you to the darksome charnel-house of the second death. Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 205 THE IDEAL The ideal home is not, HOME. never was, a product of any form of paganism or of any false religious system. It is the sole product of revealed religion. The reason of this undeniable fact is found in the lack of power in false religion to give birth to those affections which are es- sential to happy home life. They are all im- potent to conquer that innate selfishness of the human heart which, by asserting itself in the home circle, breeds mutual indifference, self-will, and dissension. The principle of self-sacrifice is not in them; and there is no tie but that of mutual sacrifice that can bind a family into an harmonious whole. But be- cause the religion of Jesus does bring a new and powerful affection into the heart which expels its natural selfishness it furnishes the conditions which are necessary to happy home life. Hence a poet justly sings: •* Sweet is the smile of home, the mutual look When hearts are of each other sure ; Sweet all the joys that crowd the liousehokl nook, The haunt of all affections pure." 2o6 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. Yes, pure affection, springing as streams from the love of Christ and cleansing the heart of its selfish passions, are the quiet forces which make the Christian household a "fairy ring of bliss." And the stronger the heaven-born Christ-love in each of its members the sweeter, the happier, the more beautiful is the life of the Christian home. UNDECIDED Among Christian converts CONVERTS. some are like Cortez, who, after landing his warriors in Mexico, cut off the possibility of retreat by burning his ships. These converts break off their connection with old sins, old haunts, old associations. Others, like Lot and his wife, who needed an angel's urging to quit the vale of Sodom with suffi- cient speed to save their lives, are found '* Lingering in heart and with frail sidelong eye, Seeking how near they may unharmed remain " to their former modes of living. Of these two classes many of the latter, like Lot's wife, fail to win final salvation, while the Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 207 former, lured onward by the charms of Heav- en's measureless love, grow away from their former selves into the likeness of their sinless Redeemer. Indecision ruins the one class; whole-hearted devotion saves the other. AFFRIGHTED WALTER CrANE, in The Si- TRUTH. ^^jj^^ Three ^ has this couplet: ** Truth affrighted fled the market-place Where lies were coined in gold, and craft was king." Alas ! that this description should be so nearly copied from existing facts in many de- partments of modern trade and finance as to be true to actual life. Yet it is even so; and because lies and craft are triumphant over truth and fairness universal distrust reigns as an avenging Nemesis throughout the land, breathing paralysis on business and filling men's minds with dismal apprehensions. Would our great financial operators expel craft and falsehood from the marts of finance, and enthrone truth as queen in the courts of mammon, business would spontaneously re- 2o8 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. vive and prosperity smile on the mass of the people. The chariot-wheels of trade drive heavily when they are in the Red Sea of di- vine disapproval. And the woes of disaster must follow in their wake unless they are brought into harmony with God's laws of truth and justice. It is hard for men to kick against the goads of heaven. SICK UNTO ^^ ^^^^ ^ sinner who is sick DEATH. y^[^^ mortal disease that the hour of his death is near at hand is usually to so excite his fears as to hasten his end. It is, therefore, a very common practice to con- ceal from such a one the fact that the de- stroyer has possession of the citadel of life. But when a spiritually-minded man is sick unto death there is no need of such conceal- ment. The nearness of death, either in mani- fest sickness or apparent health, awakens no tenor in him, because *■ The bliss unspeakable, unseen, Is ready, and the veil that lies between A gentle sigh may rend, and then display The broad, full splendor of an endless day." Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 209 Happy believer ! Seeing that there is al- ways only a step between the life and death of every man, how passing strange it is that, with the means within his reach of transform- ing death from being the king of terrors into a friendly conductor to the beautiful land, every sinful soul does not flee at once to Him whose blood, by cleansing the soul from guilt, takes away the sting of death ! A MANLY While yet a young man UTTERANCE. q£ uncertain prospects John Quincy Adams said, '* With an ordinary share of common sense, which I hope I enjoy, I can live independent and free; and rather than live otherwise I would wish to die before the time when I shall be left to my own discre- tion." This manly utterance was the key- note to the remarkable career of Mr. Adams. To be free from dependence on the favor of individuals and parties, to be independent in his judgments and opinions, and to act as his conscience dictated, was the height of his ambition. He had the courage of this high 2IO Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. ambition, and therefore he served his genera- tion usefully and honorably. Young men in these days of place-hunting will do well to shrink, as he did, from voluntary dependence on the capricious favors of men in power and from slavish bondage to the opinions of other men. To be loyally free and wisely in- dependent gives strength and dignity to character. SAVING That saving faith in a Jew- FAiTH. ig]-^ believer was identical in its operation with that of a Christian is strik- ingly manifest in this song of David: " The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him." Here we have David's conception of the divine Being as his strength and his shield; then his trust, his conscious relief, his consequent joy, and his v/ords of praise. The Christian has a wider knowledge of God's infinite love seen in the gift of his Son as the propitiation, not for a favored na- Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 211 tion or a select number, but for " the whole world." Seeing that such a propitiation must include himself, the Christian suppliant *' trusts in him and is helped.'* And this is saving faith — simply trusting in Christ and being helped. The trust and the help are inseparable, since whoever can truly say, ^*I trusted in him," is sure of the experience ex- pressed in the words, ** I am helped." Blessed be the God of universal love ! Let the shrmking penitent trust him without fear. A FAIRY -^^ ^^ P^^^ ^^ Qfodi^ the fam- RiNG. j}y jg intended to be the abid- ing-place of tender mutual affection. Each .member of it is expected to so chasten his native selfishness as to contribute to the hap- piness of the whole. Where this is done the family becomes, as Montgomery describes it, " a fairy ring of bliss.'* But when selfishness steals the scepter of love, and each seeks his own and not the others' good, it becomes the dreary abode of strife, the cave of all the miseries, in which, perchance, one is ever 212 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. bitterly saying to another, as King Arthur did to one of his unfaithful knights: " Thou hast not made my life so sweet to me That I thy king should greatly care to live. For thou hast spoilt the purpose of my life." Is it not a misdemeanor before the court of heaven for one member of a household to spoil the life of another? Yet that is done wherever husband or wife, son or daughter, brother or sister, lives in constant selfish dis- regard of the other's claims. Nothing but love can expel the selfishness which thus makes one the spoiler of the other's peace. God's recipe for family blessedness is, " Love one another." PETTY Petty trials arising out of TRIALS. ^YiQ selfishness and ill-will of persons from whose association one cannot escape are causes of constant irritation. They sting one's spirit as tall nettles do the bare hands of him who wields the sickle. They hurt, not because of the severity of each trial taken by itself, but because of the Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 213 repeated infliction of the sting on the same wounded spot. It were easier to suffer the wound caused by a stunning but passing blow than to endure the continuity of those teasing nettle-stings. Nevertheless, the dis- ciple whose providential lot it is to suffer them must not fret himself into combative- ness and retaliation, for that will cost him the loss of his faith and will dishonor his profes- sion. But how is he to endure them pa- tiently ? Peter prescribes a specific for such cases, saying, " Let them that suffer accord- ing to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator;" and let them also, with Paul, be ^'persuaded that he is able to keep that which I [they] have committed unto him against that day." Such submissive trust is a sure antidote to the nettle-stings of petty trials. PRAISING When Monsieur de Harlay, THE DEAD, Archbishop of Paris, died, the orator appointed to preach his funeral sermon 214 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. " only found two embarrassing points — his life and his death ! *' And when the unscru- pulous orator overcame these embarrassments and wrote an oration to every point of which the archbishop's life had been a palpable con- tradiction, the orator's superiors in office for- bade him to deliver it. They recognized a fact which every preacher of funeral sermons should keep in mind, to wit, that no orator- ical flattery over a man's dead body can wipe out the bad deeds of his life, neither can it blot from the public mind the recollection of the wrongs which the departed man had put into his life. This fact further suggests that he who desires to be justly praised and re- membered with respect by the public after he dies must put nothing but honorable and righteous acts into his life. A good life never embarrasses the preacher of a funeral sermon. FROM GOD ^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^ ^^^'^ P^' TO GOD. j.j|-y and to practice all the virtues, inasmuch as the love which comes from God leads to God. Hence a poet says: Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 215 " The virtues and all holiest sympathies, Preponderating upward, meet in heaven, And in God's bosom center." This beautiful thought of the poet is founded on the still more beautiful words of Jesus: ^^ The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into ever- lasting life." The Christ within us leads us to aspire after the Christ above us. MORAL Moral beauty cannot be BEAUTY. py|. Qj^ externally like a coat on the body, but, being a dress for the inner man, it must come from within into the out- v/ard aspect and actions of a man. When Moses was filled with the beauty of the Lord at the foot of the holy mountain his face shone with superhuman glory. And to-day those believers whose lives are hid wTth Christ in God give outward and even facial expres- sion to the beauty of Him whose living tem- ples they are. Who has not seen homely feat- ures made beautiful through the radiance of their inner purity and joy ? Who has not 2i6 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. known faces which were once distasteful and disagreeable through habitual pride, con- tempt, hatred, and sensuality, so transformed by conversion that they became beautiful in their expression of the purity, the love, the humility given to their owners by the Spirit of life ? If believers lived in constant fellow- ship with Him who is the source of all moral beauty their countenances would silently proclaim them to be children of the Highest. But who ever knew a human face made beau- tiful by sin ? Envy curls the imperious lip, passion kindles a flash of evil in the eyes, ap- petite brutalizes the features, pride imparts a haughty toss to the brow, but no mode of sinning ever gives attraction to a human face. No I no ! There is no moral beauty in sin, but only in that righteousness which is the reflection of the image of our precious Lord. OUR HARSH How hard some men are in JUDGMENTS, ^i^^ir judgment of others! How quick to imagine that liberal actions were born of mean motives ! How ready to Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 217 resent imaginary neglect and to magnify mole- hills into mountains, to the prejudice of their neighbors ! Goethe, by no means a high- toned moralist himself, presents a considera- tion fitted to cure this evil disposition when he says: ** If God to man were as severe As you and I are when we jar, "We both had scanty comfort here, But he takes men just as they are.'* Yes; God considers that men are dust, have many weaknesses, and so deals mercifully with them. And men should consider each other's infirmities, credit each other with good intentions whenever possible, and judge others as they themselves like to be judged — that is, charitably. Johnson, harsh as he sometimes was, said in one of his best mo- ments that ** every man probably knows worse of himself than he certainly knows of most other men." And is it not also true that many men, conspicuously known as severe in their judgments, would be forced to walk with blushes of shame on their cheeks if the 15 2i8 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. record of their thoughts, motives, and actions were legibly written on the backs of their coats ? Surely, self-knowledge, to say noth- ing of Christian love, ought to beget that charity which thinks no evil, feels kindly, speaks gently, and acts courteously toward all. CALL OF THE " Grow in grace, and in the SPIRIT. knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.** Thus speaks the Holy Ghost through the lips of an apostle. Let the believer reply in the lines of a sim- ple poet: "Let me then be always growing. Never, never, standing still ; Listening, learning, better knowing Thee and thy most blessed will. That the Master's eye may trace ; Day by day, my growth in grace." A PRAYER The habitual desire of every OF FAITH. truly regenerate mind was never, perhaps, better expressed than in these simple lines: Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 219 ** O, grant that nothing in my soul May dwell but Thy pure love alone ! O, may thy love possess me whole, My joy, my treasure, and my crown ! Strange flames far from my heart remove. My every act, word, thought, be love." Does the reader recoil from the sentiment of this prayer ? Then let him suspect, if not the genuineness, yet the healthfulness, of his piety. Does he shrink from it as unattainable ? Let him recollect that the purpose of his Lord's death was to present every believer '* before the presence of his glory," '*holy, unblamable, unreprovable in his sight." Instead, there- fore, of recoiling and shrinking, the Christian should put the above desire into a prayer of faith, nothing doubting that the gifts of the Lord's grace will never be less than his disci- ples' desires. HAUNTED Care and sadness haunt HOUSES. every human habitation. The poor man fancies that they prefer his mud walls and thatched roof to the marble mansions of the rich. He is mistaken. They 220 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. build their nests in palaces as much as in hovels. Were the poorest man on earth to-day made rich as Croesus few moons would rise and set before he would be heard saying, at least in substance, ** To my new courts sad thought does still repair, And round my gilded roof hangs hovering care." ATHEISTIC ^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^ Strength and SOCIALISM. weakness of that modern so- cialism which is organizing for war against the established order of society that it is a//te- istic in its principles. Atheism is its strength because it appeals to that depravity in human nature which ever tries, however vainly, to be convinced that there is no God; it is its weakness because in making issue with faith it assails a force which is allied to the infinite One. And in the approaching battle between organized atheistic socialism and Christian theism, as represented in and around the Christian Church, though the struggle may be severe and costly, there can be no doubt as to the issue, provided the Church will hold Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 221 fast to her faith. Faith in the divine Christ is invincible, because all power is in the hands of him whom it trusts. They who openly condemn FALSE LIPS. . . the sins they practice in se- cret are like that politician who, when de- claiming against paper money, threw a bank- note upon the floor, then, having finished his speech, furtively picked it up and slipped it into his pocket. This man's act disproved his speech. In like manner the practice of sin by one who condemns it demonstrates, not the rightfulness of sin, but the insincerity, the hypocrisy, or the weakness of him whose lips censure what his heart loves. The influence of a man's BEARING FRUIT work outlives him. Both FOREVER. his good and evil deeds bear fruit long after he is counted with the dead. Take the case of iVbraham for an illustration. His wonderful faith still lives as an encour- agement to Christian believers, and his sins 222 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. still furnish an excuse for evil to those who seek excuses for their own offenses. This continuity of one's influence on earth — and who dare aflirm that it will not act everlast- ingly? — is a startling fact. Were it vocal it would say to each and to all, " Put nothing but good deeds into your lives ! " THE FAITH- -^^^ ^^^ times in thy church, TIMES. o, despondent pastor, like the dark December days ? What then ? Why should darkness cause thee discouragement ? Christ liveth. The Holy Ghost liveth. Therefore, as a pastor now in heaven once observed, "" The dark days are the faith- timesy They call for faith, since, "when we can see, it is easy to believe, only there is no faith in believing then." Look not, therefore, at thy slumbering church, nor at the scoffs of wicked men ; but look to the ever-living, ever- loving Christ, who even now is waiting to pour the light of his countenance upon thy people. Let thy faith penetrate the gloom around thee and move the gracious Redeemer Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 223 to flood thy church with Ught ! Are not all things possible to him that believeth, and therefore to thee, O thou of little faith ? RISKING ONE'S ^HE man who willfully re- MORALiTY, jects the claims of religion puts his morality at risk. Theophylact says: ** He that will not know God is speedily cor- rupted also in his morals." Such a man may not become a sensualist in any sense; his physical constitution may not incline him to sensuality; yet having violated his sense of moral obligation by deliberately trampling on the righteous demand of God for spiritual service, he has nothing within himself to hinder the rampant growth of such mental immoralities as pride, vanity, falsehood, am- bition, and covetousness. Having made self- ishness monarch in his soul, he will naturally cherish selfish vices unchecked, save by those natural affections which, except in the very worst of men, modify the effects of self- lordship. The extent to which he will in- dulge these vices will depend upon his cir- 2 24 Faith, Hope, Love. Duty. cumstances and temptations; but so long as he is godless he is their slave, and they will surely act the part of a moral Nemesis. Even the heathen saw this, one of them observing that " there is nothing more common for the gods to do than pervert the minds of wickjd men.'' Paul taught a similar truth when he declared that because the ancients "served the creature more than the Creator . . . God gave them up unto vile affections.** A heart empty of God is a cage open to the entrance of every unclean thing. HYPOCRITICAL ^HE man who when praying PRAYERS. against his besetting sin se- cretly desires, as St. Austin confessed he did, that God would not hear his petition, is nei- ther sincere nor hearty, but hypocritical in his prayer. As Jeremy Taylor remarks, " To pray against a sin is to have desires contrary to it, and that cannot consist with any love or kindness to it. We pray against it and yet do it; and then pray again and do it again; and we desire it, and yet pray against . Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 225 our desires." Alas ! what a self -contradic- tory thing is the human heart ! A WASTED Spring unimproved is fol- LiFE. lowed by a barren autumn. It is equally certain that if life's spring-time is spent in idleness its later years will be darkened by the lowering clouds of useless regrets, as the author of The JVeuf Timon sadly sings: ** If spring sows only flowers, small fruit the autumn gains ! I mark my grave coevals gather round Their harvest home, their sheaves for garners bound, And I, that planted but the garden, see How the blooms fade ! no harvest waits for me ! " This picture of a wasted life is gloomy enough, yet it is only an unfinished portrait. No man when reviewing a wasted life can truth- fully say, " No harvest waits for me,'* inas- much as in failing to sow good seed in his early days he could not help sowing the seeds of many evils in his soul. Those bad seeds have grown into sinful qualities, and a corre- sponding harvest waits for him. Refusing to 226 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. . sow to the Spirit, he was compelled to sow to the earthly side of his nature, and there- fore stands in the doomed rank of men whose destiny is given with startling force in these graphic words: "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Make haste, therefore, O youth, in this thy day of golden opportunity, to sow to the Spirit ! AN INSANE There are people who think THEORY. -^ ^Q harm to enter into the gates of vice provided one's object is not to practice but only to acquire knowledge of sin. Surely, none but fools will practice this insane theory, since they who do so are like idiots who thrust a hand into fire to ascertain if the flame will hurt. The truth on this question was finely expressed by the wise mother of " holy George Herbert," when she said, " Ignorance of vice is the best preserva- tive of virtue; and every knowledge of wick- Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 227 edness is as tinder to inflame and kindle sin and keep it burning." MORAL Bryant, in his Autumn LOVELINESS. Woods^ exclaims of an imagi- nary life spent in roving and dreaming through forests clothed perpetually in their autumnal dress, ** Ah ! 'twere a lot too blest.'* He places this blessedness partly in the en- joyment of nature and partly in the fact that this roaming dreamer is supposed to have left " The vain low strife That makes men mad — the tug for wealth and power, The passions and the cares that wither life, And waste its little hour." This is very pretty and partly true; but is it not open to the charge of sentimentalism .? No doubt it is profitable for busy men, on occasions, to step aside from the world's mad strife and to commune awhile with nature in her beautiful moods. But to call a life de- voted to roving and dreaming, even in Eden itself, "a lot too blest," is false and mislead- 228 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. ing. Man was not made to dream himself into rhapsodies over external beauty, but to aspire after Godlikeness, after usefulness, after heaven. Hence the true uses of natural beauty are to sec in it the type of that moral loveliness which, dwelling eternally in the di- vine mind, is faintly imaged in the works of nature; to find in it a spiritual tonic stimulat- ing the heart to desire beauty of character, and to aspire after that perfectly beautiful building of God, a " house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." In that ce- lestial home men will enjoy scenes of perfect concrete beauty blended with the highest in- tellectual and spiritual exercises of which the soul is capable. To live in such a house will be supreme blessedness. AN ECSTATIC " Thanks be to God ! thanks ^^^- be to God ! The moment's come, the day is dawning ! " Such was the ecstatic cry with which the Lady Margaret Ingham, a noble Methodist lady of other days, burst the bonds of life and soared away to Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 229 meet her Lord in the Father's house. A tri- umphant death ? Yes, gloriously triumphant; but it was preceded by a very holy life. Such peculiar ecstasy is not given, however, to every whole-hearted disciple in the article of death, but only to the few to whose joyous faith the Master gives the ecstatic vision of heaven as they appror.ch its open gates. The greater number of believers die not in tumult- uous, but calm, peaceful triumph. And is not that sufficient to make death appear, not as a foeman, but as God's ministering serv- ant ? Seeing that these will taste the ecstasy of perfect bliss the moment after death the difference between the two modes of dying is only one of degrees of enjoyment, and is often determined more by the action of the mortal disease than by different measures of faith. In both cases the Spirit saith, " Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." Hence the important question is not, '* Shall I die in peace or ecstasy?" but "Am I /im'ng in the Lord, and therefore prepared to ^ die in the Lord.?"* 230 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. THE FORGOT- How soon the dead are for- TEN DEAD. gotten ! Even of men whose names are in the mouth of the world for per- haps half a century how little is either thought or said a few years after the tomb closes over their mortal remains ! With rare exceptions their words are speedily forgotten, their writings are mostly buried in oblivion, and after a century or two little else than their names survives. "The world," says Haweis, " seems to have little need of the best of us when we are gone." But no good man need repine at this. His influence may be perpetuated in the very world which is sure to forget him. His words fitly spoken, his example, if Christ-like and beautiful, may give direction to lives that may long survive him. Take, for illustration, the case of a very humble youth who, meeting a still younger man who had cast away his faith, begged him to return to Christ. The apos- tate laughed and jeered at his reprover, who closed the conversation by saying with deep feeling, " Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 231 and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth: . . . but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment." They parted, but this word of God remained in the young man's heart and led him back to the cross. He became a very useful preacher of righteousness. His reprover died, leaving behind him an unknown and soon forgotten name. But his influence lives on in the work of the " brand " whom he plucked out of the fire. It lives still, and will doubt- less live by transmission until the end of time. Seeing that every disciple may in like manner make his influence immortal, who need grieve over the oblivion that awaits his name? A SATANIC When strong temptation is SUGGESTION, fastening upon your excited lust of the world, and you are so fascinated as to be on the point of doing the evil deed, "don't say," O, feeble-minded Christian, " don't think it, that, if you sin, the blood of Christ can easily wash it out." Put that sa- 232 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. tanic suggestion away quickly ! It is exceed- ingly presumptuous, and if you do sin, and God gives thee the grace of repentance again, the remembrance of it will paralyze the arm of thy faith, NO OTHER "Where," asks Leighton, ** if not in Christ, is the power that can bring a sinner to return home, that can persuade a heart to God ? " The expe- rience of mankind confirms the answer of the Holy Spirit to this question. He says, '^ There is no other name under heaven . . . whereby we must be saved." Therefore, O, godless man, unless thou wilt lose thy soul, *' With all thy heart, with all thy soul and mind, Thou must Him love, and his behests embrace ; All other loves, with which the world doth blind Weak fancies, and stir up affections base, Thou must renounce and utterly displace. And give thyself unto him full and free. That fully, freely gave himself to thee." He who draws near to Christ NEAR FIRE. abhors himself because the light of his Master's purity gives him deeper Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 233 insight into his own sinfulness and kindles a fire in his conscience. Hence ancient tra- dition attributed to Christ the saying, ''He that is near me is near fire." But it is not to the conscience alone that Christ is a fire. The undying love that bums in him unceas- ingly is felt by the guilty who approach him with penitential faith, and kindles in them a flame of responsive love. Thus the truth of the traditional saying that " he who is near Christ is near fire " has a twofold verification in Christian experience. Happy, therefore, is he whose soul has been twice touched by the fire that is in Christ, and who now prays unceasingly, *• Kindle a flame of sacred love On the mean altar of my heart.** LOOKING Infancy looks forward and BACKWARD, ^^g^ backward. Hence it has been said of the old man who retains his memory, that ** The man lives twice who can the gift retain Of memory, to enjoy past life again," 16 234 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. But such a man's enjoyment depends on the character of his past life. If it be black with images of wicked deeds his recollections are not enjoyments, but torments like unto the stings of many scorpions; if it be filled with the white deeds of loving service to God and humanity his remembrances are like the smiles of angels. How important it is, there- fore, that men moving amidst the heyday of active life should put nothing into their lives but deeds which, when reviewed in coming years, will not mock at them like demons, but will be radiant with the reflected smiles of Christ. BROKEN Thf. young Christian, who, vows. after promising his Lord to "go and sin no more," breaks his pledge by sinning again, is tempted to s3.y, " Evil is too strong for me, and it would be folly for me to try again or to renew my vows of obedience.'* To such a distressed soul the author of T^e Synagogue fitly says, Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 235 '* O, say not so ! thou canst not tell what strength Thy God may give thee at the length ; Renew thy vows, and if thou keep the last, Thy God will pardon all that's past Vow whilst thou canst ; while thou canst vow thou mayst Perhaps perform it when thou thinkest least." This is very tender encouragement; yet not half so sweet or assuring as Christ's picture of the Father embracing the penitent prodi- gal, falling on his neck and giving him the kiss of peace and love. That kiss awaits thee, O, backsliding soul ! Only renew thine act of faith, and thou, too, shalt be enfolded in God's infinite breast of everlasting love. PURSUING When day-dreams of earthly DAY-DREAMS, fortune or sensuous delight haunt the soul, its approaches to God, *' The living fountain of eternal pleasure," are so reluctant that it may well reproach it- self by saying with old Francis Quarles, ** How nerveless are my limbs ! how faint and slow! I have no wings to fly, nor legs to go." 236 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. On the contrary, in pursuing the object of its day-dreams its movements are like those of a bark descending a swiftly flowing river when ** The idle vessel slides that watery way, Without the blast or tug of wind or oar ; Her slippery keel divides the silver foam With ease ; so facile is the way from home." This state of mind is dangerous, and must result in the wreck of faith, if not overcome. It shows that the flesh is re-asserting its tendency to resist the Holy Spirit. It gives pertinency to the remark of St. Augustine: ''Wouldst thou that thy flesh obey the Spirit ? Then let thy spirit obey God. Thou must be governed, that thou mayst govern." EYE OF Miller, in his Bampton GOD'S WORD. Lectures, speaking of the varied power of Holy Scriptures, compares it to the eye of a portrait uniformly fixed upon one, turn which way one will. Keble puts this thought into these telling lines: Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 237 " Eye of God's word I where'er we turn Ever upon us ! thy keen gaze Can all the depths of sin discern, Unravel every bosom's maze." Every good man knows this to be true, for that searching e\^e, that quickening word, has found him unnumbered times, sometimes in the tenderest gaze of pity, sometimes in such a look of rebuke that his heart has cried out, " What word is this ? Whence know'st thou me ? " But even then it has been the expression of a love anxious to save. Precious word ! How graciously it fulfills His promise who says: " I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go; I will guide thee w^ith mine eye." To neglect it is to suffer incal- culable, if not irreparable, loss. AN iRREPARA- ^IFE is a joumcy, but it is BLEDEED. ^^^ doom of the traveler to step only toward his tomb. Back toward his cradle he cannot retrace one step. The river, *^ ocean -born," may return and "be sea once more." The rivulet may restore what 238 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. it takes from the river and be again "what it was before." But no man can be any more what he has once been. This beautiful ima- gery^ from Calderon, the Spanish poet, suggests the weighty thought that when a man parts with his innocence he does an irreparable deed. He never can be innocent again ! Thanks be to our merciful Lord, he may be forgiven, but the black act stands in his life a blot that will not out. Could men, when parleying with temptation, clearly compre- hend this undeniable truth, they would surely hesitate to do what can never be undone. There will doubtless be ecstatic joy among the redeemed in heaven, but what glorified saint will not sigh as he surveys his past, and say, especially of his blackest sins, " O, that I had never parted with my innocence ! " Happy, therefore, is that man or woman who, when fascinated by strong temptation, says, " No, I will not stain my life with a deed which, even if forgiven, can never be undone — which, being done, will not permit me to be what I was before." Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 239 A GARDEN ^ TRULY Christian Church OF BEAUTY, jg ^]^g abidiiig-place of peace. Love presides over it. Its atmosphere is pervaded by a spirit of tender sympathy which moves its members to enter into each other's joys, sorrows, hopes, and fears. There is no strife in it, no contention for church offices, no jealousy, no affectation of superi- ority because one is richer or socially higher than another. Its members are all one in • Christ Jesus. Any Church may realize all this by faithfully obeying the divine exhorta- tion which says to it: ** In love of the breth- ren be tenderly affectioned one to another; in honor preferring one another " (R. V). A tender affection, moving each to take more pleasure in honoring another than in being himself honored, is a sacred talisman which can transform a divided Church into a peace- ful, ideal one. A stream of brotherly love flowing from the love of Christ in every member's heart will make any Church a garden of moral beauty, a place of perpetual delight. 240 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. SPIRITUAL What the impression on the BEAUTY. yielding wax is to the image on the seal the life of a faithful believer is to the precepts of the Lord Jesus. What is written in them is visible in his tempers and actions. Hence he may so yield himself to the pressure of that divine seal as to be trans- formed by it into such spiritual beauty that as it was with Stephen, the protomartyr, ** Men will behold his angel face All radiant with celestial grace." This radiance is often visible on the faces of dying saints. Why is it not seen more fre- quently than it is on the features of living, active men ? The deeply afflicted man is BE patient. ^ -; tempted at times to doubt his Lord's impartiality, because his troubles are so much greater than those of his neighbors. If such is thy thought, O, child of sorrow, in- stead of judging the ways of thy God, which are too deep for thy present comprehension, consider, first, that all thou art called to en- Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 241 dure is not equal to the sum of thy vast de- merit, and then remember that if thou hadst been left undisturbed in thy sins and to per- ish everlastingly the evils of thy condition would have been immeasurably greater than thy present afflictions, which, though very grievous to be borne, are " but for the mo- ment," and will, if thou dost not fret beneath them, " work out for thee a far more exceed- ing and eternal weight of glory " in the grand hereafter. Be patient, therefore. Remem- ' ber that thou art " A spirit living 'midst the forms of death, Oppressed, but not subdued, by mortal cares ; A germ, preparing in the winter's frost To rise, and bud, and blossom in the spring ; An unfledged eagle by the tempest tossed, Unconscious of his future strength of wing ; The child of trial, to mortality And all its changeful influences given ; On the green earth decreed to move and die, And yet, by such a fate, prepared for heaven ! " CHRIST'S ^s ^^^ sunshine puts out the BRIGHTNESS, ^^g jj^ one's grate, so the shin- ing of God's love in the heart puts out the 242 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. light of vicious pleasure, which appears to the mind thus lighted as nothing more than the blackened wick of an extinguished lamp. In like manner even those pleasures deemed in- nocent by worldly men fail to attract him, because he feasts on celestial and nobler joys. Julius C. Hare, using a different figure, says: "When night is spread around us the light of a candle will seem bright and pleasant; but when the day has lit up the heavens and the earth it dwindles so as hardly to be seen." Therefore it is that the spiritual man' sees no brightness in the so-called harmless pleasures of worldly minds. What are twinkling tapers to him who basks in the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness ? A FALSE Who that earnestly prays for WHISPER. complete likeness to Christ does not sometimes hear a whispered rebuke saying, *^What presumptuous pride it is for you who have sinned so deeply and treated God so meanly to ask him for such a favor ! " This whisper sounds like the voice of a be- Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 243 coming humility. In reality it is the voice of Satan speaking as an angel of light. Be not ignorant of his cunning devices, O, Christian, and remember that " you must aspire high if you would know yourself to be nothing; " and further, "if you would feel yourself to be the worm that you are you must claim your privilege of being like God." These para- doxes are truths, because they rest on the fact that a man is never so humble as when he most seeks to obey the divine command to be Godlike; and never so proud as when he despises and neglects it. THE BATTLE- SoME Christians grow rapt- GROUND. urous v»'hen speaking of the crown, the white robe, and the palm, in which the Lord's redeemed ones are arrayed in heaven. This rapture is assuredly becoming, provided it is accompanied with a present affection for the things which are symbolized by those figures. If it be, then the enrapt- ured man loves the purity of which the white robe is the symbol, the self-conquest indi- 244 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. cated by the crown, and the victory over the world implied by the palm. But if these things be lacking he will do well to seek the purity, the power, the victory, of which those images are types, inasmuch as their substance, if not secured this side the gate of heaven, will not be distributed there. This is the battle-ground, that the place of triumph for victories won, not there, but here. A SACRED Who can measure the moral BRIDGE. distance between a godly and an ungodly man? Of the latter Inspiration says, " God is not in all his thoughts; " but it describes the former as exclaiming, '* How precious are thy thoughts unto me, O God ! '* And while the ungodly man fills his mind with images of earthly things to the exclusion of all recognition of Him who created them, the godly man can say, " I have set the Lord always before me." The consequence is that while the latter finds God to be his *' Matchless Comforter in woe, Sweetest Guest the soul can know," Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 245 the fomier is "without God," and therefore ^' without hope in the world." The guh" be- tween their thought-worlds is therefore very wide; but, O, blessed fact! it is not at present bridgeless. Between the two lies the cross — the astonishing fact that ^' Christ died for the ungodly." Haste, therefore, O, ungodly man, to that sacred bridge I since after death it will not be within thy reach; but between thee and the godly there will be instead of that bridge a ''great gulf fixed," which nei- ther will be able to cross. Flee, then, for thy soul's sake, to that bridge of mercy at once ! A LiFE-LONG TuE Christian is not a mere JOURNEY. excursionist, but a traveler on a life-long journey. Yet in times of revival many overlook this fact, and, instead of starting with a purpose, fixed as thoughtful determination can make it, to accept religion as a life-work, they attach themselves to the Church with a resolution flimsy as a spider's web, with such careless calculation of the cost that at the first sharp temptation or 246 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. gilded allurement they fall back into their former habits. Such men are excursionists who will never reach heaven unless they ear- nestly consecrate themselves to a life-long jour- ney, the end of which is the gate of the city of God — the entrance to the banqueting-room in which the guests are feasted on everlasting love. LUTHER AND COMPARED with Luther, ERASMUS. Erasmus was the greater scholar, the more highly cultivated and courtly man, but in moral dignity and de- votion to duty he was vastly inferior to the heroic reformer. The gulf which separated them is plainly visible in one of Luther's re- torts to a sentiment of Erasmus. The latter had said, " If Luther's doctrine be true it is, nevertheless, so dangerous that it ought to be concealed, certainly not discussed in the vul- gar tongue and in presence of the multitude." To this Luther sternly replied: " I tell you, and I pray you to lay it to heart, that to me the matter is serious, necessary, and eternal, Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 247 of such momentous interest that it must be asserted and defended at the risk of life itself — aye, though the result should be not only to plunge the world in conflict, but to bring chaos back again and annihilate the universe! " These widely diverse sentiments illustrate the opposite characters of the two men. In Eras- mus we see a man whose spiritual conceptions were so dim that he was ready to sacrifice the immortal interests of mankind to their pres- ent quiet; but in Luther we see a man whose vision took in the relations of truth to men's everlasting well-being. Hence the former was a timid, ignoble time-server; the latter a grandly heroic reformer. MOUNT ^^ ^ truly spiritual mind MY SOUL! ^he (.^ief attraction of the heavenly world is not its golden streets, nor its river of life, nor its mansions, but its glori- fied Lord. " That where I am there ye may be also" is, to such a mind, the most pre- cious portion of the Master's promise to in- stall him in the Father's house. Augustine 248 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. puts this thought quaintly yet admirably when he says: "Christ is the home whither we go. He is the way whereby we go. Go we by him to him and we shall not go astray. Christ as God is the home whither we go; Christ as man is the way whereby we go. Christ carrieth us on as a leader; carrieth us in him as the way; carrieth us up to him as our home." Hence the author of The Syna- gogue sings: ' ' Mount, mount, my soul, and climb, or rather fly, With all thy force, on high ; Thy Saviour rose not only, but ascended. And he must be attended Both in his conquest and his triumph too. His glories strongly woo His graces to them, and will not appear In their full luster until both be there." INFINITE What infinite sweetness SWEETNESS, there is in these words of God : " In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kind- ness will I have mercy upon thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer." How this rich and tender promise makes the heart of a good Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 249 man leap toward his Saviour ! " But it does not make my heart leap,'* says a certain reader to himself. It surely does not, dear sir, if you belong to a class of men who, looking on the spiritual side of their lives, say with the proverb, " Well enough needs no help." Had you any thing like an ade- quate conception of the evil of sin, of your own depravity, guilt, helplessness, and expos- ure to eternal death, the promise cited above would be to you what water is to the perish- ing caravan in the desert, what bread is to a starving man, what liberty is to a slave, what a reprieve is to a criminal on the way to the scaffold. But your lack of perception does not alter the tremendous facts which environ you. As surely as that you see no beauty in this promise so surely are you on the way to perdi- tion. Pray, therefore, for conviction until this promise thrills you to the core of your heart. A FOOLISH When the burdens of life DISCIPLE. press heavily on an ungodly man what can he do but wickedly resent or 17 250 Faith, Hope, Love, Dutv. doggedly endure them, because they are the common lot of mankind ? Not having made his peace with God, he cannot find the con- solation which comes from trust in the High- est. But the man of faith casts his burdens upon the Lord, and thereby learns the truth of his promise to sustain his afflicted and tried followers. It is too true, however, that when his faith is weak and staggers beneath very weighty burdens he is apt to lose the help and comfort which are his right by hugging his griefs instead of casting them on his will- ing Lord. Then his dejection deepens, his heart rebels, and the weakness of unbelief un- mans his soul. Foolish disciple ! His Mas- ter waits to carry his burden, yet he will not surrender it. Would he but open his eyes he would see his Lord at his right hand and hear him gently asking, "Why dost not thou cast thy burden upon me ?'* To such a fool- ish disciple Dr. Young says, " Resign, and all the load of life That moment you remove, Its heavy tax, ten thousand cares. Devolve on One above !'* Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 251 The poet is substantially right. Casting care on God brings that sweet resignation, that devout submission, that heartfelt relief, that strength to carry, that joy in tribulation, which are implied in the Master's " I will sustain thee ! " THE APPETITE ^^^ Jo^n Fostcr Overstate FOR PRAISE, ^j^g ^^gg when he said that " of all the propensities of unrenewed nature the appetite for praise needs to be kept under the severest castigation?" Without deciding whether or not the appetite for praise is the most hurtful of our selfish appetites it is suf- ficiently clear to a reflecting mind that it is very ruinous to character if permitted to grow into a master-passion. Praise is the food on which vanity grows fat; and when vanity reigns over a man there is scarcely a fine trait of character which he will not sacrifice upon its altar. The appetite for praise should, therefore, be kept in strict subjection. Beattie in his Minstrel says : " Him wlio ne'er listened to the voice of praise The silence of neglect can ne'er appall." 252 Faith, Hope^ Love, Duty. Perhaps the man who never listened to praise of himself with a gratified ear does not exist, probably never will exist; but it is surely the duty of every man, every minister, especially, to bring his love of praise into such subjec- tion that when his performances are treated with silent indifference by the public he will neither fret himself into a state of discourage- ment nor cease to put his best efforts into his work. He who can secure the praise of God needs not mourn the absence of the praise of man. DOING A " Patient in tribulation ! ** GREAT DEAL. Why ^g paticucc prescribed to the sons and daughters of affliction ? Sim- ply because nothing takes out the stings of affliction like patience, and because there is no irritant to the sensibilities so powerful as impatience, which is itself a tribulation. To an impatient man a tribulation is a red-hot iron; to the patient one it is only a weight which, though it burdens, does not burn him. The Abbe Mennais wisely remarks: " Pa- Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 253 tience gradually softens the rudest asperities. You should suffer nothing to exhaust yours, neither irritating language nor provoking vi- vacity. Be like the vine whose juice is sweeter the stronger the land in which it grows." Another writer assures the afflicted that ^'when we can do nothing more we can bear annoying and vexatious events meekly, patiently, prayerfully." That is doing a great deal. It is more than taking a city. And Nathaniel Cotton sings that " To be resigned when ill betide, Patient when favors are denied, And pleased with favors given, — Dear Chloe, this is wisdom's part ; This is that incense of the heart Whose fragrance smells to heaven." AN APPALLING ^^^ ^S^d sinner whose char- SPECTACLE. acter has become so fixed as to be, to all appearance, unchangeable is an appalling spectacle. As he stands on the crumbling edge of his waiting grave he is, if honest with himself, compelled to say with the poet, 254 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. " Life hath become to me An empty theater — its lights extinguished, The music silent, and the actors gone ; And I alone sit musing on the scenes That once have been. I am so old that Death Oft plucks me by the cloak to come with him ; And some day, like this lamp, shall I fall down. And my last spark of life will be extinguished. Ah me ! Ah me ! what darkness of despair ! So near to death, and yet so far from God ! " Truly, there is need for such a one to cry, "Ah me ! " But still greater is it needful for him, long as his sinful career has lasted, to give earnest heed to that pitying voice which is saying even to him, *^ Come unto me. . . . Whosoever cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out." O, precious words ! O, venerable man, do not despise them, but even now look unto Jesus and be saved before the gloom which is gathering about .thee deepens into *^ outer darkness ! " Mohammedan traditions A NECKLACE OF BRILL- concerning the grandees of lANTS. David's imperial court affirm that among them was an Ethiopian slave Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 255 named Loknian, famous for his wise sayings. When asked one day how he had gained his celebrity in David's court he replied, ^' By always speaking the truth, by always keeping my word, and by never meddling in matters that did not concern me." Lokman is a mythical character, but the trio of virtues he represented form a necklace of brilliants no Christian can afford to be without. ^^He that speaketh truth showeth forth righteousness," saith He who hateth all lying. And a truth- ful man must needs be faithful to his plighted word, since a deliberate promise-breaker must be untruthful at heart. As to Lokman's third virtue Peter says, " Let none of you suffer ... as a busy-body in other men's matters." But, desirable as these virtues are, they constitute only a few of the jewels with which the grace of the Lord seeks to adorn human character. Paul gives their complete enumeration when he says, " The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gen- tleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temper- ance." Lokman's glory pales in the presence 256 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. of a Christian character made resplendent by these divinely given brilliants. ARABIAN Arabian wisdom teaches WISDOM. tj^at " a weight which is noth- ing to a camel will crush the camel's foal." But God's wisdom assures us that he can make the foal's strength equal to that of its mother, as he does when he so strengthens a babe in Christ as to make him able to endure a temptation weighty enough to crush even a man in Christ if left without that divine gift of strength. Be of good cheer, therefore, O, tempted little one ! Thou, even thou^ canst do all things through Christ strengthening thee ! HE IS PRAY- What is the strength of the ING FOR ME. beautiful but fragile butterfly to the might of the storm and the beating of tempest-driven rain-drops ? The pretty painted creature is an incarnation of weakness. Yet it often lives through a tempest which tears the proud oak from the soil and covers vast Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 257 acres with overwhelming floods. But how does it survive ? Simply by seeking shelter beneath a broad, protecting leaf. There it finds a hiding-place and lives. Let it teach the weak, much-tried believer a lesson ! Is the storm, sweeping across his life, too much for his feeble strength ? Then, like the feeble butterfly, let him seek shelter, not beneath some shivering leaf of earthly growth, but in the love of the Almighty Christ, in whom is " everlasting strength," pledged to his protec- tion. Let him think that, as Christ prayed for Peter, so now, as Intercessor for all his little ones, he prays for him. Let him say to himself, '^ I am on Christ's breastplate. If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room I would not fear a million foes. Yet the distance makes no difference. He is praying for me ! " Some people are constitu- OUT OF TUNE. ^ ^ tionally inclined to melan- choly. They take a morbid view of every thing which touches their lives. If they see 258 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. a slight flaw in a diamond otherwise beauti- ful they have no eye for its beauty, but only for its defect. Such natures are to be pitied. It is very difficult to make them into either happy or useful Christians. Old Thomas Watson says of them: " Lute-strings, when they are wet, will not sound; when the spirit is sad and melancholy a Christian is out of tune for spiritual actions." This is true. Melancholy Christians are like men who wear blue spectacles, which cause all things to wear a dark tint. Even the Saviour does not ap- pear to such souls as he really is. His loveli- ness and his readiness to save are but partially seen by their gloomy vision. In looking at themselves they are also at fault, by viewing themselves apart from the grace by which we are saved. And by this disposition " they tempt the devil to tempt them " to despair and to other sins. But even to them Jesus says, ^* My grace is sufficient for thee." Would such persons resolutely cultivate a habit of searching for the bright side of things, look steadfastly away from self to Jesus, and pray Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 259 in faith for victory, they would conquer glori- ously. Nature is strong, but grace is stronger. WORTH RE- There is a thought worth MEMBERiNG. remembering in the last line of the following stanza by J. R. Lowell: " Life is a leaf of paper white, Whereon each one of us may write His word or two, and then comes night ; Though thou have time But for a line, be that sublime ; Not failure, but low aim, is crime." Doubtless low aim — that is, any aim less than righteousness, truth, and love as the end of living — is a crime; but is it true \k\2x failin-e is never a crime ? May not men aim aright in thoughtful moments, and yet fail to achieve because of vacillation of purpose and double- mindedness ? In such cases goodness is as "a morning cloud and the early dew," and the failure to make it habitual and permanent is a crime. But vrhere failure means only falling short of the full attainment of one's loftiest ideal through uncontrollable weak- nesses of mind it is not a crime, but only an 26o Faith, Hope, Love, Duty imperfection which our kind Father pardons, because *^ he knows our frame and remembers that we are but dust," and because the blood of Jesus cleanseth us therefrom. POWER OF SIM- ^ RECENT writer in Black- PLE WORDS. ^^,^^^ (.^Ug attention to the power of simple words as vehicles for giving strong and clear expression to the grandest thoughts. He finds peculiar and abundant evidence of this power in Holy Scripture, and selects, as illustrating it, Paul's grand utter- ance respecting our Lord's self-humiliation: ** Who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." In this rhetorically perfect anticli- max, descending by regular steps from Deity to the ignominy of death on the cross, we find sublime thought clearly stated in mono- Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 261 syllables and dissyllables, with only three ex- ceptions. Following it is the still grander conception in the form of a perfect climax, and in still more common words: '^ Where- fore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heav^en, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." The study of these remarkable examples of the power of short, common words to give per- fect rhetorical expression to the loftiest ideas is commended to those writers and speakers who imagine that big words are the only proper clothing for big thoughts. DEVOTION AND There may be devotion GOODNESS. without goodncss, but there cannot be real goodness without devotion. Pascal wisely says: "Experience makes us see a wonderful difference between devotion and goodness." Happy, therefore, is he who 262 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty both prayeth much and liveth righteously — whose devotion is a stream giving nourish- ment to every Christian virtue, especially to love, seeing that, as Coleridge wrote, "He prayeth best who loveth best All things, both great and small ; For the dear God who loveth us, He made and loveth all." That was a subHme mo- LIFE'S SUBLIMEST ment in the history of the uni- MOMENT. , ^ . -J UT verse when God said, Let there be light ! and there was light. ' ' Still lof- tier was the subhmity of that moment in the life of the palsied sinner when Jesus said to him, " Thy sins be forgiven thee ! " and there in- stantly fell from his anxious breast the heavy burden of his many sins. Surely, the moral sub- limity of this latter word of Christ exceeds the physical sublimity of the former ! Yet how insensible men are when to-day Christ repeats these gracious words to penitent sinners, and in a moment " mountains of sin and heaps of anguish" roll off their' hearts, and a light, brighter than that of creation's morning, flows Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 263 from the face of God into their pardoned souls ! MARVELOUS ^HE beauty of a child-like LOVE. faith has rarely found a more sublime expression than was given to it by an untutored negro when the missionary said to him, " How wonderful that the great God should condescend to become a man 1 '* The negro instantly replied, " Not at all wonder- ful; it was only like him." Such a reply could not have come except from one whose eye of faith had looked intently into God's heart of love. The same penetrative faith was more elegantly, but not more sublimely, expressed by a dying young scholar when told that a cultivated Unitarian had said that it was not to be even imagined that an Al- mighty God should become a man and die for such creeping worms as men. The dying young scholar, speaking with the ardor of an intense affection, replied, " Real greatness does not consider it degradation to stoop — it condescends to the meanest; and the 264 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. loftier our conceptions of Godhead the readier shall we be to believe that he did that won- drous thing — take upon him the form of a servant and become obedient unto death." Yes, it was indeed a wondrous thing to do; but a loving heart can readily believe that it was done, because it comprehends that love can ^^go out of itself and live in and for another." And He who loves men with infi- nite affection did that when he took upon himself our nature and died for us. O, mar- velous love ! A PRECIOUS The tear-drop which falls TEAR-DROP, from a sinner's eye when the Holy Spirit is moving a great congregation is more precious than the costliest gems in a kingly crown. It is the effect of that soften- ing of the heart which is caused by showers of blessing falling from the clouds of heaven's love. Happy are they who bid those showers welcome, and, yielding to their influence, per- mit the Saviour to stamp his image on their hearts. But woe to him who brushes that Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 265 tear away and rushes into the pleasures ot ungodly men, thereby hardening his heart anew until it becomes as unimpressible as dried clay to further divine influences. By this step often repeated a man's character becomes so fixed, his heart so self -hardened, that his renewal becomes impossible. He is irretrievably lost. Even Shakespeare saw this fearful truth when he wrote, '* When we in our viciousness Grow hard, the wise gods seal our eyes, In our own slisne drop our clear judgments, Make us adore our errors, and thus We strut to our destruction ! " STEPPING There is no mortal man so INTO LIGHT, brave or so good as to be superior at all times to fears of evils too strong for his strength to overcome. To the ungodly these fears are as imps gifted with power to torment him. But godly souls appeal to God for help, as David did when he said, " What time I am afraid I will trust in thee." Before that trust their fears vanish. 18 266 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. " Those fears, Feeling but once the fires of nobler thoughts. Fly like the shapes of clouds we form, to nothing." Happy, therefore, is he who can step out of a mental atmosphere made dark by the deep shadows of possible evils into the light of his heavenly Father's protecting presence ! VAGRANT What believer is ignorant THOUGHTS, of ^^e tendency of his thoughts to vagrancy during his attempts at secret prayer ? Like veritable tramps they will sometimes wander from the divine to the earthly. John Bunyan describes this trial, so common to Christians, in homely phrase, exclaiming, "O, the starting-holes that the heart has in time of prayer ! None knows how many by-ways the heart hath, and back lanes, to slip away from the presence of God. How much pride, also, if enabled with ex- pressions. How much hypocrisy, if before others. And how little conscience is there made of prayer between God and the soul in secret, unless the Spirit of supplication be Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 267 there to help." This paragraph graphically describes the evil, and also names its anti- dote, which is, to cite a phrase of Jesus, ^^ praying to the Holy Ghost," who always stands ready to beget spiritual desires so strong as to expel all lower thoughts, and so to help human infirmities with his own inter- cessions as to make prayer both absorbing and successful. Pray, then, O, distracted soul, ''in the Holy Ghost ! " A PRECEPT Paul taught a precept, RARELY KEPT, rarely kept by many of our Lord's disciples, when he said, " Let all bit- terness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil-speaking be put away from you, with all malice. ' ' The saintly Henry Longden tells us, in his diary, how he was enabled to keep it. Said he, "I was unjustly treated to-day, and was instantly tempted to anger. I cried * Lord, help me ! ' and found an inward calm and self-possession, by which I had the ad- vantage of my adversary." That " Lord, help me," was the channel through which the 268 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. grace of the Saviour flowed instantly into his hidden heart and made it a fountain of ten- derness instead of a puddle of passion, as but for that grace it would have been. If every man naturally given to anger would habitually insert a " Lord, help me " between the offense given him and his reply to the offender, he, too, would find the grace of self-control, sweetness, and kindness spring- ing up within him as a refreshmg fountain of spiritual and eternal life. Surely Heaven's grace is stronger than man's anger ! A PRICELESS Bailey makes the Festus of POSSESSION, j^^g poem say of human life that it is " A bright wheel which burns itself away, Benighting even night with its grim limbs, When it hath done and fainted into darkness." This is not a Christian's but a materialist's view of life. It is what life would be if man had no soul, no hope of blissful immortality. But a life that is blessed with loving faith in God, and cheered by the light of a hope Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 269 divinely begotten, is not like the fire-wheel burning itself into darkness. Rather is it a priceless possession, "A thing to be beloved And honored holily, and bravely borne," until it terminates in spiritual glory and inde- scribable bliss in the mansions of the eternal God. Thank God for life ! It is worth liv- ing. A LENS of ice may be used PROFITABLE -^ YET UNPROF- to ignite gunpowder without ITABLE being much melted by the rays which it transmits. And there are some teachers of revealed truth who can move their hearers without being themselves made obe- dient to the words they teach. Profitable to others, they are themselves unprofited. Alas for such ! In spite of their wonderful works they are in danger of hearing the Searcher of hearts say to them, " I never knew you." Happy, therefore, is that teacher of the truth to whom the truth is meat, drink, joy, purity, and eternal life ! 270 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. EATING ONE'S " ^^'^ ^^^ ^^^ heart,'' was OWN HEART. ^^6 dark saying of a Greek philosopher; upon which Lord Bacon re- marks that " those who lack friends to open themselves unto are cannibals of their own hearts." Bacon mentions two French mon- archs who were their own tormenters because they were so close they would have no friends to whom to communicate their thoughts. They thus robbed themselves of that friend- ship which, as Bacon also remarks, " redoub- leth joys and cutteth griefs in halves. For there is no man that imparteth his joys to his friend but he joyeth the more; and no man that imparteth his griefs to his friend but he grieveth less." This is doubtless true of common joys and griefs; but it is especially true of spiritual joy and sorrow. Hence no Christian can afford to dispense with a spirit- ual friend. The impulse of the divine life in the human soul is in the direction of com- munication. To rein in this impulse is to choke the life. To give it free play by suit- able expression intensifies the heavenly life. Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 271 glorifies God, and diffuses the sacred joy. Hence he who is reticent by nature and habit needs to so discipline himself as to cultivate spiritual friendships and give vent to his emotion. And he to whom communication is natural should be thankful that the fellow- ship of saints is both a privilege and a duty, *' if we walk in the light." ONE-EYED ^ PREACHER of the olden CHRISTIANS, time, speaking of men to whom the Master's descriptive phrase, ^* If thine eye be single," is applicable, remarked with deep feeling, " I love those one-eyed Christians/' And may it not be truthfully said that none but such Christians are com- placently loved either by the Master or others ? The single-eyed man is governed by the spirit of charity; his opposite, the man '* whose eye is evil," is envious of others and covetous of gain. The former walks in the light of love; the latter in the gloom of his own selfish deeds. Can any man say of the latter what the ancient preacher did of the 272 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. former ? Can he affirm, " I love those men who have an evil eye ? " Impossible ! for such souls repel complacent affection. MALIGNANT BACKBITING is Called by INSANITY. j)^ Moore a "malignant sort of insanity/* In some neighborhoods it often takes on an epidemic character. The same doctor illustrates this latter feature with the fact that in a certain nunnery a sister one day bit her companions. The other nuns were at once seized with the same disposition to bite. The mania spread from cloister to cloister^ until, says Cardou, it infected every nunnery in Europe, A strange mania, surely! But is it not yet more strange and pitiful that multitudes of men and women who are in the main friendly toward each other should be possessed by a mania which leads them to habitually bite each other's reputation? It is, indeed, a pity that it is so. Yet if every Christian would steadfastly resolve *' to speak evil of no man " this latter mania would speedily die out from the Church of God. Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 273 THE FAMOUS ^ PROUD man will cheer- STONE. fully render services to a king which he would scorn to perform for an equal. In the latter case he would esteem them menial, if not degrading. But associ- ated with majesty, done for the sake of a royal master, he counts them honorable and elevating. George Herbert applies this prin- ciple to spiritual things, and in his quaint manner calls " for Thy sake " — that is, doing inferior duties cheerfully for the Master's sake — Christ's " tincture '* for making hum- ble things " bright and clean/' Pursuing this thought, he sings: *' A servant, with this clause. Makes drudgery divine, Who sweeps a room, as for thy laws. Makes that, and the action, fine. •* This is the famoas stone That turneth all to gold ; For that which God doth touch and own Cannot for less be told." Let that Christian who has duties which are disagreeable to his taste, or otherwise annoying to his feelings — and few lives are 274 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. exempt from such duties — try the effect of do- ing such acts faithfully for his Master's sake. *^ I suffered this for your sake," is the voice which falls from the parched lips of the Cru- cified One. Let his redeemed follower re- spond, " And I will do my hard, mean, dis- agreeable duties for thy sake, O, my Saviour! " Thus associated with Jesus, the drudgery of life will appear mean no longer, but will be clothed with the beauty which belongs to acts ennobled by being made the fruit of a pure and lofty affection. One can hardly imagine a CONTEMPTU- ^ ^ ° ous DisPLEAS- phrase more expressive of con- URE temptuous displeasure than the words of the Lord to the lukewarm Laodiceans: ^' I will spew thee out of my mouth.'* The neglect of his service by the necessarily ignorant God can regard with pitiful tolerance; but the indifference of souls to whom he has made known his matchless mercy disgusts him. He turns from them with aversion. "A cold, dead heathen/' re- Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 275 marks Dr. Bates, " is less offensive and odious to him than a lukevrarm Christian." THE LIGHT OF ^^HEN the keeper of a light- PURE DEEDS, house trims and Ughts his lamps he goes to his lonely couch cheered by the thought that by his fidelity to his trust he will guide many a mariner through the dangers of the treacherous sea. But how many are thus guided he knows not. It is even so with the good man who keeps his spiritual light shining through the lamp of a virtuous life. That he does guide some souls to the truth he cannot doubt; but how many are led to think better thoughts, to form higher purposes, to enlist under his Lord's banner, he cannot know. He never will know until, in the blessed hereafter, one and another happy saint will say to him, **Your light guided me to our precious Christ." Shine on, therefore, O, believer ! Trim anew the lamp of thy love to the Christ, and let it shine through thy pure deeds as the rays from a com- mon lamp shine through a globe of alabaster. 276 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. MORE GOD- Purity is essential to fruit- LIKENESS. fulness. Hence the disciple who values his relation to Christ as the most precious jewel in his possession should not despise, but cherish, those desires for more Godlikeness which often arise as from an in- ward inspiration. When they swell his heart he should recognize the fact that they are wrought in him by the Holy Spirit, who is thereby seeking to purge him, that he may ** bring forth more fruit." By neglecting them, he tempts his divine Purifier to resort to the pruning-knife of sharp affliction. By persisting in such neglect he makes himself the unfruitful branch which is '^ cast forth " to wither and to be "burned." A FECUND Selfishness, like the aphis, VICE. jg wonderfully fecund. It breeds other vices with amazing rapidity. In the end it defeats its own aim by making its possessor so hateful that the men without whose aid he cannot rise turn against him. Hence he resembles the man who set his Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 277 house on fire that he might roast his eggs. "Loving himself without a rival," he is sure to be unfortunate, and to justify the remark of that philosopher who said of such, " Whereas they have all this time sacrificed to them- selves, they become in the end sacrifices to the inconstancy of fortune whose wings they thought, by their self-wisdom, to have pin- ioned." WHAT A MAN *' WiLT thou know a man, ^^- above all mankind, by string- ing together bead-rolls of what thou nam- est facts?" demands Carlyle. Replying to his own query, he says: "The man is the spirit he worked in; not what he did, but what he became." There is an air of wisdom in these words which ceases to impress one when one reflects that it is only by knowing what a man did that one can know what he became. A wiser than Carlyle said of a pre- tentious class of men: "Ye shall know them by their fruits [the * facts * of their lives]. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of 278 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. thistles?" A man is just what the facts which make up his Hfe really are ; no more, no less. A TANGLING Why is it that a man whose VEIL. deep spirituality was formerly an overflowing fountain, and whose zeal was a steadfast flame, is now silent in the prayer- meeting and indifferent to all church work ? Keble answers this question by exclaiming, " Alas ! the world he loves Too close around his heart her tangling veil hath flung." A DREADED When a disciple of Christ is SCOURGE. conscious of a mental recoil from his Lord's "Be ye therefore perfect," he needs to search his heart for that unholy affection which is, most assuredly, the source of his recoil. The late Bishop Wilberforce when in this state of mind wrote in his diary, " I shrink despicably from the severe counte- nance of perfect devotion to God. Lord, have pity on my miserable weakness; and yet Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 279 while I so pray I am scarce sincere, for I fear being scourged into devotedness. Lord, give me a will for thee. I wish earnestly that I more wished to be as a flame of fire in thy service, passionless for earth, and impassioned for thee." The "scourge" feared by this good man came and gave him a wound which neither time nor grace ever fully healed. It was the death of his wife, whom he loved with a love never perhaps surpassed by mor- tal man. And it accomplished the end he sought in his prayer, in that it made his sub- sequent career, as he had prayed, passionless for earth and impassioned for God and the Church. How human was this experience ! How like this good bishop too many shrink from perfect devotion to God ! O, foolish shrinking ! What is such devotion but likeness to Him who is *^the altogether lovely?" A VAIN MAN'S Praise is swcet music in the MUSIC. g^j.g q£ ^ yg^jj^ man, but it lures him away from Christ by puffing up his 28o Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. heart with self-conceit and pride, which God hateth. Hence no man who is bent on being, above all things, spiritually-minded will list- en to praise of his own works, but will repel it, as John Knox, the sturdy Scottish Re- former, did when on his death-bed. " Praise God for what good you have done ! " said a lady who came to visit him in that hour of pain and weakness. She was about to say more in commendation of his grand career; but he interrupted her by saying, *' Tongue, tongue, lady; flesh of itself is overproud and needs no means to esteem itself," He then ex- horted her to lay aside pride and to be clothed with humility. There was more fidelity than courtesy in these words of the uncompromis- ing Scotsman, but was he not right in refus- ing to permit the incense of praise to be offered to his vanity ? But if he did right in refusing such incense on his dying bed is not that man wrong who in the prime of his strength seeks it as a savory offering to his pride or his vanity? "Happy is he whose praise is not of men, but of God." Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 281 THE SWEET- David siiigs of God as his EST WORD. j-Q(.]^^ j^jg fortress, his deliv- erer, his high tower, his shield, and his ref- uge. These emblems of what God was to his soul were very full of comfort to him, as they are, also, to the Christian. But the royal poet did not, could not, indeed, see in God that fatherly tenderness and that unfathom- able love which is manifested in the gift of his Son and in the self-sacrifice of Jesus for humanity. Hence the Christian, after ap- propriating to himself all David's emblems, can still say with an ancient Christian poet, ** Never was sung a sweeter word. Nor fuller music e'er was heard, Nor deeper aught the heart hath stirred. Than Jesus, Son of God ! " BY-PATH Bunyan's pilgrims, rejoic- MEADOW. jj^g |-Q f^^^ more pleasant walking in *^ By-path Meadow " than in the great highway to the celestial city, are em- blems of those professors of Christ who, hav- ing departed from their strict adhesion to 19 282 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. gospel ethics, say, "We are very glad we can be good men with less of painful self-denial and fewer sacrifices of opportunities to ac- quire wealth and to enjoy the world than we once thought indispensable to Christian disci- pleship." But as those pilgrims were awak- ened from their delusion by finding them- selves in the clutches of Giant Despair, so will these self-deluded professors be startled by discovering that in eliminating self-denials and self-sacrifices from their lives they also bade adieu to that faith which works by love and purifies the heart. Unhappy souls ! In crossing the threshold of the House of Duty they turned their backs on Him who sacri- ficed himself on the cross to save them. WITHIN THE ^^^ George Bell, after a GATES. severe and painful struggle, succeeded in gaining recognition as a skillful surgeon in London. The joyous exultation of success won against difficulties which once seemed insuperable led him, in writing to a famxiliar friend, to say: "My dear George, I Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. zS 3 have taken a great deal of money to-day. It is literally lying in heaps. . . , This has been a day of business, and now we live merrily, merrily." Who can fail to sympathize with this rising man's exultation, notwithstanding its apparent lack of moral elevation, attrib- utable, no doubt, to the fact that just before his life had been a battle for bread ? May it not be accepted, however, as symbolical, in some faint degree, of the joy of friends de- parted on finding themselves safe within the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem ? Standing amid the ineffable glory which gleams from the throne of the Lamb, conscious that the toilsome march of the earthly life is ended, that its perilous battles with temptations have all been fought, that the last spot of fleshly de- filement has been washed away, that the period of cares, fears, dangers, and anxieties has forever closed, and that their future peace, purity, rest, and happiness are all insured be- yond risk or possibility of loss, their joy must be ecstatic, ravishing, perfect. John tells us that when he saw them in his wondrous vis- 284 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. ion he also " heard a great voice of much people in heaven saying, i\lleluia, salvation, and glory, and honor, and power unto the Lord our God." Who that has friends in that exulting throng can indulge in complain- ing grief over their departure ? And who that has faith in Him who reigns over that kingdom can shrink from the coming of his messenger, death, to conduct him thither ? The self-seeking man whose life consists wholly in the things now in his possession has fearful need to shiver at the voice of what to him is indeed a monster of terror ; but the Christian disciple should hail him as a friend sent by his loving Master to conduct him to the gates of the celestial city. To him, as with Paul, to live is Christ, but to die is gain. When one is tempted to re- CLEAN LIPS. ^ late a witty but impure anec- dote for the amusement of his intimate friends let him extinguish the desire he feels to amuse his friends in that way with this Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 285 prohibition of the Holy Spirit, ^'Let no cor- rupt communication proceed out of thy mouth ! " Lips that speak to God in prayer, and of God to men, should never be defiled by giving passage to unclean words. SATAN'S EM- WiSHES which Spring from BASSADORS. discouteut with one's lot in life are Satan's embassadors seeking to excite one to rebellion against God. They should be taken as soon as discovered, slain, and offered in sacrifice on the altar of prayer. If parleyed with they will be sure to lead one into captivity, if not to spiritual death. It has been well said that **The discontented wish is father to a sinful will. I wish for a better, is followed by, I will have a better ; and so the soul goes astray." BAIT FOR Few of Satan's devices are SATAN'S HOOK. gQ scductivc as those which tempt good men to do doubtful and evil deeds for pious ends. The use of grab-bags, raf- fling, and other modes of gambling at church 286 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. fairs, and the getting up of amateur theat- rical performances and comic concerts as means of increasing church funds, may be cited as examples of doing evil that good may come. They corrupt young minds by draw- ing them away from God and awakening in them a passion for practices and amusements which are extinguishers of piety. When church officers and representative Christian men indorse such things they little think that they are making themselves bait for Sa- tan's hooks. Well does Shakespeare say of man's archenemy when thus baiting his hooks with good men's acts: "O, cunning enemy, that to catcli a saint With saints doth bait thy hook ! Most dangerous Is that temptation that doth goad us on To sin by loving virtue ! " WHERE IS Where is heaven ? Heaven HEAVEN? is within thee, O, man, if Christ be in thy heart, the hope of glory. Look, then, into thyself and find thy Lord, and where thou findest him be sure that thou Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 287 hast found heaven — not heaven in its com- pleteness, but in its elements. The final heaven of hope — what is it but life in the Master's presence ? Such a life thou livest now by faith. After a few days, if faithful, thou shalt live it by sight. Thou shalt be- hold Him as he is. The heaven in which thou livest to-day is the antechamber of the heaven in which thou shalt live not many days hence. Therefore, be of good cheer, and w\ait patiently foj the end of all that now makes thy present heaven incomplete. INSIGNIFICANT Samuel Drew, the mcta- DEEDS. physician, was in the habit of observing that, "as daylight can be seen through little holes, so we may judge of a person's character by small actions as well as great." Hence a curl of the lip, a haughty toss of the head, or a sly glance at a mirror, trifling as the movement appears, whispers to the observer, " That person is proud; that woman is vain." Thus by various insignifi- cant deeds do men and women constantly I 288 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. make proclamation to others concerning the moral texture of their souls. A PREACHER'S ^ preacher's power does POWER. jjQ|. i[q [^ ]^J5 brain so much as in his heart. Let one preacher be distin- guished for the greatness of his intellect and another for the largeness of his heart, and it will be found that the latter is the more suc- cessful soul-winner. The philosophy of this fact is apparent. The heart is chiefly con- cerned with the question of religion. It is the heart that is estranged from God which is the citadel of hostility to the Gospel, and which it is the aim of preaching to win. Love alone can charm away its hostility. A Brah- man once gave remarkable expression to this truth when he said of a missionary who was singularly affectionate, " I am afraid to see much of that man. There is something so winning about him that if I were to be much with him I am sure I should be- come a Christian." What, then, should preachers do ? Neglect intellectual culture ? Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 289 By no means. A grand intellect commands respect. Let it be set on fire by divine love ; it wins men to God. What preachers need, therefore, is, not less intellectual cult- ure, but more love — more love for God and man. '"Rejoice evermore !'* Wliat A BLESSED WATCH- a blessed watch-phrase this is ! PHRASE And who that fully appre- ciates the wonderful love of Jesus can help being joyous ? Ah ! if Christians followed their Lord fully their hearts would always beat time to the music of heaven. If they lived " looking " into the radiant face of Jesus their tongues would be constantly sing- ing of his love. Saintly George Herbert gave quaint expression to the joyous motions of the renewed heart when he sang these lines: ** My Joy, my Life, my Crown ! My heart was moaning all the day, Somewhat it fain would say ; And still it runneth, muttering, up and down, With only this, My Joy^ my Life^ my Crown ! " 290 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. AN OPEN Faith opens a window WINDOW. through which the soul sees a God of love, a Saviour from sin, a state of endless purity, a heaven of ecstatic bliss. Unbelief seeks to wall up that window. Surely, unbelief is mad, and its teachers are the world's mischief-makers. SPIRITUAL ^ DELIBERATE purpOSe tO SUICIDE. practice things which one's conscience clearly condemns is a knife that cuts the tie of discipleship and separates one from Christ. It is spiritual suicide. A FORETASTE ^^ t)e Separated from God OF HELL. -g ^Q foretaste the misery of hell. To be united to God by a living, love- producing faith is to foretaste the joy of heaven. He who is not joined to God is dead in trespasses and sins; he who is united to him and loves him is " alive unto God through Jesus Christ." God can no more take the former to himself than can living men take the bodies of the dead into their Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 291 households; but the latter, being made alive, and like him, by his grace, he will take to himself in his everlasting habitation. Is it not passing strange that the foniier will per- sist in making their earthly life a preparation for endless death ? And is it not almost as strange that the latter, having entered into spiritual life through faith, do not pursue it with unremitting, ardent, all-absorbing zeal ? A SOURCE OF ^-^^ ^^^^ brightness of the ^^^- sunbeam makes visible the myriad motes which float in the air unseen by ordinary light, so does the near approach of Christ to a believer bring the hidden sin- fulness of the heart into strong relief. The effect is sometimes so staggering that the soul is as one bewildered, and it cries with agony, " How can such a sin-stained creature as I am presume to believe that God's prom- ise of purity will be fulfilled in me ?" And this fear of adding the sin of presumption to its already countless offenses paralyzes its hand of faith so that it fails to grasp the 292 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. promise of the righteousness for which it is hungering and thirsting. But this fear is it- self a source of the very sin from which it shrinks, inasmuch as it is an act of presump- tion to doubt God's word. His promise of righteousness is given, not to the spotless but to the spotted soul. Hence for such a one to say, ^^ God will not purify my heart be- cause it is so very vile," is to impeach his veracity, to deny his faithfulness, to make him a liar, and to refuse him that obedient faith which he has made our primary duty. Hence, again, the seeker of purity is literally com- pelled to believe, or to increase the very sinful- ness he loathes. He should, therefore, "be strong in faith, glorifying God." A GRACEFUL REPUTATION, if it be the ORNAMENT, blossom of 3. purc character, is precious, and should be sacredly guarded. But considered as a means of happiness or an end of life it merits the epithet attached to it by Shakespeare when he called it "the bubble reputation." For since reputation is Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 293 the estimate the public forms of one's worth, and since that public is made up of many and various minds subject to unnumbered and unreasonable prejudices, its opinion of an in- dividual is as liable to fluctuation as a fancy stock which speculators toss from hand to hand in an " Exchange." An illustration of this is given in the experience of Rev. Mr. Kilpin, who, passing through a street, heard a man say of him, ^' If ever there was a good man upon earth there goes one." This was certainly a very pleasant thing to hear. But on going down another street his self-compla- cency was wounded by hearing a second per- son cry out, " If ever a man deserved hanging that fellow does. He makes people mad with his preaching." Accepting this as a typical incident, men — public men especially — should learn not to seek reputation as an end of life, but only as a means of ur fulness; not to de- pend upon it as a condition of their personal happiness, but to live so purely as to feel self- approved and to be smiled upon by the All- seeing One. In such a case, though so 294 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. unjustly maligned or despised by their fellow- men as to be counted, like their Master, of "no reputation," they can still be happy. A good reputation, if deserved, is a pearl of beauty and a graceful ornament; but a good conscience is of more value than rubies; malice cannot filch it away, misapprehension cannot disturb it. THAT PRE- Precious beyond all price cious BLOOD, to the behever is the blood of the Lamb. It washes away his guilt, cleanses him from the stains of sin, calms all his fears of deserved evil, and enables him, in full view of the eternal mysteries, to join with the Church in singing, "Sprinkled with His atoning blood, Safely before our God we stand, As on the rock the prophet stood Beneath his shadowing hand." PAINFUL '^^^ struggles of believers STRUGGLES, ^j^h their besetting sins are sometimes painful even to agony. Little do Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 295 either censorious sinners or unsympathetic brethren know what tierce battles are being fought in such men's breasts. Nevertheless, they have the sympathy of their enthroned High-priest, who is (O, precious fact I) the un- seen witness of their deadly trials. And his sympathy is sure to be the channel of his help. '^Yea, I will help thee^'' he cries, as he be- holds their discouragement. Fight bravely, therefore, O, tried soul ! Your victory is sure if you cleave by faith to your invisible Helper, and your reward will be to hear him say to thee, even to thee, ^^Well done, good and faithful servant ! " Will not that approval more than compensate thee for all thou hast suffered or can suffer ? Ix domg benevolent work SHINE ON. one loves to witness gratitude in those one benefits. Such recognition of kindnesses is to the charitable worker what a cup of cold water is to a thirsty laborer. But charitable work is not always, perhaps not generally, thus rewarded. Ingratitude is 296 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. a common characteristic of those whose ne- cessities are the fungi of their vices, and their ingratitude is apt to be as ice to one's chari- table affections. Yet genuine charitable love will not freeze in the breath of ungrateful re- turn, because it is of the nature of that love which led the Master to die for his enemies, and ^ from which flows that wonderful long- suffering that moves him to give this sinning world long space for repentance. Coleridge caught the spirit of this heavenly love when he said to discouraged workers for humanity, and to those whose old friends had forsaken them, ** Shine on ! nor heed Whether the object by reflected light Return thy radiance, or absorb it quite ; And though thou notest from thy safe recess Old friends burn dim, like lamps in noisome air, Love them for what they are; nor love them less Because to thee they are not what they wefe.'' A PREGNANT *' What if the Christian QUESTION. religion be true, after all?" This pregnant question rose in a young law- yer's mind one evening as he stood on the Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 297 doorstep of his home waiting for his servant to open the door. The man was an unbe- liever in the word of God. He had been saying many witty and sarcastic things against Christianity in a party of friends, and now this query, flashing suddenly into his mind, troubled him. Like the old man in the story of Sindbad, it clung to him with strange tenac- ity until he said to himself, " I have taken less pains to decide this great question, in- volving the most momentous interests, than I usually take in studying up a case of law for a retaining fee." The folly of this gross neglect weighed upon his heart like a night- mare and kept him awake all night. The next day he gave himself to the earnest study of the troublesome question. The result was, first, a rooted conviction that Christianity is true, and then a cordial acceptance and blessed experience of its sublime truths. If the reader be a skeptic who has never seri- ously examined the foundation of the Chris- tian system, can he do better than to ponder that lawyer's querv, ^^ What if the Christian 20 298 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. religion be true, after all ? " And if, like him, he should see it to be fearfully true in its bearing on the destiny of its rejecters, can he do a wiser or better thing than to em- brace it ? " My soul is sore vexed ! ** SORE VEXED. is an exclamation of David which earnest Christians are often moved to adopt when they stand amazed at the mis- chiefs done by wicked men, or at the follies occasionally wrought by injudicious brethren in church management. To those who fret at human folly Goethe says: ** When you see things wrong, Never fret and fume ; Folly will be strong Until the day of doom." This is true, but by no means consoling. David offers a higher reason for refusing to fret when he says, " Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, . . . for they shall soon be cut down;" and Solomon says, "There shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 299 wicked shall be put out." Both writers thus bid good men to turn their thoughts away from evil-doers and their evil deeds to Him who will finally put an end to both. To " trust in the Lord and do good " is the best antidote to fretful moods of mind. Trust will keep one's soul calm amid the whirl of human folly; doing good may be the means of winning some vexatious sinners from their evil ways, and thereby diminishing occasions for vexation. LETTING IN A '^^^ ^^^ ^^^ Stimulates WOLF. j^ig already morbid appetite with highly seasoned food invites the demon dyspepsia to take possession of his stomach. Equally foolish is he who, having in some unguarded moment admitted doubt of God's truth into his heart, straightway takes to reading skeptical books. So, also, is he fool- ish who, when overtaken by misfortune, re- fuses to look for some star of hope and does nothing but brood despairingly over his con- dition. But he who, having been led into 300 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. some great transgression, seeks to stun his ac- cusing conscience by rushing headlong into deeper moral mire is worse than foolish. His folly is turning to madness. All three of these classes would do well to weigh the as- sertion of these simple lines: *' To seek relief from doubt in doubt, From woe in woe, from sin in sin, Is but to drive a tiger out And let a hungrier wolf come in." A CRITICAL "All these things are MOMENT. against me," was Jacob's dis- tressing cry when required to part with his beloved Benjamin. A kindred exclamation not unfrequently leaps to the tongues of modern men when thrown into great straits by adverse events. "Circumstances are all against me ! " cries the half-despairing man, whose w^ay seems hedged up on every side. Ruin stares him in the face, and despair threatens to smite his energies with palsy. Such a moment in a man's life is critical, be- cause if he gives way to despair he is sure Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 301 to fall a victim to the adverse circumstances which environ him. But why need such a man despair ? Circumstances are rarely un- conquerable by men who are true to them- selves, and can never do final harm to a dis- ciple who retains his trust in God. Rather, even when seemingly evil, they are so con- trolled by our loving Lord as to be made in- struments by which the believer may gain accessions of spiritual strength in the act of fighting them and an increase of glory in the kingdom eternal. It is, therefore, both the duty and g\ory of a man not to be con- quered by, but to conquer, adverse circum- stances. Both David and Daniel made them- selves strong by such fighting. So can every other believing man if he but will do it, since human strength allied by faith to the strength of Christ is always stronger than circum- stances. Let the disheartened believer learn from the success of millions of his Lord's loved ones to convert his evil surroundings into friendly auxiliary forces. But to do this he must have more /ai't/i. 302 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. WHY DOES George Herbert, among his Charms and j these quaint Hnes: PRAYER Dis- his CJiarms and Knots, has GUST YOU? " Who goes to bed, and doth not pray, Maketli two nights to every day." But what is the source of that *^ insurmount- able disgust " to prayer which permits a Christian to close his eyes at night without communing with God ? What makes devo- tion an insipid draught to him who once loved to pray? To such a man Massillon says, '' Mount to the source of your disgust toward God and every thing connected with him, and see if they shall not be found in the in- iquitous attachments of your heart. See if you are not a slave to yourself, to the vain cares of dress, to frivolous friendships, to dangerous animosities, to secret envies, to desires of popularity, to every thing around you ? " What is your reply, O, reader, to these questionings of the great orator ? Surely your conscience tells you that he is right. Your soul is sick with worldly fever, and Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 303 therefore spiritual things disgust you. That fever is deadly, and will end in your complete separation from God unless you expel that accursed love of the world from your soul and return to Him whose love you have re- jected, but who nevertheless still woos you to return, saying, "Come unto me, and I will give you rest." " Have I not loved you with an everlasting love ? " One cannot help thinking^ OUR FIRST ^ ^ MOMENT IN sometimes of the probable HEAVEN. . , . - perceptions and emotions that come to the Christian soul when it first finds itself set free from its earthly tabernacle. Yet nothing but the experience can give one knowledge of what souls purified by faith actually see and feel in that grand birth-hour of their immortal life. Dean Stanley gave his conception of what that hour brings them in these beautiful words : *^ There the soul finds itself alone on the mountain ridge over- looking the unknown future. . . . We are left alone with God. We know not in the 304 Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. shadow of the night who it is that touches us — we feel only that the Everlasting Arms are closing us in ; the twilight of the morning breaks, we are bid to depart in peace, for by a strength not our own we have prevailed, and the path is made clear before us." O, glorious consciousness of victory won ! Well indeed sings a Christian poet of that glad hour : *' When we stand with Christ in glory, Looking o'er life's finished story, Then, Lord, shall I fully know, Not till then, how much I owe." SIN HAS TWO S^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^ statue with FACES. ^^yQ diverse faces. When it solicits its victim it reveals only its attract- ive and smiling face. When it has captured him it shows him its disgusting and re- pulsive side. Yet when it tempts again it resumes its charming aspect, administers a philter which deadens his recollection of the pangs which followed his former guilty deed, and lures him to repeat his follies. Faith, Hope, Love, Duty. 305 Trench, in his Couplets^ puts this truth into these Hnes: ** Sin, not till it is left, will duly sinful seem ; A man must waken first, ere he can tell his dream. '* Beware, therefore, O man, lest you be *^ hard- ened through the deceitfulness of sin,'* THE END.