THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF ILLINOIS 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 Presented in 1923 
 By Professor 
 Bvarts Boutell Greene 
 
 aoa.6 
 
 &6>7t3 
 
Return this book on or before the 
 Latest Date stamped below. 
 
 University of Illinois Library 
 
 1£ l:i 
 
 o 
 
 
 ad 
 
 
 ■ FEB 1 ‘ 
 
 
 
 tB 0 
 
 1 
 
 
 ¥ 
 
 
 L161__H41 
 
* Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 901 A 
 
 https:/^rchive.org/detaife/illustrativegatlibowe 
 

 f 
 
 
 ;i 'A'?'' " 
 
 
 % 
 
ILLDSTEATIVE GATHERINGS 
 
 FOB 
 
 PREACHERS AND TEACHERS. 
 
 A MANUAL OF ANECDOTES, FACTS, FIGUKES, 
 PKOVERBS, QUOTATIONS, ETC. 
 
 Jltontcli for €\m[m Nestling. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 Rev. G. S. BOWES, B.A., 
 
 BECTOB OF CHILLENDEN, KENT, AND LATE SCHOLAR OF CORPUS CHRISTI 
 COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 “WITHOUT A PARABLE SPAKE HE NOT UNTO THEM.” 
 
 JFrfim S/Onb-Dit 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 PERKINPINE & HIGGINS, 
 
 No. 56 NORTH FOURTH STREET. 
 
 1864. 
 

 \ 
 
 
‘^Illustrative Gatherings.” — It is hoped the title 
 of this book will at once explain its design, — to supply 
 a selection of illustrations, gathered from many sources 
 for the elucidation of Christian truth; such as ‘‘preachers 
 and teachers” are constantly in search of, and yet often 
 find it difficult to meet with. 
 
 A few words, however, may be said upon its plan. It 
 embraces, — 
 
 1. A Collection of Scripture References. The Scrip- 
 tures being the great source of truth, a collection of texts, 
 and also of scriptural emblems, have been placed at the 
 beginning of most of the articles, and short illustrations 
 subjoined to many passages of Holy Writ. Of the 
 former, it may sometimes happen that their applicability 
 may not at once be obvious ; but, it is believed, a little 
 careful thought, and comparison with the context, com- 
 bined with a due consideration of the subject, will fully 
 prove their bearing, and show for what purpose they 
 have been selected. There are some texts which, like a 
 prism, can be rightly seen only when held in a peculiar 
 light. 
 
 2. A Collection of Illustrations ^ combined and com 
 
IV 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 pressed with a view to brevity, applicability, and variety. 
 The field of illustration is a boundless one, and the difii- 
 culty is, not to collect, but to select. Many from the 
 author’s own MSS., and other sources, might have been 
 added, which have been rejected, as being either too long 
 or too familiar; and in many that are here given, details 
 and applications have been curtailed to supply room for 
 greater variety. Of many of the articles, the author 
 can only say with Montesquieu, have culled a garland 
 of flowers; and the only thing that I can call my own 
 is the string that binds them.” Many others are partly 
 original and partly selected. 
 
 To the whole, — 
 
 3. A copious Index has been added, as the same illus- 
 trations, it is evident, may often apply to many subjects, 
 and kindred subjects have so close an affinity with eacli 
 other. 
 
 In offering this work to the Christian public, much 
 might be said upon the value and use of illustrations, 
 the importance of which has long and universally been 
 admitted. Reason, history, and experience all witness 
 to their power. The most eminent preachers have used 
 them freely. Our Lord Himself, the Great Teacher, gave 
 them His sacred sanction. Our own experience attests 
 their magic spell. How often the well-told anecdote — 
 the touching figure — the pithy proverb — are remembered, 
 when the argument is lost, and the exhortation is for- 
 
PKEFACE. 
 
 V 
 
 gotten! A freer and judicious use of illustration -would 
 tend much to enliven the dullness of many of our 
 preachers, and to arrest the attention of many of our 
 congregations. 
 
 Two cautions may here, however, be suggested 
 
 1. Illustrations, valuable as they are, should be used 
 sparingly and judiciously; otherwise, our instructions 
 may be made gaudy, instead of attractive, puerile rather 
 than powerful ^ as a coat, too richly embroidered, encum- 
 bers the wearer. Hence, generally speaking, one or two 
 striking figures, skillfully opened out and wisely applied, 
 produce far more impression on the mind than a long 
 string of similes, touched, but not dwelt upon. At the 
 beginning of most of the articles, therefore, in this book, 
 a number-of simple emblems have been collected, one or 
 two of which the reader may select and open out for 
 himself, after which any of the following illustrations 
 may be used. This is desired to be a suggestive book ; 
 not one to encourage idleness, but one to help the 
 thoughtful. 
 
 2. Illustrations, valuable as they are, let it always be 
 remembered, should be kept in their due place. “Argu- 
 ments are the pillars of the temple of truth; illustrations 
 are the windows to let in light.” ‘True; yet such light 
 only as can reach the mind. It is a higher power that 
 must reach the heart. “It is recorded of one of the 
 Reformers, that when he had acquitted himself in a pub- 
 
vi 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 lie discussion with great credit to his Master’s cause, a 
 friend begged to see the notes, which he had observed 
 him to write; supposing that he had taken down the 
 arguments of his opponents, and sketched the substance 
 of his own reply. Greatly was he surprised to find that 
 his notes consisted simply of these ejaculatory petitions, — 
 ‘More light, Lord; more light, more light!’ This is 
 the light the true teacher wants. If anything here 
 written be useful as a help to supply light, let it only be 
 in humble subservience. The wisest words of the wisest 
 minds are only a dark lantern, without the Spirit’s light. 
 Too much time may be spent in seeking to adorn and 
 enforce the truth. Let those who use this book use it 
 only as a help. It is our bounden duty — it should be 
 our diligent care — to use all the helps we can ; but let 
 this prayer be ever upon our lips, and in our hearts, 
 ^‘More light. Lord; more light, more light!” 
 
 N. B. — The letters c/. are used throughout for “com- 
 pare,” being the abbreviation of the Latin word confer^ 
 — the imperative mood of the verb confer to collate or 
 compare. 
 
 G. S. BOWES. 
 
 * Rev. C. Bridges on Psalm cxix. (p. 173, note.) 
 
ILLUSTRATIFE GATHERINGS. 
 
 ABIDING IN CHRIST — Denotes: 1. Dependence. 
 (John XV. 5.) 2. Continuance. (Luke xxiv. 28, 29.) 
 
 3. Peace, rest, and love. (Psalm xxv. 13; xci. 1.) 
 
 One of the many expressions peculiar to St. John, and 
 which so sweetly breathes his tender spirit, who leaned 
 upon the Saviour’s bosom. As he has titles of Christ, 
 peculiar to himself (“the Life,” “Light,” “the Truth,” 
 &c.), so he has distinctive terms for our life in Christ, 
 and this is one,— “Abide in Me, and I in you,” &c. 
 (See John xv., and elsewhere in about twenty-one places.) 
 
 ACCESS TO GOD. — Psalm Ixv. 4; Ixxiii. 23—28; 
 Micah vi. 6-8; John x. 1-9; xiv. 6; Eph. ii. 18; iii. 
 12; Rom. v. 2; Heb. iv. 16; x. 19-22. 
 
 Through Christ.— Cf. 1. The order of the Taber- 
 nacle, — the Brazen Altar — Laver — Holy Place — Most 
 Holy. 
 
 2. Nearly all the gifts and sacrifices were ofiiered at 
 the door of the Tabernacle. 
 
 3. John X. 1-9; xiv. 6. 
 
 4. Heb. vii. 22. Jesus “a Surety of a better Testa- 
 ment,” from srp-r, near. 
 
 9 
 
10 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE ..GATHERINGS. 
 
 Cf. God's way of forgiveness with man's. David for- 
 gave Absalom, but he said, ‘^Let him turn to his own 
 house, and let him not see my face." (2 Sam. xiv. 24.) 
 
 So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw 
 not the king's face." (Ver. 28.) But God's pardons 
 include direct access. (Rom. v. 1, 2.) 
 
 ACKNOWLEDGING GOD.— Genesis xxxiii. 5; 1 
 Chron. xxix. 10-25; Ps. xxviii. 5; cxv. 1; Prov. iii. 6; 
 Eccl. vii. 13; Isa. v. 12; Dan. iv. 30-82; v. 23; Acts 
 xii. 23. 
 
 We do, when we (1) take Him into our counsels before 
 we form our plans ; (2), ask his blessing in their pro- 
 gress; (3), surrender or change them whenever he re- 
 quires it; and (4), when we honor Him as our Father, 
 and obey Him as our King. 
 
 There were several striking examples of, under the 
 Jewish economy, as in the oiferings. The wave offering 
 was waved horizontally to the four points, and the heave 
 offering heaved up and down, the two acknowledging 
 Him as the Lord of heaven and earth. All the firstborn 
 of man and beasts were also his. The tithes were for 
 the maintenance of his ministers. So also in war (see 
 Numbers xxxi. 28-30), the tribute offered to God was 
 from the soldiers l-500th part, and from the people 
 l-50th, besides a large thank-offering of the officers, 
 about $140,000. 
 
 England has often shown her Christian character in 
 this respect; as when Queen Elizabeth ordered a medal 
 to be struck, after the destruction of the Spanish 
 Armada, having on it Ex. xv. 10, ‘^Afflavit Deus, et 
 dissipantur," — ‘‘God blew on them, and they were 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 11 
 
 scattered.” So we have well inscribed Ps. xxiv. 1 on 
 the forefront of the Royal Exchange, and stamped ‘‘Dei 
 gratia” on all our coins of the realm. But do y^efeel 
 the acknowledgments we so often make, as, e.g,, when we 
 say grace at meals? 
 
 Pope Adrian blasphemously put the inscription upon 
 the college he had built, “Utrecht planted me, Louvain 
 watered me, but Cmsar gave the increase.” Upon which 
 some one wrote underneath, “It seems God did nothino: 
 for this man.” 
 
 ADOPTION. — Prov. xiv. 26; Isa. Ivi. 5, 6; Ezek. 
 xvi. 3-14; John i. 11-13; Rom. viii. 14-17; 2 Cor. vi. 
 18 ; Gal. iv. 5-7 ; Eph. i. 5-11 ; Phil. ii. 15 ; 1 John 
 iii. 1-3. 
 
 Is included in Justification. 
 
 “Justification is the act of God as a Judge, adoption 
 as a Father. By the former we are discharged from 
 condemnation, and accepted as righteous; by the latter, 
 we are made the children of God, and joint-heirs with 
 Christ. By the one we are taken into God's favor; by 
 the other, into his family. Adoption may he looked 
 upon as an appendage to justification, for it is by our 
 being justified that we come to a right to all the honors 
 and privileges of adoption.” — Dr. Guyse. 
 
 By adoption, God gives us — (1), a new 7 iame (Numb, 
 vi. 27; Rev. iii. 12); (2), A new nature (2 Pet. i. 4), 
 [“Whom God adopts He anoints; whom He makes sons, 
 He makes saints, ’ — Watson.~\ (3), A new inheritance. 
 (Rom. viii. 17.) 
 
 Fruits of (a) On God’s Part. Love towards the 
 adopted. (Psalm ciii. 13.) Provision for 
 
12 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 Ixxxiv. 11.) Protection, (Zech. ii. 8.) Cruidance, 
 (Hosea xi. 1-3; Rom. viii. 14.) Correction. (Heb. 
 xii. 5-11.) 
 
 (h\ On our Part. Holiness. (2 Cor. vi. 18 ; vii. 
 1; 1 John hi. 1-3.) Love for the Father. (Rom. viii. 
 15.) Love to all God’s family. (1 John v. 1.) 
 
 The wonder of God’s adoption appears, if we compare 
 it with the love of men. 1. Men generally adopt, when 
 they have no children of their own. But God had a 
 Son— his ‘‘dear Son,” — a Son better than the angels. 
 (Heb. i. 4.) 2. Men generally adopt such as they think 
 
 deserving. God adopted criminals, traitors, enemies. 
 3. Men adopt living children. God adopts those spirit- 
 ually dead. 4. Man adopts one son. God adopts many. 
 (Heb. ii. 10.) 
 
 Such Love . — When the Danish missionaries stationed a-t 
 Malahar set some of their converts to translate a Catechism in 
 which it was asserted that believers became the sons of God, 
 one of the translators was so startled that he suddenly laid down 
 the pen, and exclaimed, “It is too much. Let me rather render 
 it, ‘ They shall he permitted to kiss his feet !’ ” 
 
 Ex. Ephraim and Manasseh by Jacob. Moses by 
 Pharaoh’s daughter. Esther by Mordecai. 
 
 Application. God’s yearning love. (Jer. hi. 19.) 
 Our duty. (1 Sam. xviii. 3: Esther vi. 6; Mai. i. 6; 
 1 John iu. 2, 3.) 
 
 AFFLICTIONS. 
 
 Ex. i. 12; iii. 7; Ruth i. 21 ; 2 Sam. xxii. 28; Ezra ix. 13; 
 Keh. ix. 31, 32; Job ii. 10; v. 27 ; xiv. 1; xxxvi. 8-12; Ps. 
 XXXV. 19, 42; xxx. 8; cxix. 71, 75, 107; cxxvi. 5; cxl. 12; 
 Eccl. vii. 2-4; viii. 13, 14 ; Isa. xxvii. 9; xxx. 32; xxxiv. 11 ; 
 xlviii. 10; liii. 7; Ixiii. 9; Lam. iii. 1, 22, 23, 39, 40; Ezek. 
 XX. 37 ; Hosea v. 15 ; Joel i. 19 ; Amos iii. 6 ; Micah iv. 7 ; 
 
ILLCSTRATIVi: GATHERINGS. 
 
 IS 
 
 Zeph. lii. 12; Ma!. iii. 3. John xvi. 20; Eom. v. 2; viii. 17, 
 18, 28, 35-39 ; 2 Cor. i. 10 ; iv. 17 ; vi. 10 ; Col. i. 24 ; 1 Thess. 
 iii. 3; 1 Tim. ii. 12; Heb. x. 32; xii. 3-11; James v. 11-13; 
 1 Pet. iv. 13, 14 ; v. 9, 10 ; Eev. iii. 19. 
 
 Gen. XXXV. 18. ‘‘She called his name Benoni [son 
 of my sorrow]: but his father called him Benjamin’' [son 
 of the right hand]. 
 
 “ There is a dark and bright side to every providence, as 
 there was to the guiding pillar-cloud. Nature fixes on the 
 dark, and calls it ‘ sorrow sees the sun dispersing the 
 
 darkness, and calls it by a name of joy.’’ — Bonar, 
 
 Judges viii. 16, ‘'And he took the elders of the city, 
 and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them 
 he taught the men of Succoth.” 
 
 Marg,, “ made to know and how much is the believer made 
 to know in affliction, of God, of Christ, of the Spirit, of the 
 Scripture, of himself, of sin, of faith, of eternal life ? Luther 
 used to say, there were many of the Psalms he could never 
 understand till he had been afflicted. Pvutherford declares he 
 had got a new Bible through the furnace. 
 
 Psalm Iv. 19. “Because they have no changes, there- 
 fore they fear not God/’ 
 
 Cf. Jer. xlviii. 11. 
 
 There is a great want in those Christians that have not 
 suffered. ’ ’ — Jf ‘ Cheyne. 
 
 Even the heathen Pion said, “It is a great misfortune not 
 to endure misfortune and Anaxagoras, when his house was in 
 ruins, and his estate wasted, afterwards remarked, “If they 
 had not perished, I should have perished.” So said one brought 
 to himself by blindness, “ I could never see till I was blind.” 
 
 Daniel iv. 25. “Lo, I see four men loose, walking in 
 the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt, and the 
 form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” 
 
14 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 How complete is the preservation of God’s people in the fur- 
 nace: sometimes temporally, always eternally! The Three 
 Children lost something ! But it was only the bonds that bound 
 them; and why ? Because one “ like the Son of God” walked 
 with them through the flames. So is it still. (Isa. xli. 10-14 ; 
 xliii. 2.) 
 
 Matthew xiv. 80. ^‘Beginning to sink, he cried, say- 
 
 ing, Lord, save me.’’ 
 
 Sinking times are praying times. It was only when Peter 
 looked at the waves, and heard the winds, that he sank. Be- 
 lievers “looking to Jesus” may walk securely upon the watery 
 surge. 
 
 Mark xv. 23. ‘^And they gave Him to drink wine 
 mingled with myrrh, but He received it not.” 
 
 “ Because it was designed to deaden the pain, and He would 
 suffer to the utmost. Learn a lesson of patient submission from 
 his example. But as for us, we may use every alleviation. He 
 purchased alleviation for us.” — Bonar. 
 
 ■ John xi. 3. “Therefore his sisters sent unto Him, 
 saying, Lord, behold he whom thou lovest is sick.” 
 
 “Afflictions make many send to Jesus. Joab would not come 
 to Absalom, till Absalom set his corn-field on fire. One writes, 
 — ‘By pain God drives me to prayer, teaches me to pray, in- 
 clines me to pray. Say, my heart, with respect to the stone, I 
 am unworthy of this mercy.’ ” — Adam's Private Thoughts. 
 
 John xviii. 11. ''The cup which my Father hath 
 given me, shall I not drink it?” 
 
 So Christ speaks of suflering. 1. It is but a cup; a small 
 matter comparatively, be it what it will. It is not a sea, a Bed 
 Sea, a Dead Sea, for it is not hell ; it is light, and but for a 
 moment. 2. It is a cup that is given us. Sufferings are gifts. 
 (Phil. i. 29.) 3. It is given us by a Father, who has a father’s 
 
 authority, and does us no wrong, — a father’s afiections, and 
 means us no hurt. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 15 
 
 1 Peter i, 6. ‘‘If need be.” 
 
 “ Three gracious words. Not one of all my tears shed for 
 nought ! God here pledges himself that there shall not be one 
 redundant thorn in the believer’s chaplet of sufferings. Oh, 
 what a pillow on which to rest thy aching head!” — Macduff. 
 
 Rev. ii. 10. “Thou slialt have tribulation ten days.” 
 
 1, A time; for God hath determined the beginning and 
 ending of all our trials. 2. A short time— ten days. What are 
 they to the years of a believer’s life, or to the three years of 
 contradiction and sorrows the “ ]Man of Sorrows” passed ? 
 
 [The author would recommend those visiting the sick some- 
 times to take some single verse or phrase, to open out, and turn 
 into prayer. One or two thoughts, dwelt upon, are at times 
 more effective than a long passage. For the plan carried out 
 more fully, see Bonar’s “ Yi.sitor’s Book of Texts.” Nisbet.] 
 
 Emblems. — Baptism, a rite sacred and sanctified. — 
 Cross— [“I would not exchange my cross with any.”— 
 Rutherford], — Cup, Fight, Fire, Furnace, Jewels polished 
 by friction. Medicine, Ploughshare, Pruning-knife, Rod, 
 “Songs in the night,” Storms and billows. Thorns, Deep 
 Waters, Winter’s frost and snow. 
 
 Cf. Burning bush, — burning, but not consumed; 
 Moriah; Valley of Achor, the Door of Hope; Marah’s 
 bitter waters sweetened ; Wilderness, the road to Canaan ; 
 Olivet (Jesus suffering and ascending therej. 
 
 “ Afflictions are blessings to us when we can bless God 
 for afflictions. Suffering has kept many from sinning. 
 God had one Son without sin, but He never had any 
 without sorrow. Fiery trials make golden Christians ; 
 sanctified afflictions are spiritual promotion.” — Dyer. 
 
 As sanctified or unsanctified^ soften or harden. The 
 same sun melts the wax, and hardens the clay, makes 
 the rose to grow in its beauty, and the thistle with its 
 
16 
 
 ILLUSTRATirE aATlIKRIN^S. 
 
 curse. A child shut up in a dark room comes out hum- 
 bled, or hardened. The prodigal went first to the citizen, 
 then to the father. (Luke xv. 15-17.) Summer storms 
 are soft and fertilizing. Winter storms are bleak and 
 destructive. 
 
 There is as much difference between the sufierings 
 of the saints and those of the ungodly, as between the 
 cords with which an executioner pinions a condemned 
 malefactor, and the bandages wherewith a tender surgeon 
 binds his patients.’' — Arrowsmith. 
 
 If God dries up the water on the lake, it is to lead 
 you to the unfailing Fountain. If He blights the gourd, 
 it is to drive you to the Tree of Life. If He sends the 
 cross, it is to sweeten the crown ; for no cross, no crown ; 
 no rain, no rainbow. 
 
 Nothing is so hard as our heart ^ and, as they lay 
 copper in aquafortis before they begin to engrave it, so 
 the 'Lord usually prepares us by the searching, softening 
 discipline of affliction for making a deep, lasting impres- 
 sion upon our hearts.” — Nottidge. 
 
 A Precious Treasure.— A young man who had long 
 been confined with a diseased limb, and was near dissolu- 
 tion, was attended by a friend, who requested that the 
 wound might be uncovered. This being done, “ There, 
 said the young man, “ there it is, and a precious treasure 
 it has been to me ; it saved me from the folly and vanity 
 of youth ; it made me cleave to God as my only portion, 
 and to eternal glory as my only hope ; and I think it 
 has now brought me very near my Father’s house.” 
 
 Side Winds . — ‘A have heard that a full wind behind 
 the ship drives her not so fast forward, as a side wind 
 that seems almost as much against her as for her and 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERIXaS. 
 
 17 
 
 the reason is, that a full wind fills but some of her sails, 
 which keeps it from the rest, but a side wind fills them 
 all. Xow, our affections are our sails. If the Lord 
 give us a full wind, and continued gale of mercies, it 
 would fill but some of our afiections, — joy, delight, and 
 the like. But when He comes with a side wind — a dis- 
 pensation that seems almost as much against us as for 
 us — then He takes up ail our affections ; then we are 
 carried faster to the haven where we would be.” — ^From 
 Owen, 
 
 AMBITION. — Psalm xlix. ; cxxxi. ; Prov. xvii. 19; 
 Isa. V. 8 ; xiv. 12-27 ; Jer. xlv. 5 ; Matt, xviii. 1-6 ; 
 Luke xxii. 24-27 ; Rom. xi. 20 ; Phil. ii. 7. 
 
 . Men are not so much mistaken in desirino' to ad- 
 vance themselves as in judging uhat will be an advance, 
 and what the right method of it. An ambition which 
 has conscience in it will always be a laborious and faith- 
 ful engineer, and will build the road, and bridge the 
 chasms between itself and eminent success, by the most 
 faithful and minute performance of duty. The liberty 
 to go higher than we are is only given when we have ful- 
 filled the duty of our present sphere. Thus men are to 
 rise upon their performances, and not upon their discon- 
 tent. A man proves himself fit to go higher who shows 
 that he is faithful where he is. A man that will not do 
 well in his present place, because he longs to go higher. 
 Is neither fit to be where he is, nor yet above it ; he is 
 already too high, and should be put lower.” — Beecher, 
 The best way to get more talents is to improve the 
 talents we have.” — Biekerstetli. 
 
 Look to the end of worldly ambition, and what is it ? 
 
18 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 Take the four greatest rulers, perhaps, that ever sat upon 
 a throne. Alexander, when he had so completely sub- 
 dued the nations that he wept because there were no 
 more to conquer, at last set fire to a city, and died in a 
 scene of debauch. Hannibal, who filled three bushels 
 with the gold rings taken from the slaughtered knights, 
 died at last by poison administered by his own hand, un- 
 wept and unknown, in a foreign land. C.ESAR, having 
 conquered 800 cities, and dyed his garments with the 
 blood of one million of his foes, was stabbed by his best 
 friends, in the very place which had been the scene of 
 his greatest triumph. Napoleon, after being the scourge 
 of Europe, and the desolator of his country, died in ban- 
 ishment, conquered, and a captive. So truly “ The ex- 
 pectation of the wicked shall be cut off.” (Prov. x. 28.) 
 
 Was it worth climbing for ? — A boy at play struck 
 the ball awkwardly, so that it fell upon the roof of a high 
 barn. He immediately scrambled up the rugged door, 
 and, clinging by the hole in the brickwork, reached the 
 top of the barn, rubbing the skin from his fingers, tear- 
 ing his clothes, and running the risk of breaking his neck. 
 He gained the ball, but was it worth climbing for ? 
 
 A man climbed up a greasy pole, on the top of which 
 was stuck a hat, for any one who chose to take it. The 
 man had great difficulty to climb up the pole, for it was 
 greasy, so that he had to take sand from his pockets to 
 rub upon it, that it might be less slippery. At last, he 
 reached the top ; but the hat being nailed fast there, was 
 spoiled in being torn away. The man obtained the hat ; 
 but was it worth climbing for ? 
 
 The boy and the man were climbers after things of 
 little value ; but all earthly things are of little value, 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 19 
 
 compared with things which are eternal. A peasant boy 
 may climb after a bird’s nest, and a prince may climb 
 after a kingly crown. Both the bird’s nest and the crown 
 will fade away. Well would it be for us to put to our- 
 selves the question, concerning many an object of our 
 arduous pursuit, Is it worth climbing for ? * — From Tract 
 Magazine, 
 
 The Pope’s Coronation. — Up to the present day, 
 when the Popes are crowned, the master of the ceremo- 
 nies carries a lighted wax taper in one hand, and a reed, 
 surmounted by a handful of flax, in the other. The flax 
 is lighted ; for a moment it flashes, and then dies away, 
 and the thin ashes fall at the Pontiff s feet, as the Chap- 
 lain chants, in a full and sonorous voice, Pater Sanctus, 
 sic transit gloria mundi.” 
 
 Fables for children. — Phaeton attempting to drive the 
 Chariot of the Sun. The Frog that strained himself to 
 be as large as the Ox. 
 
 Dr. Payson writes very forcibly to a young clergy- 
 man : — Some time since I took up a little work, pur- 
 porting to be the lives of sundry characters, as related 
 by themselves. Two of these characters agreed in say- 
 ing that they were never happy until they ceased striving 
 to be great men. The remark struck me, as you know 
 the most simple remark will, when God pleases. It oc- 
 curred to me at once, that most of my sorrows and suf- 
 ferings were occasioned by my unwillingness to be the 
 nothing that I am, and by a constant striving to be some- 
 thing. I saw that if I would but cease struggling, and 
 
 * See a well-known anecdote, “The name cut on the Natural 
 Bridge in Virginia,” Christian Treasury^ 1858, p. 401. 
 
20 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATUERTXQS. 
 
 be content to be anything or nothing, as God pleases, I 
 might be happy/' (Jer. xlv. 5.) 
 
 Ex. Satan, Adam and Eve, Babel-builders, Miriam 
 and Aaron, Korah, Absalom, Adonijah, Nebuchadnezzar, 
 Sons of Zebedee, Diotrephes. 
 
 ANGER.— Eccl. vii. 9 ; Ps. xxxvii. 8 ; Prov. xiv. 17 ; 
 XV. 1 ; xvi. 32 ; xix. 19 ; xxv. 28 ; Matt. v. 22 ; Eph. 
 iv. 31 ; vi. 4. 
 
 often only punishes the angry man ; like stones 
 
 pulled down in mischief from an old ruin, that fall upon 
 the man that pulled them down. 
 
 Ashes fly back in the face of him who throws them." 
 
 — Toruha Proverb, 
 
 ‘‘I have heard of a married couple," says Matthew 
 Henry, who were both passionate naturally, but who 
 lived very happily together, by simply observing this 
 — 'iicvcr to he both (Hfigry at the sctyne time, 
 
 “ That anger is without sin, that is against sin." — 
 
 Mason. 
 
 Julius C^sar. — I t is said of him, that when pro- 
 voked he used to repeat the whole Roman alphabet 
 before he suffered himself to speak. 
 
 Plato said to his servant once, when angry, ‘‘ I would 
 beat thee, but that I am angry. (Prov. xix. 11.) 
 
 Duke of Dorset. — I t is said that his servants used 
 to put themselves into his way when he w^as angry, 
 knowing that any indignities offered to them then, he 
 was sure to recompense in his cooler moments. 
 
 Dr. Arnold, when at Laleham, once lost all patience with 
 a dull scholar, when the pupil looked up in his face, and said, 
 “Why do you speak angrily, Sir? Indeed I am doing the 
 
illustrative gatherings* 21 
 
 best I can.” Years after, he used to tell the story to his chil- 
 dren, and say, “I never felt so ashamed of myself in m3" life. 
 That look and that speech, I have never forgotten.” [May 
 not this fact put many Christian parents and Sunday-school 
 teachers to the blush ?] 
 
 “ There is an anger that is damnable ; it is the anger 
 of selfishness. There is an anger that is majestic as the 
 frown of Jehovah’s brow; it is the anger of truth and 
 love. If a man meets with injustice, it is not required 
 that he shall not be roused to meet it ; but if he is 
 angry after he has had time to think upon it, that is 
 sinful. The flame is not wrong, but the coals are.” — 
 Beecher. 
 
 “ Never forget what a man has said to you when he 
 was angry. If he has charged you with anything, you 
 had better look it up. Anger is a bow that will shoot 
 sometimes where another feeling will not.” — Ihid. 
 
 Ex. Cain, Esau, Simeon and Levi, Moses, Balaam, 
 Naaman, Asa, Uzziah, Jonah. 
 
 ANIMAL CKEATION. 
 
 Marking the Sheep. — Edmund Andrews was a 
 thoughtless, cruel boy. One day he was passing by 
 Burlton’s farm, and saw Wilkinson, the old shepherd, 
 busy with his pitch-kettle and iron, marking the sheep 
 with the letters “ J. B.,” for John Burlton. “So you 
 are putting your master’s mark upon the sheep, are 
 you?” said he. “Yes, Master Edmund; but God, the 
 Almighty Maker, has put his mark upon them before.” 
 “ What do you mean ?” asked Edmund. “I mean that 
 our Heavenly Father, in his wisdom and goodness, has 
 put marks upon the creatures He has made, and such 
 marks as none but He could put upon them. He gave 
 
00 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 •wings to the cockchafer, spots to the butterfly, feathers 
 to the bird, a sparkling eye to the frog and toad, a swift 
 foot to the dog, and a soft furry skin to the cat. These 
 marks are his marks, and show that the creatures belong 
 to Him ; and woe be to those that abuse them !” That’s 
 an odd thought,” said Edmund, as he turned away. 
 ‘^It may be an odd thought,” said the shepherd, “but 
 odd things lead us to glorify God, and to act kindly to 
 his creatures. The more we have, Master Edmund, the 
 better.” 
 
 ASCENSION OF CHRIST. — 2 Kings ii. ; Ps. xxiv. 
 7-11 ; Ixviii. 18 ; Mark xvi. 19, 20; Luke xxiv. 50-53 ; 
 John xiv. 2 ; xx. 17 ; Acts i. 2—12 ; Eph. iv. 8-10 ; 
 Heb. vi.-20. 
 
 Cf. 1. The Manna laid up in the Golden Pot. 2. 
 Moses going up to receive the Law. (Deut. x.) 3. The 
 
 High Priest entering within the Vail. 4. The Ark going 
 up to Mount Zion. (Ps. xxiv.) 5. Elijah’s Translation. 
 (2 Kings ii.) 
 
 Time . — Forty days after Resurrection. Sufficient to 
 establish the certainty of the Resurrection, and to in- 
 struct the disciples. 
 
 Place . — Mount Olivet, the scene of his previous suffer- 
 ings. So often works God’s providence. Cf. Mount 
 Moriah; there Abraham’s faith was tried, and there 
 rewarded. Egypt; Joseph in the prison, and Joseph on 
 the Throne. The Three Hebrew Children — in the fur- 
 nace appeared to them one like the Son of Man. So 
 Judges V. 11. 
 
 Manner . — In his Resurrection-body. Glorified, yet 
 like ours. Still bearing the marks of Calvary’s wounds. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 23 
 
 Unostentatiously (few witnesses). Triumphantly (cloud, 
 angels). Tenderly (his last act one of blessing; ‘‘While 
 He blessed them He was parted from them.” Luke 
 xxiv. 51. He began to bless them on earth, and He 
 went up to heaven still blessing). 
 
 Design, — 1. To confirm the prophecies. 2. To com- 
 mence his mediatorial work in heaven. 3. To send the 
 Holy Ghost. 4. To prepare a place for his prepared 
 people. He went up as our representative Forerunner, 
 High Priest, and Intercessor, and as the King of Glory. 
 
 Application — Ascension follows Resurrection ; — As 
 with Christ, so with us. (Col. hi. 1-3.) 
 
 Judgment follo’ws Ascension. This “same Jesus” shall 
 come again (Acts i. 11 ; Zech. xiv. 4); though not as a 
 priest (as represented in Rev. i.) but as a king, on whose 
 head are many crowns. (As Rev. xix.) 
 
 ASSURANCE. — Isa. xxxii. 17; 2 Tim. i. 12; iv. 
 6—8; 2 Pet. i. 10, 11 (like a ship haled into the harbor). 
 1 John hi. 14, 19-21; Heb. x. 21 (faith). Heb. vi. 11 
 (hope). Col. ii. 2 (understanding). 
 
 1. Attainable. 2. Desirable. 3. Not essential. 
 
 “The greatest thing that we can desire, next to the 
 glory of God, is our own salvation; and the sweetest 
 thing we can desire is the assurance of our salvation. 
 In this life we cannot get higher than to be assured of 
 that which in the next life is to be enjoyed. All saints 
 shall enjoy a heaven when they leave this earth; some 
 saints enjoy a heaven while they are here on earth.” — 
 Caryl, 
 
 Not Essential. — A letter may be written, which is 
 not sealed. A child may be heir to a great estate, and 
 
24 
 
 ILLtSTKATiVE GATHERINGS, 
 
 yet not have the full enjoyment of it, nor know the 
 greatness of his possessions. A weak, palsied hand may 
 receive a strong Christ. All plants do not bear flowers. 
 Weak faith saves. Strong faith assures. 
 
 No Presumption.— ‘'If the ground of our assurance 
 rested upon ourselves, it might justly be called presump- 
 tion; but the Lord and the power of his might being the 
 ground thereof, they either know not what is the might 
 of his power, or else too lightly esteem it, who account 
 assured confidence thereon presumption.’' — Grouge. 
 
 "The world always love to believe that it is impossible 
 to know that Ave are converted. If you ask them, they 
 will say, ‘I am not sure; I cannot tell;’ but the whole 
 Bible declares we may receive, and know that we have 
 received,- the forgiveness of sins.” — M^Cheyne, 
 
 "The Church of Rome denounces assurance in the 
 most unmeasured terms. The Council of Trent declares 
 roundly, that ' a believer’s assurance of the pardon of 
 his sins is a vain and ungodly confidence;’ and Cardinal 
 Bellarmine calls it, 'a prime error of heretics.’ ” — 
 Ryle. 
 
 Want of, 
 
 May arise from — 
 
 1. Bodily temperament. 
 
 Nervous, gloomy 
 state. 
 
 2. Defective views of 
 
 the righteousness of 
 Christ, faith and 
 works, law and 
 Gospel. 
 
 Benefit. 
 
 It makes — 
 
 1. The holiest Chris- 
 
 tians. 
 
 2. The happiest Chris- 
 
 tians. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE aATHEKINGS. 
 
 25 
 
 'Want of, Benefit. 
 
 May arise from — It tnakes — 
 
 3. Cherished sin. — 3.- The most active 
 
 ‘‘Christian” lost Christians, 
 
 his roll in the 
 arbor, as he slept. 
 
 — Bunyan. 
 
 4. Hidings of God’s 
 
 face. “Many go to 
 heaven in a kind of 
 mist.” — Boston. 
 
 ‘‘AlVs Well .'' — The sentry’s challenge, which gave 
 comfort to a dying soldier, tossing upon the bed of death. 
 “Yes,” said he, “All is well; all is well!” 
 
 Ex. Job, David, St. Paul, Peter, John. 
 
 4. The most decided 
 Christians. (See 
 Ryle on “ Assur- 
 
 ance. ) 
 
 ATONEMENT. — Ex. xxxii. 32, 33. (Man inade- 
 quate to make. — Cf. Ps. xlix. 6.) Num. xvi. 46 ; Isa. 
 liii. 4-6, 8-12; lix. 16 ; Dan. ix. 24-27; Luke xix. 10; 
 Rom. iii. 25, 26 (the text that spoke peace to the poet 
 Cowper, after a long period of painful agitation of mind) ; 
 V. 8-11; viii. 1, 2; 2 Cor. v. 18, 19; Gal. i. 4; Col. i. 
 20-22 ;• Heb. ix. 13, 14, 22 ; x. 8, 9 ; 1 Pet. i. 19 ; iii. 
 18 ; 1 John i. 7 ; ii. 2 ; iv. 9, 10; Rev. i. 5. 6. 
 
 Typified. — Gen. iv. 4; xxii. 2; Ex. xii. 5; xxiv. 8; 
 Lev. xvi. 30, 34; xvii. 11. 
 
 Blood. — What a fearful view the ancient Israelites 
 must have had when they saw it exhibited in every part 
 of the Tabernacle and Temple ; — on the altar, — at the 
 entrance, upon it, and underneath it, and on the horns ; 
 — on the golden altar, upon the vail, and within the vail ; 
 everywhere there was blood, blood I So fully did God 
 3 
 
26 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 foreshadow Heb. ix. 22. Let %is look back with reverent 
 thankfulness upon these ancient types, — thankfulness 
 that our blood need not be shed ; the Lamb has been 
 taken in our stead. 
 
 The Sun and Moon. — ^‘We consider the smi the 
 type of Christ, and the moon the type of the Church. 
 Now, it is remarkable that at the Crucifixion, the sun 
 (the type of Christ, who suffered) was obscured, and the 
 moon (the type of the Church) was at its full. This was 
 probably the reason why the Passover, the type of the 
 Atonement, was appointed to be celebrated at the full 
 moon .” — Biblical Fragments. 
 
 This is what I want.”— A certain man, on the 
 Malabar coast, had long been uneasy about his spiritual 
 state, and had inquired of several devotees and priests 
 how he might make atonement for his sins ; and he was 
 directed to drive iron spikes, suflSciently blunted, through 
 his sandals; and on these spikes, to walk a distance of 
 about 480 miles. He undertook the journey, and tra- 
 veled a long way, but could obtain no peace. One day 
 he halted under a large, shady tree, where the Gospel 
 was sometimes preached ; and while he was there, one 
 of the missionaries came and preached from the words, 
 ‘‘ The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from 
 all sin.” (1 John i. 7.) While he was preaching, the 
 poor man’s attention was excited, and his heart was 
 drawn ; and, rising up, he threw off his torturing sandals, 
 and cried out aloud, This is what I want!” and be- 
 came henceforward a lively witness of the healing effi- 
 cacy of the Saviour’s blood. 
 
 All in All.” — There was once a poor man, in a 
 small country-town, who had not much sense, though he 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 27 
 
 had sense enough to be a great drunkard and swearer. 
 One day he was walking through the street, and heard a 
 poor woman singing — 
 
 “ I’m a poor sinner, and nothing at all; 
 
 But Jesus Christ is my all in all.” 
 
 The words struck him, and stayed with him till they led 
 him, by the Spirit’s teaching, to a crucified Saviour. 
 "Well, he came to the church, and said, ‘‘I want to jom 
 your church.” The members were astonished, remem- 
 bering his past sinful life, and said, ‘‘We must have some 
 evidence of your conversion. You have been a great 
 sinner,” said they. “Well,” replied poor Jack, “I 
 know it. I confess I am a great sinner. 
 
 “ ‘ I’m a poor sinner, and nothing at all ; 
 
 But Jesus Christ is my all in all.’ ” 
 
 So he was taken into the Church. After this he was al- 
 ways happy. A Christian man once asked him how it 
 was he was so “uniformly joyous ?” “Well, I ought to 
 be,” he said, “for, 
 
 “ ‘ I’m a poor sinner, and nothing at all ; 
 
 But Jesus Christ is my all in all.’ ” 
 
 “Well, but,” said a friend, “I am at times miserable, 
 because I remember my past sinfulness.” “Ah,” said 
 poor Jack, “you haven’t begun to sing, 
 
 “ ‘ I’m a poor sinner and nothing at all ; 
 
 But Jesus Christ is my all in all.’ ” 
 
 “And are vour frames and feelings never variable?” he 
 was asked. “What do you think of then?” “Think 
 of! What better can I think of?” said the simple be- 
 liever. 
 
28 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS* 
 
 ‘I’m a poor sinner and nothing at all ; 
 
 But Jesus Christ is my all in all.’ ” 
 
 Such simple, childlike faith may be well coveted ; — out 
 of self — into Christ. My soul hangeth upon thee.* 
 (Ps. Ixiii. 8, P. B.) 
 
 BEGINNINGS. 
 
 Of Grace. “Like ‘‘mustard seed” (visibly), “leaven** 
 (imvardly) ; dawn of the morning ; first flowers of spring, 
 harbingers of summer; “The seed always whispers oak, 
 though it was put into the ground acorn.” Mountain 
 rills, the parents of rivers. 
 
 “ That scholar is never like to read well that will needs 
 be in his grammar before he is out of his primer. Cloth 
 that is not wrought well in the loom will never wear well, 
 nor wear long ; so that Christian that hath not a thorough 
 work of grace begun deeply in his heart, will never wear 
 well ; he will shrink in the wetting, and never do much 
 service for God.’* — Mead, 
 
 Of Sin.— “T he trees of the forest held a solemn Parliament, 
 wherein they consulted of the wrongs the axe had done them. 
 Therefore they enacted, That no tree should hereafter lend tht» 
 axe wood for a handle, on pain of being cut down. The axe 
 travels up and down the forest, begs wood of the cedar, oak, ash, 
 elm, even to the poplar. Not one would lend him a chip. At 
 last he desired so much as would serve him to cut down the 
 briers and bushes, alleging that these shrubs did suck away the 
 juice of the ground, hinder the growth, and obscure the glory 
 of the fair and goodly trees. Hereon they were content to give 
 him so much ; but, when he had got the handle, he cut down 
 themselves too. These be the subtle reaches of sin. Give it but 
 a little advantage, on the fair promise to remove thy troubles, 
 and it will cut down thy soul also.. Therefore, resist begin- 
 nings. Trust it not in the least.— -AJcrms. 
 
•29 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 ‘‘ I have found by experience that in the country my 
 watch does not go so well as it used to do in town. By 
 small and gradual changes, I find that it either gains or 
 loses. The simple explanation is, that in' town I meet 
 with a steeple in every street, and a good-going clock 
 upon it, and so any aberrations in my watch were soon 
 noticed, and easily corrected. And just so I sometimes 
 think it may be with that inner watch, whose hands point, 
 not to time, but to eternity. By gradual and slow changes 
 the wheels of my soul lag behind, or the springs of pas- 
 sion become too powerful, and I have no living timepiece 
 with which I may compare, and by which I may amend 
 my going. You will say that I may always have the 
 sun ; and so it should be. But we have many clouds, 
 which obscure the sun of our weak eyes.” — 3T Cheyne, 
 
 Of most great discoveries, movements, and Institutions, 
 have been small. Cf. the Bible Society ; — Charles of 
 Bala, and the Welsh girl. Church Missionary Society, 
 London City Mission ; David Nasmith and two other 
 persons held a prayer-meeting by themselves. The 
 Society was formed, and in two years after, had sixty- 
 three agents, and was expending upwards of $20,000. 
 So the late American Revival began with a prayer-meet- 
 ing, at which there was only one man present for the 
 first part of the hour ; and the late Irish Revival is traced 
 to the earnest labors and faithful prayer of one single 
 Christian lady. 
 
 Learn, — 1. What may one true Christian do? Inquire, 
 — 2. What am I doing ? 
 
 BEREAYEMENT.— Gen. xlii. 36, and 1. 1 : Job i. 
 21 : ii. 10 ; Ps. xxxix. 9 ; xlvi. 10 ; xciv. 12, 13 ; Eccl. 
 
30 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 vii. 1-4 ; Heb. iii. 17-19 ; Matt. xi. 26 ; John xiii. 7 ; 
 Phil. i. 21, 23 ; 1 Thess. iv. 13-18 ; Rev. vii. 15-17 ; 
 xiv. 13. 
 
 Teaches us, — 1. Leave trusting to creature comforts. 
 2. The importance of eternal realities. 3. To under* 
 stand the Divine character and Word. 4. Sympathy 
 for others. 
 
 We are Seven.’’ Wordsworth’s touching hymn. 
 
 To an afflicted mother by the side of her dead child, 
 it was well said, ‘‘ There was once a tender Shepherd, 
 whose care was over his sheep night and day. There 
 was one sheep in the flock, who would neither hear his 
 voice, nor follow Him. So He took up her tender lamb 
 in his arms, and then she came after Him.” 
 
 Rutherford’s Letters abound in comfort to the 
 mourning and bereaved. A few passages only can be 
 selected : — 
 
 To Mistress Taylor.—'' Grace, mercy, and peace, be 
 with you. • . . Ye are not to think it a bad bargain 
 
 for your son, when he hath gotten gold for copper and 
 brass, and eternity for time. . . . The good hus- 
 
 bandman may pluck his roses, and gather in his lilies at 
 Midsummer, and, for aught I dare say, in the beginning 
 of the first summer month ; and he may transplant young 
 trees out of the lower ground to the higher, where they 
 have more of the sun, and a more free air at any season 
 of the year. What is that to you or me ? The goods 
 are his own. . . The Creator of time and winds did 
 
 a merciful injury, if I dare borrow the word, to nature, 
 in landing the passenger so early. They love the sea 
 too well who complain of a fair wind, and a desirable tide, 
 and a speedy coming ashore, especially a coming ashore 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 31 
 
 in tliat land where the inhabitants have everlasting joy 
 upon their heads ; he cannot he too early in heaven ; his 
 twelve hours were not short hours.’' 
 
 To Barbara Hamilton. — ‘‘We see God’s decrees w’hen 
 they bring forth their fruits, — all actions, good and ill, 
 sweet and sour, in their time ; but we see not presently 
 the after-birth of God’s decree, to wit, his blessed end, 
 and the good that He bringeth out of his holy and spot- 
 less council. We see sorrow : the end of his council, and 
 working, lieth hidden and underneath the ground, and 
 therefore we cannot believe. 
 
 “Even amongst men, we see hewn-stones, timber, 
 and a hundred scattered parcels and pieces of a house, 
 all under tools, hammers, and axes, and saws ; yet the 
 house, the beauty and ease of so many lodgings and 
 rooms, we neither see nor understand for the present ; — ■ 
 these are hut in the head and mind of the builder, as yet. 
 We see red earth, unbroken clods, furrows, and stones; 
 but we see not summer lilies, roses, and the beauty of a 
 garden. If ye give the Lord time to work (as often he 
 that believeth not, maketh haste, but not speed), his end 
 is under the ground ; and ye shall see it was your good, 
 that your son hath changed well in places, but not his 
 Master. Christ thought good to have no more of his 
 service here, yet (Rev. xxii. 3) ‘ his servant shall serve 
 Him.’ ” 
 
 “ Earthen vessels are not to dispute with their former ; 
 pieces of sinning clay may, by reasoning and contending 
 with the potter, mar the work of Him who hath his fire 
 in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.” 
 
 “ There is no mist over His eyes who is ‘ wonderful in 
 counsel.’ ” 
 
32 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 ‘‘He that made yesterday to go before this day, and 
 the former generation, in birth and life, to have been 
 before this present generation, and hath made some 
 flowers to grow, and die, and wither in the month of 
 May, and others in June, cannot be challenged in the 
 order He hath made of things without souls ; and some 
 order He must keep here also, that one might bury an- 
 other. Therefore, I hope you shall be dumb and silent, 
 because the Lord hath done it.” 
 
 “If the fountain be the love of God, as I hope it is, 
 you are enriched with losses.” 
 
 “All that die for sin, die not in sin.” 
 
 “There is a like nearness to heaven, out of all the 
 countries of the earth. 
 
 Bengel had twelve children, of whom half died in 
 infancy. He said, when speaking of his loss, “As little 
 children give their sweetmeats to their parents to keep 
 for them, so my pleasant things are safer in God’s keep- 
 ing than in that of my own treacherous heart.” 
 
 Elliot said, of the death of his children, “I have 
 had six children, and I bless God they are all either in 
 Christ or tvith Christ, and my mind is now at rest con- 
 cerning them. My desire was, that they should have 
 served Christ on earth; but if God chooses to have 
 them rather serve Him in heaven, I have nothing to 
 object.” 
 
 Cecil.— “ I cried, ‘Lord, spare my child!’ He did, 
 but not as I meant. He snatched it from danger, and 
 took it to his own home.” 
 
 Dr. Guyse is related never to have prayed in public, 
 without thanking God for departed saints. 
 
 Ex. of resignation under. — Aaron (Lev. x. 1-3); Ell 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERIXGS. 
 
 33 
 
 (1 Sam. iii. 18); Job (i. 21; ii. 10); David (2 Sam. xii. 
 23); Shunammite (2 Kings iv. 26). 
 
 BESETTING SINS.— Heb. xii. 1; Eccl. x. 1. 
 
 The Tap-root. — Almost every tree has its tap-root, 
 which goes down as straight into the earth as the trunk 
 goes into the air ; and until that root is cut, the tree will 
 stand and grow, no matter how the side fibres and roots 
 be injured. Besetting sins are often the tap-root of the 
 tree of sin, which bears fruit unto death. One sin, un- 
 mortified, may destroy the soul. One lust maintained, 
 in spite of conscience, and sin still lives. 
 
 UxDER-CuRREXTS AT Sea. — ‘‘A sailor remarks: — 
 ‘ Sailing from Cuba, we thought we had gained sixty 
 miles one day in our course; but at the next observation 
 we found we had lost more than thirty. It was an 
 under-current. The ship had been going forward by the 
 wind, but going back by a current.' So a man’s course 
 may often seem to be right, but the stream beneath is 
 driving him the very contrary way to what he thinks.” 
 Cheever, 
 
 A boat may often be seen, when you are staying at 
 the sea-side, in the same spot day after day, rising occa- 
 sionally with the tide, but never much advancing either 
 way; — there it stays. Come closer, and you see the 
 cause: it is fastened to the beach by a slender rope. 
 How many professors does this represent I Many seem 
 to rise a little every Sabbath, and get out a little further 
 than they were, but, when the tide of Sabbath ordi- 
 nances has ebbed, they return to their old place again, 
 and so they must, so long as the slender rope of sin con- 
 fines them. 
 
 8 
 
84 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 BIGOTRY.— Jer. vii. 4, 8; Mark ix. 38-40; Luke 
 IX. 51-56; John iii. 25, 26; iv. 9; Acts x. 28; xix. 34; 
 1 Cor. i. 12, 13 ; iii. 3. 
 
 Luke XVII. 11-19. 
 
 Neander thinks that this action of our Lord’s was designed 
 to counteract the prejudice of the Jews against the Samaritans. 
 It is certainly worthy of notice, the kindness our Lord showed 
 to them, as in John iv., and his rebuke of the bigotry of liis 
 disciples. Luke ix. 53-56. Cf. also Luke x. 33. 
 
 we thoroughly examine, we shall find that pride, 
 policy, and power, are the three principal ingredients in 
 all the disturbances of our churches.” — Henry. 
 
 “I love to think that the trees in my orchards and 
 my neighbor’s grow in a different soil ; and yet they are 
 blown .upon by the same catholic Avind, and ripened by 
 the same unsectarian sun.” — Hr. Cumming. 
 
 Water Companies. — -‘^The Church Ecclesiastical is 
 like a vast water-company chartered to supply the 
 Church Spiritual from the great River of the Water of 
 Life. But hoAV absurd it would be for a water-company 
 to claim the right to interdict rain from heaven, or to say 
 to the inhabitants of a particular city or district, ‘ You 
 shall receive no Avater, except it pass through the hy- 
 draulic machinery Avhich I have constructed!’ ” — Captain 
 Gordon. 
 
 Union in the Harvest. — ‘‘I have seen a field here, 
 and a field there, stand thick with corn, — a hedge or two 
 has separated them. At the proper season, the reapers 
 entered: soon the earth was disburdened, and the grain 
 Avas conveyed to its destined resting-place, where, blended 
 to^rether in the barn or in the stack, it could not be 
 
 o 
 
 known that a hedge had ever separated this corn from 
 
ILLtSTBATlVE <^ATHEErN'G-S. 
 
 35 
 
 that. Thus it is with the Cliurch. Here it grows, as 
 it were, in different fields, and even, it may be, by 
 different hedges. By^and-by, when the harvest is come, 
 all God’s wheat shall be gathered into the garner, 
 without one single mark to distinguish that once they 
 differed in outward circumstantials of form and order.” 
 — Toplady, 
 
 ‘•My Brother Johy.'* — Mr. Jay, in one of his sermons 
 at Surrey Chapel, thus illustrates bigotry : — “Some time ago a 
 countryman said to me, ‘ I was exceedingly alarmed this morn- 
 ing, Sir; I was going down in a lonely place, and I thought I 
 saw a strange monster. It seemed in motion, but I could not 
 discern its form. I didn’t like to turn back, but my heart beat, 
 and the more I looked the more I was afraid. But as we ap- 
 proached, I saw it was a man, and who do you think it was ?* 
 ‘I know not’ ‘Oh, it was my brother John!’ —‘Ah,’ said I 
 to myself, as he added that it was early in the morning, and 
 
 very foggy, ‘how often do we thus mistake our Christian 
 brethren !* ” 
 
 Remember Augustine’s well-known rule, — “In thino-s 
 essential, unity; in things questionable, liberty; in all 
 things, charity.” 
 
 BIRTHDAYS.— One joyous thought, in this world 
 of sadness, is, that there is never a day in the calendar 
 but many are celebrating their birthday upon it ; and 
 there is joy and gladness in manv a house. 
 
 It is a dark heart that never looks at the bricrht side 
 of things. 
 
 Should be kept with — 1. Fervent thanksgiv- 
 ing. 2. Deep humiliation. 3. Faithful self-examination. 
 4. Earnest prayer. And if it is a day of e.xtra happi- 
 ness to yourself, go and try if you cannot gladden some 
 Other heart. 
 
86 
 
 lU.USTRATIVE GATUERTXr.S. 
 
 M‘Ciifa’ne. — '•‘•Mai/ 21. — This day I attained my 
 twenty-lirst year. Oh, how long and how worthlessly 
 have I lived, Thou only knowest? Neff died, in his 
 thirty-first year. When shall I ?” 
 i^See Early Death.) 
 
 riiiLir Henry, on his Thirtieth Birthday. — “ So old, 
 and no older, was Alexander, when he had conquered the 
 great world ; but I have not yet subdued that little world 
 —vu/seJf.'' 
 
 Dr. Arnold died on the morning of his forty-seventh 
 birthday, June 13, 1842. What a Sunday was that at 
 Rugby ! He had “lived so as to be missed.” 
 
 G. AVagner just lived to see his birthday, before he 
 died; and, on his sister reminding him of it, he answered, 
 “ I believe I shall have two birthdays this year.” 
 
 Brainerd said, “I was born on a Sabbath-day, I was 
 new born on a Sabbath-day, and I hope I shall die on a 
 Sabbath-day. I long for the time. Oh, why is His 
 chariot so long in coming?” 
 
 BLINDNESS. — NatnraL Ex. iv. 11; Lev. xix. 14; 
 Deut. xxvii. 18; Job xxix. 15; Luke vii. 21; xiv. 13. 
 Spiritual. Rom. xi. 17 ; 2 Cor. iii. 14 ; Isa. xlii. 16-19 ; 
 Matt. XV. 14; John ix. 41. 
 
 There are now about 20,000 blind people in England. 
 Embossed Truths. — As blind people can only read 
 their books because the characters are embossed, and 
 stand out boldly from the blank sheet, so often, by afflic- 
 tion and trial, old truths are thus raised and brought out 
 to the mind of tl>e spiritually blind. 
 
 Remarkable examples of — 
 
 Homer — Ossi.-ui— ^Milton — Blacklock (only saw the light five 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 37 
 
 months, yet linguist and poet) — Sanderson, celebrated Mathe- 
 matician and Lucasian Professor at Cambridge (blind before 
 one year old) — Euler, Mathematician — Huber (Nat. Hist., 
 “Habits of Bees.”) — Holman, traveler round the world. — Wil- 
 liam Metcalf, builder of roads and bridges. — John Metcalf 
 ri\Ianchester), guide to those traveling through intricate roads 
 by night, when covered with snow' ; afterwards a projector and 
 surveyor of roads in difficult mountainous parts ; most of the 
 roads about the Peak, and near Buxton, w’ere altered by his di- 
 rection. — Laura Bridgman, neither sight, hearing, nor speech, 
 yet learned to know herself a sinner, and Christ a Saviour. — 
 Milburn, the blind American preacher. — Prescott, the his- 
 torian. — Goodrich (“Peter Parley.”) — Rev. J. Crosse, Vicar 
 of Bradford. 
 
 Hence learn, — 1. God’s sovereignty in creation : Why were 
 you born blind ? Matt. xi. 26. 2. God’s goodness in provi- 
 
 dence : that blind men so often see more than those who have 
 sight. The blind are proverbially cheerful. 3. God’s riches 
 in grace. 
 
 Richardson, the blind man, used to say of his con- 
 version, I could never see till I was blind.’' 
 
 '‘‘Mother^ shall zve see in heaven ?'" was the touching 
 question of a poor blind girl. Yes, dear ; we shall see 
 in heaven. There shall be no night there.” 
 
 BOASTIXG. — 1 Kings xx. 11; Ps. x. 3; xlix. 6; 
 Prov. XXV. 14 ; xxvii. 1 ; Isa. x. 15 ; xlviii. 2 ; Eph. 
 ii. 9 ; Jas. iii. 5 ; iv. 16. 
 
 Empty casks make most sound. Shallow rivers make 
 most noise. The shadow of the sun is largest when his 
 beams are lowest. 
 
 “ Do you think you have any real religion ?” asked a 
 young Pharisee of an aged Christian. ‘‘Nothing to 
 speak of!” was the wise reply. 
 
 John Newton’s favourite expression to his friends 
 
 4 
 
88 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE OATnERIKOS. 
 
 was, I am not what I ought to he ; I am not what I 
 wish to be ; I am not what I hope to be ; but, by the 
 grace of God, I am not what I was/' 
 
 In a well-known town, a slater had to mount the tall 
 spire of the church, and repair some injury done by the 
 wind. Having reached the top, he stood upright upon 
 the ball, holding in his hand a jug of wine, and filling a 
 glass, drank to the health of the dignitaries of the place. 
 The people stood below, wondering at his boldness and 
 danger, in which he seemed to glory. But they forgot 
 that the next moment might hurl him from that emi- 
 nence ; and then how changed would be his fate ! Thus 
 it is with 'Wain boasters ;" they are in equal danger. 
 "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he 
 fall." (1 Cor. X. 12.) 
 
 BODY, The. — Job xix. 26 ; Matt. vi. 25 ; x. 28 ; 
 Rom. viii. 10, 13, 23 ; xii. 1 ; 1 Cor. vi. 12, 13, 19, 20 ; 
 ix. 27 ; 2 Cor. iv. 10. 
 
 Redeemed, and should be cared for, as such, 
 
 yet not with the care bestowed upon the soul, — 
 
 " If one should send me, from abroad, a richly-carved 
 and precious statue, and the careless drayman who tipped 
 it upon the side-walk before my door, should give it such 
 a blow that one of the boards of the box should be 
 wrenched off, I should be frightened lest the hurt had 
 penetrated further, and wounded it within. But, if, tak- 
 ing off the remaining boards, and the swathlng-bands of 
 straw or cotton, the statue should come out fair and un- 
 harmed, I should not mind the box, but should cast it 
 carelessly into the street. Now, every man has com- 
 mitted to him a statue, moulded by the oldest Master, 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 39 
 
 of the image of God ; and he who is only solicitous for 
 outward things — who is striving to protect merely the 
 body from injuries and reverses — is letting the statue 
 go rolling away into the gutter, while he is picking up 
 the fragments, and lamenting the ruin of the box.” — 
 Beecher. 
 
 Galen, it is said, was converted from atheism by see- 
 ing and examining a human skeleton ; and afterward he 
 said, he would give any one one hundred years’ time to 
 see if he could find a more commodious situation for any 
 one member of the body. 
 
 The glorified bodies of the redeemed may probably be 
 distinguished by these four, among other capabilities : — 
 
 1. The capability of intenser action, as an organ for re- 
 ceiving and retaining knowledge ; . . . (millions of 
 
 worlds to survey, — greater grasp of God’s dealings) . . 
 
 2. A capability of accommodation to different physical 
 conditions (the three Hebrew men in the fire, — not a hair 
 singed). 3. A capability of becoming invisible at will. 
 4. Transmission from place to place.~(>SV^ ‘‘Protoplast.'') 
 
 It is a striking fact, that after our Lord’s resurrection 
 scarcely one of the disciples seem to have recognized 
 Him. 
 
 BOLDNESS. — Joshua i. 7 ; Ps. cxix. 43-46 ; Prov. 
 xxviii. 1 ; Isa. 1. 7 ; Jer. i. 8 ; Ezek. iii. 9 ; Acts iv. 20 ; 
 Eph. iii. 12 ; 2 Tim. iv. 2. Cf. The Book of Deutero- 
 nomy. (No book breathes more continually the spirit of 
 boldness for God, arising from strength in God.) 
 
 ‘‘A stout heart for a stiff Scotch Proverb. 
 
 “ A minister, without boldness, is like a smooth file, a 
 knife without an edge, a sentinel that is afraid to let off 
 
40 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 his gun. If men will be bold to sin, ministers must be 
 bold to reprove. — Gurnall, 
 
 I admire the boldness of that Eeformer, who, wdien 
 some one said to him, The whole wmrld is against you/' 
 calmly replied, Then I am against the world !’’ 
 
 Palissy the potter, wdien Henry III. of France tried 
 to terrify him out of his Protestantism, replied, The 
 Guisarts, all your people, and yourself, cannot compel a 
 potter to bow down to images of clay." 
 
 Simeon was once summoned to the deathbed of a dy- 
 ing brother. Entering the room, the relative extended 
 his hand, and, with some emotion, said, I am dying, 
 and you never w^arned me of the state in which I was, 
 and of the great danger I w^as in of neglecting the salva- 
 tion of .my soul." ‘^iNay, my brother," said Simeon, 
 but I took every reasonable opportunity of bringing 
 the subject of religion before you, and frequently alluded 
 to it in my letters." Yes," said the djdng man, ‘‘ but 
 you never came to mm, closed the door, and took me by 
 the collar of my coat, and told me I wnis unconverted, 
 and that if I died in that state, I should be lost ; and 
 now I am dying, and, but for God’s grace, I might have 
 been for ever undone." It is said, Simeon never forgot 
 this scene. 
 
 Ex. Noah (Heb. xi. 7) : Abraham (Gen. xviii. 22- 
 32); Jacob (Gen. xxxii. 24-29); Moses (Ex. xxxii. 31, 
 32) ; Aaron (Num. xvi. 47, 48) ; David (1 Sam. xvii. 45) ; 
 Elijah (1 Kings xviii. 15, 16); Nehemiah (Neh. vi. 11); 
 the Three Hebrew' Children (Dan. hi. 17, 18) ; Daniel 
 (Daniel vi. 10) ; Peter and John (Acts iv. 8-13); Stephen 
 (Acts vii. 51) ; Paul (Acts v. 27-29 ; xix. 8) ; Barnabas 
 (Acts xiv. 3) ; Apollos (Acts xviii. 26). 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 41 
 
 Joseph and Nicodemus, who at first were amongst the 
 most timid disciples, at Christ’s burial became the bold- 
 est; while Peter, before the boldest, became the most 
 timid. 1 Kings xx. 11 ; Matt. xix. 30. 
 
 BOOKS. 
 
 All the books ever written, and much more than that, 
 may be compressed, as John Newton says, into four 
 books : — the book of creation, the book of revelation, the 
 book of providence, and the book of the heart. 
 
 The number of immoral books, published annually, is 
 about 30,000,000 ; being more than the total issues of the 
 Christian Knowledge Society,Tract Society, Bible Society, 
 Scottish Bible Society, Trinitarian Bible Society, and some 
 seventy religious magazines. The present circulation of 
 immoral publications, (in England), from one to three cents, 
 is more than 400,000 weekly, or 20,000,000 yearly. 
 
 The good one book may do, blessed by God, was never, 
 perhaps, more shown than in the single tract brought in 
 a peddler’s pack to the door of Bichard Baxter’s father. 
 It was the means of the conversion of the preacher of 
 Kidderminster. Baxter wrote the Saint’s Best,” which 
 was blessed to the conversion of Doddridge. He wrote 
 
 The Bise and Progress,” which was blessed to the con- 
 version of Wilberforce. He wrote his ‘^Practical View,” 
 which was blessed to the conversion of Legh Bichmond, 
 and he wrote his ‘^Dairyman’s Daughter,” which has 
 been translated into more than fifty languages, and been 
 blessed to the conversion of thousands of souls. 
 
 Contrast, — The influence of Homer’s “Iliad.” It 
 was through reading Homer’s “Iliad,” that Alexander 
 
 became the wholesale robber and murderer of the world. 
 
 4 • 
 
42 
 
 ILLUSTllATTVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 Reading Alexander’s Life, inspired two other bloody 
 heroes, — Caesar and Charles XII. of Sweden. Caesar 
 W’as the beau ideal of Silymiis, who, after defeating and 
 poisoning his father, caried bloodshed and ruin into Egypt 
 and Persia. 
 
 BURIAL OF CHRIST.— Ps. xvi. 10; Isa. liii. 9; 
 Matt. xii. 40; xxvii. 57-66; Mark xv. 42-47; Luke 
 xxiii. 43, 50-56; John xix. 38-42; Eph. iv. 9; 1 Pet. 
 iii. 19. 
 
 Cf. Lev. vi. 11. — The ashes poured out in a clean 
 place. May not this have been intended to pre-figure 
 Christ’s burial ? — [See. Bonar on Leviticusi) 
 
 How instructive is it to consider — 
 
 The .pei'sons employed. — Not our Lord’s relations, 
 apostles, &c., but Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus, 
 both good men, and great among the Jews, but before 
 secret disciples, — now so emboldened, Mark xv. 44. 
 They who were at first the "weakest, at last became the 
 boldest; wliile Peter, who was at first the boldest, at 
 last became the weakest. (1 Kings xx. 11 ; Matt, 
 xix. 30.) 
 
 The place — A garden , — the place of pleasure; yet 
 into that death entered. John xix. 41. So, as we see 
 the leaf falling in the loveliest garden, are we reminded 
 of the sorrows of the grave. Isa. xl. 6-8. But it was 
 meet ; for, as Death obtained its triumph in a garden 
 over the first Adam, it was conquered in a garden by the 
 Second Adam. 
 
 In the garden was the tomb of Jesus. It was a new 
 tomb, to honor Him who lay therein, and to prevent the 
 charge of deception , — “ It was not He who rose, but 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 43 
 
 some previous tenant.’' Christopher Ness. — V/hen. 
 Christ was born, he lay in a virgin womb, and when llo 
 died. He was placed in a virgin tomb.” 
 
 A costly tomb, a rich man’s grave, to fulfill Isaiah 
 liii. 9. 
 
 A borrowed tomb. He who had not where to lay his 
 head in life, had not a burial-place of his own for death. 
 But is this strange ? 
 
 “ I take it not to dishonor Christ, but to show that, as his sins 
 were borrowed sins, so his burial was in a borrowed grave. Christ 
 had no transgressions of his own ; He took ours upon his head 
 He never committed a wrong, but He took all my sin, and all 
 yours, if ye are believers. Concerning all his people, it is true 
 He bore their griefs and carried their sorrows in his own body 
 on the tree ; therefore, as they were others’ sins, so He rested in 
 another’s grave ; as they were sins imputed, so that grave was 
 only imputedly his. It was not his sepulchre ; it was the tomb 
 of Joseph.” — Spurgeon, 
 
 It Avas a tomb in a roch , — The Rock of Ages was 
 buried in a rock; ‘‘a Rock within a rock.” 
 
 The time , — The tomb Avas borrowed but for three days ; 
 loug enough to certify his actual death, yet no longer, 
 that his resurrection and exaltation should not be hin- 
 dered . — [See Pearson,) 
 
 The grave of Jesus was an evidence of his (1), Hu^ 
 manity^ in that He Avho took a sinner’s nature, at last 
 laid in a sinner’s grave ; (2), Divinity^ that He rose by 
 his own power. John ii. 19; x. 18. 
 
 Believers are made like Christ in his death, so also in 
 his burial, the public declaration of death; and in his 
 glorious resurrection and exaltation. 
 
 “ Boses bloom 
 In the desert tomb, 
 
 Because the Saviour once lay there.” 
 
4i 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 BUSINESS.— Gen. xxiii. (the first record of business 
 — the purchase of a grave; and see Abram’s good ex- 
 ample of courtesy, straightforwardness, and promptness) ; 
 Gen. xxxix. 2 ; Exod. xxxiv. 21 ; 1 Sam. vi. 13. 14 
 (business cheerfully left for devotion) ; Prov. x. 4 ; xxvii. 
 23; Matt. xxi. 12; Luke ii. 49 (Christ’s first recorded 
 words); Luke xiii. 28; xiv. 18, 19; Korn. xii. 11; 1 
 Cor. vii. 30; 1 Thess. iv. 4; James iv. 13. 
 
 ‘‘Prayer and provender hinder no man’s journey.” 
 
 “ There is no time lost in sharpening the scythe.” 
 Market Crosses. — It was a beautiful truth which 
 our forefathers have symbolized, when, in most of our 
 old market-towns, they have erected a market-cross ; as 
 if to teach the buyers and sellers to rule all their actions, 
 and sanctify their gains, by the remembrance of the 
 cross. The Israelites were taught the same in their en- 
 campment ; every part of the camp looked toward the 
 tabernacle. So the Chinese, though in superstition and 
 ignorance, set up their idols in their shops* 
 
 “ The Christian must not only mind heaven, but attend 
 to his daily calling ; like the pilot, who, while his eye is 
 fixed upon the star, keeps his hand upon the helm.” — 
 Watson. 
 
 Diligence in business should not liinder fervency in 
 spirit. “Like the pure-mettled sword, that can bend 
 this way and that waj^, and turn to its straightness again, 
 and stands not bent, that heart is of the right make that 
 can stoop and bend to the lowest action of its worldly 
 calling, but then return to its fitness for communion with 
 God .” — GurnalL 
 
 A Eixe Picture. — I have just seen a most beautiful 
 
ILLTTSTKATIVE GATHf:niXOS. 
 
 45 
 
 picture/’ said Mr. C. to his friend Mr. T., as they met 
 after the labors of the day. 
 
 ‘‘ What was it?” said Mr. T. 
 
 ‘‘ It was a landscape. The conception is most beauti- 
 ful, and the execution well-nigh perfect. You must go 
 with me and see it before it is removed.” 
 
 I have seen a fine picture to-day myself.” 
 
 ‘‘ Have you? What was it?” 
 
 “I received notice this morning that there was great 
 suffering in a certain family, and as soon as I could leave 
 my business I went to see what could be done. I climbed 
 up to the garret where the family was sheltered, and as 
 I was about to knock at the door, I heard a voice in 
 prayer. When the prayer was ended, I entered the 
 wretched apartment, and found a young merchant, whose 
 shop I had just been in, and whose business I knew was 
 very pressing. Yet he had left it, and spent some time 
 in personal labors for the comfort of the sick and suffer- 
 ing inmates of that garret; and when I came to the 
 door he was praying with them preparatory to taking his 
 leave. I asked him how he could find time to leave his 
 business at such a busy season; and he replied, that it 
 was known that the condition of the family had been 
 communicated to several professing Christians, and that 
 he was afraid the cause of religion would suffer if relief 
 were not promptly given. It is not absolutely necessary 
 (said he) that I should make money, but it is absolutely 
 necessary that Christ’s honor should be maintained.” 
 
 In commercial troubles a true Christian may take 
 comfort. There are some things which he can never 
 lose. 
 
 “A merchant some few years ago failed in business. 
 
46 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 He went home in great agitation. ‘What is the matter?’ 
 asked his wife. ‘I am ruined! I am beggared; I have 
 lost my all!’ he exclaimed, pressing his hand upon his 
 forehead. 
 
 “ ‘ All !’ said his wife, ‘ no ; I am left.’ ‘ All, papa,’ 
 said his eldest boy ; ‘ here am L’ ‘ And I too,’ said his 
 little girl, running up and putting her arms round his 
 neck. ‘ I’m not lost, papa,’ repeated Eddie. ‘ And you 
 have your health left,’ said his wife. ‘ And your hands 
 to work with,’ said his eldest. ‘And I can help you.’ 
 
 ‘ And your two feet, papa, to carry you about, and your 
 two eyes to see with, papa,’ said little Eddie. 
 
 “‘And you have God’s promises,’ said the grand- 
 mother. ‘ And a good God,’ said his wife. ‘ And heaven 
 to go to,’ said his little girl. ‘And Jesus, who came to 
 fetch us there,’ said his eldest. 
 
 “ ‘ God forgive me !’ said the poor merchant, bursting 
 into tears ; ‘ I have not lost my all. What have I lost 
 to what I have left !’ And he took comfort, and began 
 the world afresh. 
 
 “ Reader, are there not things more precious than 
 gold and bank-stocks ! When the Central America was 
 foundering at sea, bags and purses of gold were strewn 
 about the deck as worthless, as the merest rubbish. 
 ‘ Life, life,’ was the prayer. To some of the wretched 
 survivors, ‘ water, water; bread, bread ;’ it vras Avorth its 
 weight in gold, if it could have been bought. And, oh ! 
 above all — far above all — the salvation of your soul is 
 precious. It is not yet lost. Is it saved f — Christian 
 Treasury. 
 
 A man of business should have three marks.-— consci- 
 entious— diligent— contented. 
 
ILLtlSTKATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 47 
 
 Ex. The shepherds of Scripture, — Abram, Moses, 
 David, &c. The rulers^ — Joseph. David (Ps. Ixxviii. 70), 
 Nehemiah, Daniel, &c. How often have God’s servants 
 been called to service from their work,— Moses, David, 
 Elisha (1 Kings xix. 19), the shepherds (Luke ii. 8, 9), 
 Matthew (Matt. ix. 9). 
 
 CALVINISM and Arminianism, regarded as theo- 
 iogical systems, may be compared to the thin, empty, 
 crescented forms of the old and new moon, butting at 
 each other with their sharp-pointed horns from the oppo- 
 site sides of a darkened disc. Scripture does not alter 
 the position of these two belligerents, but by illuminating 
 the whole intervening space, it fuses both into one glori- 
 ous orb of holy light. — J, E. Gordon, 
 
 John Newton, when a-sked, ^V\re you a Calvinist?” 
 replied, ‘AVhy, Sir, I am more of a Calvinist than any- 
 thing else; but I use ray Calvinism in my writings and 
 my preaching as I do this piece of sugar (taking a lump 
 and putting it into his teacup and stirring it). I do not 
 give it alone and whole, but mixed and diluted.” And 
 at another time, — ‘‘I hope that I am, upon the whole, 
 a scriptural preacher; for I find I am considered as an 
 Arrainian among the Calvinists, and as a Calvinist among 
 the strenuous Arminians.” 
 
 The error of attempting to harmonize the two systems 
 was never more shown than b}^ Baxter, who, in seeking 
 to do this, only added another sect to the Church, and 
 afterw^ards admitted that he had been wrong. 
 
 CARES. — Gen. xxii. 8, 9, 14; Ps. Iv. 22; 2 Chron. 
 XX. 12; Jer. xii. 4; xvii. 7, 8; xlix. 31 (cf. Ps. Iv. 19); 
 
48 
 
 ILI.USTKATIVE aATIIERINOS. 
 
 Matt. vi. 25-34; xiii. 22; xiv. 12 (the best remedy); 
 Luke xii. 29; Phil. iv. 6, 7; 1 Pet. v. 7. 
 
 Ills that never happened have chiefly made men 
 wretched. ’ ’ — Tapper, 
 
 Sinful. — When, 1. They hinder or exclude sober 
 devotion. 2. When we let our minds run upon them at 
 unseasonable times, as on the Sabbath (Isa. Iviii. 13). 
 3. When they deprive us of the proper enjoyment of 
 what we have. 4. When they lead us into unlawful or 
 doubtful ways to obtain our desires. (Gen. xxx. 3.) . 
 
 Psalm xcyii. 1, 2. — When Bulstrode Whitelocke was 
 embarked as Cromwell’s envoy to Sweden, in 1653, he 
 ■was much disturbed in mind, as he rested at Harwich the 
 preceding night, which was very stormy, as he thought 
 upon the distracted state of the nation. It happened 
 that a confidential servant slept in an adjacent bed, who 
 finding that his master could not sleep, at length said. 
 Pray, Sir, will you give me leave to ask you a ques- 
 tion ?” 
 
 Certainly.” 
 
 Pray, Sir, do you think that God governed the world 
 very well before you came into it ? 
 
 Undoubtedly.” 
 
 ‘'And pray. Sir, do you not think that He will govern 
 it quite as well when you are gone out of it?” 
 
 “ Certainly.” 
 
 “ Then pray. Sir, excuse me, but do you not think 
 that you may trust Him to govern it quite as well as long 
 as you live ?” 
 
 To this question Whitelocke had nothing to reply: 
 but, turning about, soon fell fast asleep, till he was sum- 
 moned to embark. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 49 
 
 1 Peter v. 7 . — A man carrying a burden v'as over- 
 taken by a rich man as he drove along, and invited to 
 get up behind in the carriage, Avhich he thankfully did. 
 After a while the rich man looked around and saw the 
 burden still strapped to the traveler’s back. He there- 
 fore asked him why he did not lay down his pack on the 
 seat beside him. But he answered, ‘‘ He could not think 
 of doing that ; it was quite enough that he himself 
 should be allowed to sit behind the carriage, without put- 
 ting his burden on the seat also.” Thus often do be- 
 lievers fear to lay too much upon the God who has bidden 
 us ‘‘cast all our care upon Him,” and assured us that 
 . “He careth for us.” 
 
 Dr. Payson, in his last days, said, “ Christians might 
 avoid much trouble and inconvenience if they would only 
 believe what they profess, — that God is able to make 
 them happy without anything else. They imiagine that 
 if such a dear friend were to die, or such and such bless- 
 ings were to be removed, they should be miserable; 
 whereas, God can make them a thousand times happier 
 w'ithout them. To mention my own case: — God has 
 been depriving me of one blessing after another; but as 
 every one was removed. He has come in and filled up its 
 place; and now, wdien I am a cripple and not able to 
 move, I am happier than ever I was in my life before, or 
 ever expected to be ; and if I had believed this twenty 
 years ago, I might have been spared much anxiety.” 
 
 Matt. vi. 34 (1). — “Sometimes,” says John Newton, 
 “ I compare the troubles we have to undergo in the 
 course of a year to a great bundle of fagots, fi^r too 
 large for us to lift. But God does not require us to 
 
 carry the Avholc at once; He mercifully unties the bun- 
 b 4 
 
50 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 (lie ; and gives us first one stick, which we are to carry 
 to-day, and then another, which ive are to carry to- 
 morrow, and so on. This we might easily manage if we 
 would only take the burden appointed for us each day ; 
 but we choose to increase our trouble by carrying yester- 
 day’s stick over again to-day, and adding to-morrow s 
 burden to our load before we are required to bear it.” 
 
 CENSORIOUSNESS.— “Constant complaints never 
 get pity.” 
 
 CrOTTHOLD had a little dog, which, when placed before 
 a mirror, became instantly enraged, and barked at its 
 own image. He remarked on the occasion, ^ In geneial 
 a mirror serves as an excitement to the love of self, 
 whereas it stimulates this dog to anger. The animal 
 cannot conceive that the figure he sees is only a reflec- 
 tion of itself. It fancies it is a strange dog, and there- 
 fore will not suffer it to approach its master. This may 
 remind us of the weakness of our hearts. We often 
 complain of others, and take offence at the things which 
 they do against us, without reflecting that for the most 
 part the blame lies with ourselves. Men behave ill to 
 us, and we behave ill to them. Our children are fio- 
 ward, because thev have inherited and learned frowaid- 
 ness from us. M e are angry with them, and yet they 
 are our own images.” 
 
 CHARACTER.— “The purchase of the lever of in- 
 fluence.” 
 
 “Should be judged of,” as Dr. Johnson says, “in the 
 mass. A block of tin may contain a grain of silver, but 
 it is still a block of tin ; and a block of silver may con- 
 
ILLrSTEATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 51 
 
 tain a grain of tin, but it is still a block of silver.” 
 The mass of Elijah's character was excellence, but with 
 allov. 
 
 “ Happiness is not the end of life; character is. This 
 world is not a platform where you will hear Thalberg 
 piano-playing. It is a piano-manufactory, where are 
 dust, and shavings, and boards, and saws, and files, and 
 rasps, and sand-papers. The perfect instrument and the 
 music will be hereafter.” — Beecher, 
 
 Rowland Hill, when once shamefully attacked in a 
 public paper, was urged by a friend to bring a legal ac- 
 tion ; to which he replied, shall neither answer the 
 libel, nor prosecute the writer. 1. Because in doing the 
 one I might be led into unbecoming violence. 2. Be- 
 cause I have learned from long experience that no man’s 
 character can be eventually injured but by himself.” 
 
 CHARITl. — 2 Sam. xxiv. 24 (^‘That religion which 
 costs nothing i^ worth nothing”); 1 Chron. xxix. 14; 
 Ps. xli. 1—3; Prov. iii. 9, 27, 28; xi. 24, 25 (like the 
 clouds receiving and restoring); Eccl. xi.; Isa. xxxii. 8; 
 Mai. iii. 8; Matt. x. 42; xxv. 40; Mark xii. 41-44; 
 xiv. 8; Acts iv. 32—37; ix. 36; x. 4; 1 Cor. xvi. 1, 2 
 (the apostolic rule, giving not from impulse, but from 
 system; not now and then, but regularly); 2 Cor. viii. ; 
 Gal. ii. 10 (^^ God hath left his poor saints to receive his 
 rents ’ — GurnaU) \ vi. 10; Heb. vi. 10; xiii. 16. 
 ‘‘Charity to the soul is the very soul of charity.” 
 Mabk xii. 41. — “Jesus sat over the treasury and be- 
 ’ * * The best check and the truest comfort 
 
 to remember in our alms, — Jesus sees what we cast in 
 “ Many people now-a-days give, not with tears in their 
 
52 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATIlERTXaS. 
 
 eves, but with pens behind their ears’’ (^31rs, Stowe)*, not 
 so much for the poor to live upon as for the rich to 
 look at. 
 
 No proportion is absolutely enjoined in the New Tes- 
 tament ; but most of God’s devoted saints seem to 
 concur in the ancient tenth ; of course, with certain re- 
 strictions. This was the principle adopted by Lord 
 Chief Justice Hale, Dr. Hammond, Dr. Annesley, 
 Baxter (still he found it too little), Doddridge (who be- 
 sides gave one-eighth of all presents and gifts), Havelock, 
 Bickersteth (who gave a three-fold tithe). Dr. Watts 
 and Tillotson used to give one-fifth, Mrs. Bury one- 
 fourth, Mrs. E. Rowe, Hon. R. Boyle, J. Gouge, &c., 
 one- half. 
 
 How little do Christians give compared with the an- 
 cient Jews or modern heathen; — look at the 
 
 Jetvs. — Cf. their costly service and liberal contribu- 
 tions for the tabernacle and temple. 
 
 Heathen . — “ I once visited the Rajah of Burdwan,” 
 writes the Rev. J. J. Weibrecht, and found him sitting 
 in his treasury. Fifty bags of money containing 1,000 
 rupees ($500) each were placed before him. .^What,’ 
 said I, ‘ are you doing wdth all that money V He replied, 
 ^It is for my god.’ ‘How do you mean that ?’ Ire- 
 joined. ‘ One part is sent to Benares, where I have two 
 fine temples on the river side, and many priests who 
 pray for me; another part goes to Juggernaut, and a 
 third to Gaya.’ And thus one native is spending $25,000 
 annually from his incom.e upon idle Brahmins.” 
 
 The Egyptian Hieroglyphic of Charity is very 
 striking, — a naked child, with a heart in his hand, giving 
 honey to a bee without wings. 1. A child, humble and 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 53 
 
 meek (Matt, xviii. 3). 2. With a heart in his hand, be- 
 
 cause the heart and the hand of a charitable man must 
 go together, — he must be a cheerful giver. 3. Giving 
 honey to a bee — not a drone. 4. To a bee without wings, 
 — help such as wmuld work, but cannot. 
 
 Excuses. — 1. ‘‘ I have nothing to spare.” But re- 
 member 1 Kings xvii. 11, 12; Mark xii. 41-44 ; Prov, 
 xix. 22. 
 
 2. Charity begins at home.” True, but should it 
 end there ? Should it not be like the stone in the 'water, 
 ever spreading its circumference ? 
 
 3. ‘*1 have a ricrht to do what I wdll with my oivn 
 Nay; 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20; iv. 7 ; Rom. xiv. 7. 
 
 4. “The poor are un'worthy and ungrateful;” “and 
 such 'VN^ere some oi you,'' But has God had mercy? 
 James ii. 13. 
 
 5. “ If I were rich, what pleasure should I have in 
 giving!” Are you sure of that? Read 2 Cor. viii. 
 
 6. “My ‘mite’ can do nothing.” Yet five barley 
 loaves, 'when Christ blessed them, fed 5,000. 
 
 A gentleman who had been at a missionary collection 
 'VN'as met the next day by a man of opposite habits, '^vho 
 began to chide him with the folly of sending out such 
 sums abroad, w’hen there was so much to be done at 
 home. The gentleman calmly replied, “ I will give five 
 dollars for our poor at home if you will give the same.” 
 “Oh, I didn’t mean that,” tSaid the objector; “but if 
 you must go from home, why so far? Think of the poor 
 in Ireland.” “ I 'will give five dollars for the poor in 
 Ireland,” said the gentleman, “if you 'will give tlie 
 same.” “No, I don’t mean that either,” said the man. 
 So answer those wdio bring the same objections, for it is 
 
54 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 Simply to veil out their own selfishness by blaming the 
 liberality of others, which they feel reproaches them- 
 selves. 
 
 “Pyrrhus, a merchant of Ithaca, once saw a good 
 man captive in a pirate ship, took compassion on him, 
 and redeemed him ; and with him also bought his com- 
 modity, which consisted of several barrels of pitch. The 
 old man perceiving that, not from any service he could 
 do him, nor the gain of commodity, but merely out of 
 charity, Pyrrhus had done this, presently discovered to 
 him a great mass of treasure hidden in the pitch, where- 
 by he grew exceedingly wealthy, having, not without 
 Divine providence, obtained an unexpected blessing for 
 so good an act of piety.” — Spencer. 
 
 What One Cent can Do. — A son of one of the 
 chiefs of Burdwan was converted by a single tract. 
 He could not read, but he went to Rangoon, a distance 
 of 250 miles ; a missionary’s wife taught him to read, 
 and in forty-eight hours he could read the tract through. 
 He took a basket full of tracts, with much difficulty, 
 preached the Gospel at his own home, and was the means 
 of converting hundreds to God. He was a man of in- 
 fluence; the people flocked to hear him; and in one year 
 1,500 natives were baptized in Arracan as members of 
 the Church. And all this through one little tract ! That 
 tract cost one cent. Oh, whose cent was it? God only 
 knows. Perhaps it was the mite of some little girl; per- 
 haps the well-earned offering of some little boy. Yet, 
 what a blessing it has been ! 
 
 What the Farthings can do. — In July, 1794, was 
 the most destructive fire in Ratcliffe there had been in 
 London since 1666. Out of 1,200 houses, only 570 were 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 55 
 
 preserved. About 1,400 persons were thrown entirely 
 upon the charity of the public at once ; and amongst the 
 contributions offered for their relief was upwards of $4,000 
 collected at the encampment provided by Government, 
 of which $2,130 was in copper, including $193.50 m/ar- 
 things^ each a poor man’s offering. 
 
 CHEERFULNESS.— 2 Chron. xvii. 6; Neh. viii. 10; 
 Ps. XXX. 11; xcvii. 11; Prov. xv. 13, 15; xvii. 22; 
 Rom. xii. 8; 1 Tim. vi. 17 {V)) James v. 13. 
 
 Promoted by : — 
 
 1. Active work . — Physiologists say that walking on 
 an agreeable errand gives the countenance a more health- 
 ful look than walking out merely for exercise. 
 
 Employment so certainly produces cheerfulness,** 
 says Bishop Hall, ‘4hat I have known a man come home 
 in high spirits from a funeral, because he had had the 
 management of it.” 
 
 2. Expectancy in Prayer . — We often are as sad after 
 prayer as we were before it, because our prayers are not 
 the prayers of expecting faith. But prayer, with real 
 belief and hope, will enable us always to roll our cares 
 from ourselves upon the Lord. 
 
 The Countess of Huntingdon was first drawn to the 
 truth through the preaching of the Methodists. Lady 
 Mary Hastings w^as brought to God under Mr. Ingham; 
 and she and Lady Huntingdon used to talk about it. 
 The Countess w^as much struck by one remark, — that 
 since Lady Mary had known and believed in Jesus for 
 life and salvation, she had been as happy as an angel. 
 The Countess had never felt this ; and being ill at the 
 time, she thought much about the contrast, and was 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATIIERTXdS. 
 
 56 
 
 almost in despair, till that remark came to her mind, 
 and she was drawn gradually to find the same peace and 
 joy herself. 
 
 CHILDREN. — Gen. xxxiii. 7 ; Dent. xxxi. 12, 13; 
 Ps. viii. 2 ; Prov. x. 1 ; xxii. 6, 15 ; xxlx. 17 ; Acts ii. 
 39 ; Epli. vi. 1-3. 
 
 Mark x. 13-16. — “ ‘ Oh, mamma,’ said a little girl on 
 returning from church to a sick mother, ‘ I have heard 
 the child's Gosfel to-day.' 
 
 So said another, six or seven years of age, when on 
 her death-bed she asked her eldest sister to read the same 
 passage to her. The text being read and the book closed, 
 she said, ‘ How kind ! I shall soon go to Jesus ; He 
 will soon take me up in his arms ; bless me too ; no dis- 
 ciple shall keep me away.’ Her sister kissed her, and 
 said, ‘Do you love me?’ ‘Yes,’ she replied; ‘but don’t 
 be angry, I love Jesus better.’ ” — Cheever, 
 
 2 Tim. hi. 15. — “ The letter of Scripture in the minds 
 of children is the combustible on which the Promethean 
 spark of the Spirit generally falls ; and where there is 
 no such preparation there will seldom be any conflagra- 
 tion. True it is that the power of God, as in the case 
 of Elijah’s sacrifice, can turn even the stones of the altar 
 and the water in the trench to fuel ; but this is not the 
 usual mode of the Spirit’s operation. The probabilities 
 of conversion, humanly speaking, will generally be found 
 to bear a proportion to the quantity of the incorruptible 
 seed of the Word, which has been dibbled into the soil 
 of the young heart by the instrumentality of parental 
 instruction and prayer.” — Gordon. 
 
 Every Jewish parent was obliged to do four things 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATIIERIXGS. 
 
 57 
 
 for his chihl. 1. To circumcise him. 2. To redeem 
 him. 3. To teach him the law. 4. To teach him some 
 trade. 
 
 Jewels. — A Campanian lady, fond of pomp and show, 
 when visiting Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi, dis- 
 played her jewels with much ostentation, and asked to 
 see Cornelia’s in return. The mother begged her to wait 
 a short time ; when, at the usual time, her sons came 
 home from the public schools. Then, presenting them 
 to the lady, she tenderly said, These are my jewels.” 
 Come THIS Way, Father.” — Some vears a^ro some 
 friends were enjoying a pleasant excursion, on a sweet 
 summer’s day, in a boat. Having gone a certain dis- 
 tance, a young lady declined going further, saying she 
 would remain on one of the islands in the stream. The 
 party, however, remained longer than they intended, 
 and, a thick fog coming on, they were much afraid of 
 losing her. But at last her clear voice was heard, Come 
 this Avay, father; come this way.” 
 
 The young lady is now dead, and in a better world; 
 but oh ! how often does he still hear the words repeated, 
 from the upper sanctuary, Come this way, father ; 
 come this way.” 
 
 Little ^Iary and the Lighthouse. — The story is 
 almost too well known to be repeated, of the little girl 
 whose father lived in a lighthouse on the coast of Corn- 
 wall. The father, mother (who w*as a pious vroman), and 
 their little giri, lived alone, amidst the bowlings of the 
 great, wide sea. One day the keeper w^nt ashore, and 
 when there was seized and kept prisoner by a band of 
 wicked men, wFo thought if they could only keep him 
 prisoner, the lighthouse would be unlightcd at nighl 
 
58 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 and vessels would be wrecked, of which they should get 
 the spoils. But his little daughter was left in their 
 watery home, and when no father came home at night, 
 though her heart sank within her, at his absence, she 
 thought of the poor sailors who might be lost, and, brave 
 girl that she was ! she went up to the top, and, one by 
 one, lighted all the lamps, till the whole sent forth the 
 clear and welcome blaze. It was a noble action ; and 
 gave her and her father a warm heart of joy. So may 
 the daughters of Israel send forth the lamp of light to 
 many who sit in darkness ! 
 
 The Rev. Moses Browne had twelve children. On 
 one remarking to him, “ Sir, you have just as m.any 
 children as Jacob,” he replied, “Yes, and I have Jacob’s 
 God to provide for them.” 
 
 Ex. Good. — Isaac, Joseph, Samuel, David, Obadiah, 
 Josiah, Esther, John Baptist, Timothy. Cf. Edward VI., 
 Little Jane, James Laing. — (M'-Oheyne s Idfe.”) 
 
 Bad. — Esau, sons of Eli, sons of Samuel, Absalom, 
 Adonijah, Children who mocked Elisha, Adrammelech 
 and Sharezer. 
 
 CHRIST.— Ps. xlv. 2 ; Isa. ix. 6 ; Matt. i. 21, 23 ; 
 John i. 14-18 ; vi. 68 ; vii. 46 ; xvii. 3 ; Acts x. 38 ; 
 xvi. 31 ; Rom. xv. 3 ; 1 Cor. i. 30 ; 2 Cor. viii. 9 ; Phil, 
 i. 21 ; ii. 5-11 ; iii. 8 ; Col. i. 15 ; ii. 3, 9, 10 ; iii. 11 ; 
 1 Tim. i. 16 ; Heb. i. 3 ; ii. 9 ; vii. 25, 26 ; xiii. 8 ; 
 1 John i. 3; ii. 1, 2 ; Rev. i. 5, 6 ; xi. 15. 
 
 Judges iii. 9, 15, 31. 
 
 What a lesson on the patience of God ! Again and again do 
 we read, “The children of Israel did evil in the sight ot the 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 59 
 
 Lord,” and then He raised them up a Deliverer {margin, Sav- 
 iour). So patiently does Almighty love still hear with human 
 ingratitude and depravity. Psalm ciii. 10-14. 
 
 Isa. xxxii. 2. — “A man shall be as a hiding-place 
 from the wind and a covert from the tempest.'’ 
 
 “ I creep under my Lord’s wings in the great shower, and 
 the waters cannot reach me. Let fools laugh the fool’s laugh- 
 ter, and scorn Christ, and bid the weeping captives in Babylon, 
 ‘sing them one of the songs of Zion.’ We may sing, even in 
 our winter’s storm, in the expectation of a summer’s sun at the 
 turn of the year. Ho created powers in hell or out of hell can 
 mar our Lord’s work, or spoil our song of joy. Let us, then, 
 he glad and rejoice in the salvation of our Lord, for faith had 
 never yet cause to have tearful eyes, or a saddened brow, or to 
 droop or die.” — Rutherford' s “ Letters.'" 
 
 1 Cor. i. 1~13. 
 
 One of the peculiarities and beauties of St. Paul’s style may 
 be traced as occurring here. Twelve times does he refer to 
 Christ in thirteen verses, — a fit model for all who v/ould he suc- 
 cessors in the spirit of the Apostles. It was the wise counsel 
 of Philip Henry, — “ Preach a crucified Saviour in a crucified 
 style.” 
 
 2 Cor. ix. 15. — Thanks be unto God for his un- 
 speakable gift.” 
 
 We may say of Christ, as one said to Caesar, when he had re- 
 ceived a munificent present from him, “ This is too much for 
 me to receive.” To which the Emperor answered, “But it is 
 not too great for me to give.” 
 
 Col. i. 27 . — ‘‘ Christ in you, the hope of glory.” 
 
 Four thoughts are here. Header, consider your interest in 
 them. Glory ; — the hope of glory ; — Christ, the hope of glory. 
 But pause. — The most important part is, — “Christ in you^ the 
 hope of glory.” “ Christ’s blood on the head is the greatest 
 curse ; Christ’s blood on the heart is the richest blessing.” 
 
 Col. ii. 7. — ‘‘Rooted and built up in Him.” 
 
 There are two diflerent kinds of growth into Christ; a 
 
60 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERIXOS* 
 
 growth downward, when the believer becomes more “rooted” 
 in his principles, and established in his hold of the covenant ; 
 and a growth upward, like the palm and the cedar, in the 
 Lord’s enclosed garden. But all growth comes from union with 
 Christ. 2 Peter iii. 18. 
 
 Heb. xii. 2. — ‘‘Looking unto Jesus.'’ 
 
 Like the bitten Israelites, “ look and live.” Like Peter on 
 the waters, who sank when he ceased to look. “For one look 
 at self, take ten looks at Christ.” 
 
 Objection . — But must we not search our hearts, to know our 
 failings ? Yes ; but the best way to learn our fault is, to get 
 more light. One minute’s seai'ch in the dark with a lighted 
 candle, is more useful than ten minutes’ groping in the dark. 
 
 1 John i. 7.— The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us 
 from all sin.” 
 
 So that poor South Sea Island Christian saw, when he came 
 to death’s “water-side,” and saw a large mountain rise before 
 him, which he tried to climb in vain. A drop of blood fell 
 upon the mountain, and in a moment it was gone. “That 
 mountain,” said he, “was my sins, and the drop which fell 
 upon it, was the precious blood of Jesus.” 
 
 Rev. xxii. 21. — “ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 be with you all. Amen.” 
 
 The last words of Pvevelation are of Christ. It is worth ob- 
 serving that, taken in their supposed chronological order, this is 
 the case with the last words of each of the three Apostles : 8t. 
 Paul (2 Tim. iv. 22); St. Peter (2 Pet. iii. 18); and St. John 
 (xxi. 25). Cf. Mai. iv. 6. {See Grace.) 
 
 “ Oh, that Christ had his own !” — Rutherford, 
 
 “ The sea ebbs and flows, but the rock remains un^ 
 moved.” — Ibid, 
 
 “If sin was better known, Christ would be better 
 thouglit of.” — Mason, 
 
 “Presumption abuses Christ; despair refuses Him.”' 
 
61 
 
 ILLUSTKATIVE GATHKEIX05. 
 
 “ He 'who thinks he hath no need of Christ, hath too 
 hic'h thoughts of himself. He who thinks Christ cannot 
 help him, hath too low thoughts of Christ.” — Ibid. 
 
 “ Too mauy only see Christ in a book, as we see places 
 in a map ; but, to come nigh, — to enjoy Him, — this is 
 delijrhtful and saving.” — Piutherford. 
 
 ‘‘ Christ is not prized at all rightly, unless He be 
 prized above all truly.” 
 
 ‘‘ It is not so much great talents that God blesses as 
 great likeness to Jesus. ’ — M^Cheyne. 
 
 The Stationer at the Fair. — “A stationer, being 
 at a fair, hung out his pictures of men famous in their 
 kind ; among which he had also the picture of Christ. 
 Divers men bought, according to their several fancies. 
 The soldier buys his Csesar, the lawyer his Justinian, the 
 physician his Galen, the philosopher his Aristotle, the 
 poet his Virgil, the orator his Cicero, and the divine his 
 Augustine ; — every man after the dictation of his own 
 heart. The picture of Christ hung by still, of less price 
 than the rest ; a poor shopman that had no more money 
 than would purchase that, bought it, saying, ‘ Tsow every 
 one hath taken away his god, let me have mine.’ Thus, 
 whilst the covetous repair to their riches, like birds to 
 their nests ; the ambitious to their honors, like butter- 
 flies to a poppy ; the strong to their holds ; the learned 
 to their arts ; atheists to their sensual refuges, as dogs 
 to their kennels; and politicians to their wit, as foxes to 
 their holes ; the devout soul will have no other sanctuary, 
 fix upon no other object, but Christ Jesus, not pictured 
 in their chamber, but planted in the inner chamber of the 
 heart.” — Salter. 
 
 The Plank ihai will Bear. — A vessel was wrecked 
 
 6 
 
62 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATIIERINGS. 
 
 a good many years ago on the stormy coast of Cornwall. 
 It was a time of much danger and distress, but the Lord 
 was merciful, and no lives were lost. On the following 
 Sabbath, the rescued sailors attended Divine service in 
 the nearest parish church, and thanks were publicly re- 
 turned for their deliverance. 
 
 The minister who officiated that day was aware of the 
 circumstances, and endeavored to improve them to his 
 audience. At the close of his sermon, he spoke with 
 much earnestness of the sinner’s danger and the Saviour’s 
 love. Among other things, Imagine,” he said, the 
 situation of a drowning man, who feels that all his own 
 efforts are unavailing, and that he is fast sinking beneath 
 the .overwhelming waters. Imagine what w^ould be his 
 feelings, if suddenly a plank floated within his reach, and 
 if, taking hold of it, he found it would bear his weight ! 
 My felloAV-sinners, this is your case, and my own ! We 
 are like the drowning mariner. Christ is the plank of 
 safety. This plank will bear. Oh, refuse not, delay not 
 to seize upon it ! This plank will bear ; yes, sinner, 
 this plank udll hear 
 
 The good man’s own heart was much moved, and he 
 felt that he spoke with unusual animation. But he 
 heard no more of the discourse than he was w^ont to hear 
 of others, and by degrees the whole incident passed 
 away from his remembrance. 
 
 Fourteen years afterwards, he received an urgent 
 message entreating him to come and see a man who was 
 near death, in a village at a considerable distance. He 
 obeyed immediately, unable to resist such a call. On 
 entering the apartment, he saw at once that the sufferer 
 was a total stranger to him, and also that his moments 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERT^'GS. 
 
 63 
 
 on earth were almost numbered. He knelt beside the 
 bed. ‘‘ My brother, you have sent for me, and I am 
 come. You are on the verge of that awful transition 
 which awaits us all. Will you tell me on what hope you 
 are resting for eternity ?” 
 
 The dying man was evidently conscious, but the power 
 of speech seemed gone. ‘^My brother,’' continued the 
 minister, if you can no longer speak, will you give me 
 a sign, a token, to tell if your hope is now in Christ ?’* 
 Then, by a last effort of expiring strength^ these words 
 were uttered, and we may easily conceive the thrill of 
 joyful, grateful recollection with which they were list- 
 ened to : The 'plcmk bears."' 
 
 Yes, that long-forgotten sermon had not been preached 
 in vain. In one soul, at least, the good seed had borne 
 fruit to everlasting life. 
 
 Reader, this i^ank iDill bear I It carried that soul 
 safe to the haven of eternal rest ; it will carry yours also. 
 Have you taken hold of it ? Jesus is the all-sufficient, 
 but He is also the only Saviour. ‘‘ There is none other 
 name under heaven given among men, whereby we must 
 be saved.” ‘‘How shall we escape if we neglect so great 
 salvation ?” 
 
 Happy Death of an Indian. — A missionary in the 
 East Indies was called to visit one of the native Chris- 
 tians in a dying state. He inquired how she felt. 
 “ Happy ! happy !” was her reply ; and, laying her hand 
 on the Bible, added, “I have Christ here^" and, press- 
 ing it to her heart, “and Christ here^" and, pointing to 
 heaven, “and Christ there." 
 
 Christ is Mine. — A gentleman one day took an ac- 
 quaintance upon the leads of his house to show him the 
 
64 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 extent of his possessions. Waving his hand about, 
 There,” says he, “ that is my estate.” Then, pointing 
 to a great distance on one side, ‘‘Do you see that farm? 
 
 “ Yes.” “ Well, that is mine.” Pointing, again, to the 
 other side, “ Do you see that house ?” “ Yes.” “ That 
 
 also belongs to me.” Then said his friend, “Do you see 
 that little village out yonder ?” “ Yes.” “ Well, there 
 
 lives a poor woman in that village who can say more 
 than all this.” “ Aye ! what can she say ?” “ Why, she 
 can say, ‘ Christ is mine !’ ” He looked confounded, 
 and said no more. 
 
 Kussian Nobleman. — Some years ago, a Russian no- 
 bleman was traveling on special business in the interior 
 of Russia. It was the beginning of winter, but the frost 
 had set in early. His carriage rolled up to an inn, and 
 he demanded a relay of horses to carry him on to the 
 next station, where he intended to spend the night. The 
 innkeeper entreated him not to proceed, for there was 
 dan o^er in traveling so late; the wolves were out. But 
 the nobleman thought the man merely wished to keep 
 him as a guest. He said it was too early for wolves, 
 and ordered the horses to be put to. He then drove off, 
 with his wife and his only daughter inside the carriage 
 with him. 
 
 On the box of the carriage was a serf, who had been 
 born on the nobleman’s estate, to whom he was much 
 attached, and who loved his master, as he loved his own 
 life. They rolled over the hardened snow, and there 
 seemed no sign of danger. The moon shed her pale 
 li<rht, and brought out into burnished silver the road on 
 which they were going. At length the little girl said to 
 her father. “ What was that strange howling sound that 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 65 
 
 I just heard?” Oh, nothing but the wind sighing 
 through the forest trees,” replied the father. The child 
 shut her eyes, and was quiet ; but soon she said again, 
 “Listen, father ! it is not like the wind, I think.” The 
 father listened, and far, far away, in the distance behind 
 him, through the clear, cold, frosty air, he heard a noise 
 which he too well knew the meaning of. 
 
 He then put down the window, and spoke to the ser- 
 vant, “ The wolves, I fear, are after us ; make haste. 
 Tell the man to drive faster, and get your pistols ready.” 
 The postillion drove faster ; but the same mournful sound 
 which the child had heard approached nearer and nearer. 
 It was quite clear that a pack of wolves had scented 
 them out. The nobleman tried to calm the anxious fears 
 of his wife and child. 
 
 At last the baying of the pack was distinctly heard. 
 So he said to his servant, “ When they come up with 
 us, do you single out one and fire, and I will single out 
 another ; and while the rest are devourino: them we shall 
 get on.” As soon as he put down the window, he saw 
 the pack in full cry behind, the large dog-wolf at their 
 head. Two shots were fired, and two of the wolves fell. 
 The others instantly set upon them and devoured them ; 
 and meanwhile the carriage gained ground. But the 
 taste of blood only made them more furious, and they 
 were soon up with the carriage again. Again two shots 
 were fired, and two more fell and were devoured. But 
 the carriage was speedily overtaken, and the post-house 
 was yet far distant. The nobleman then ordered the 
 postillion to loose one of his leaders, that they might 
 gain a little time. This was done ; and the poor horse 
 plunged frantically into the forest, the wolves after him, 
 
66 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 and was soon torn to pieces. Then another horse was 
 sent off, and shared the same fate. The carriage labored 
 on as fast as it could with the two remaining horses; 
 but the post-house was still distant. 
 
 At length the servant said to his master, ‘‘ I have 
 served you ever sinee I was a child. I love you as my 
 own self. Nothing now can save you but one thing. Let 
 me save you. I ask you only to look after my wife and 
 my little ones.” 
 
 The nobleman remonstrated, but in vain. When the 
 wolves next came up, the faithful servant threw himself 
 amongst them. The two panting horses galloped on 
 with the carriage, and the gates of the post-house just 
 closed in upon it as the fearful pack were on the point 
 of making the last and fatal attack. But the travelers 
 were safe. 
 
 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay 
 down his life for his friends. But God commendeth Jlzs 
 love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners^ Christ 
 died for us.” 
 
 The Worm within the Circle.— A converted Indian 
 was one day taunted, — What has Christianity done for 
 you?” Seeing a worm by the side of the path, he took 
 it up, and put it down before the man ; then collecting 
 some straw, he placed it in a circle round the worm and 
 lighted it. The worm, feeling the heat of the flame, 
 began to writhe. The Indian took it up in his hand, 
 and turning to his opponent said, with beautiful sim- 
 plicity and sanctified emotion, This is what Christianity 
 has done for me. I was a worm of the earth, and the 
 flames of hell were gathering round me, when Jesus 
 came and had pity on the worm. He took me in His 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 67 
 
 hand, and snatched me from ruin. What more could I 
 •wish that He had done ?” 
 
 CHURCH. — Ps. xlv. 13; Ixxxvii. ; Cant. vi. 10; 
 Isa. xliii. 21; Ixii; Matt. xvi. 18; Acts ii. 47; xx. 28; 
 Rom. xvi. 19 ; Eph. iii. 10 ; v. 27 ; Heb. x. 21 ; 1 Pet. 
 ■V. 13; Rev. xii. 1; xix. 8. 
 
 Emblems of, — holy; branch of God’s planting; bride 
 of Christ ; burning bush (the arms of the Church of 
 Scotland) ; golden candlestick (gold, for excellence — six 
 branches in one, for unity — ornaments, for gifts and 
 graces — snuffers, for discipline) ; dove ; family ; flock 
 (few but favored) ; garden inclosed ; fountain sealed ; 
 heritage ; house ; kingdom ; king’s daughter ; lily among 
 thorns ; leaven (grace in the heart ) ; mustard-seed 
 (grace in the life ) ; moon (shining with borrowed light, 
 and constant changes) ; mother ; Mount Zion ; net (gath- 
 ering fish to the shore and to each other) ; olive-tree ; 
 pillar and ground of the truth ; ship (tossed, but Jesus 
 in it) ; sister of Christ ; temple ; tree ; virgin ; vine ; 
 vineyard ; wife ; woman. Rev. xii. 1. 
 
 The marks of a true Church are three. 1. Pure and 
 sound doctrine. 2. Sacraments administered according 
 to Christ’s institution. 3. Discipline. — Homily for Whit 
 Sunday. 
 
 It is much easier to give oneself to a Church or a sect 
 than to God. 
 
 In the best Reformed Churches there must be many 
 deformed professors. 
 
 Many shrink from joining themselves openly to the 
 Church because they are not fit. Thus they neglect 
 
68 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS, 
 
 one of the very means the Lord has ordained to make 
 them fit. 
 
 The Church of Christ, which is -partly militant and 
 partly triumphant, resembles a city built on both sides 
 of a river. There is but the stream of death between 
 grace and glory.’’ — To'plady. 
 
 ‘‘ The Scripture is the sun ; the Church is the clock. 
 The sun we know to be sure, and regularly constant in 
 his motions ; the clock, as it may fall out, may go too 
 fast or too slow. As, then, we should condemn him of 
 folly that should profess to trust the clock rather than 
 the sun, so we cannot but justly tax the credulity of 
 those who would rather trust to the Church than to the 
 Scripture .” — Bishop Ball, 
 
 Quicksilver. — “ Take a mass of quicksilver, let it 
 fall on the fioor, and it will split into a vast number of 
 distinct globules. Gather them up and put them to- 
 gether again, and they will coalesce into one body as 
 before. Thus God’s elect below are sometimes crumbled 
 and distinguished into various parties, though they all 
 are, in fact, members of one and the same mystic body. 
 But when taken up from the world, and put together in 
 heaven, they will constitute one glorious, undivided 
 Church for ever and ever.” 
 
 CIRCUMSTANCES.— Glorifying God in all. 2 Cor. 
 vi. 3-10; James i. 9-12. 
 
 He is happy whose circumstances suit his temper ; 
 but he is more excellent who can suit his temper to his 
 circumstances. ’ ’ — Hume. 
 
 If you can’t turn the wind, you must turn the mill- 
 sails.” 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 69 
 
 If I were differently circumstanced, I could serve 
 God so much more fully,” is' the devil’s tempting bait 
 to mislead souls. 
 
 Joseph was a beautiful example. See him, in his 
 changed positions, still the upright saint ; and Jesus 
 (cf. John ii.), our Lord’s conduct at the marriage and in 
 the temple. 
 
 Wm, Pitt used to be called the minister of existing 
 circumstances. 
 
 A Christian Shepherd^ when a gentleman said, to try 
 him, ‘‘Suppose your master were to change, or your 
 flock to die ; what then ?” replied, “ Sir, I look upon it 
 that I do not depend upon circumstances, but upon the 
 great God that directs them.” 
 
 The Rev. H. W. Fox^ when dying, had constantly 
 upon his lips the words of Baxter : — “ Lord, when thou 
 wilt; where thou wilt; as thou wilt.” 
 
 COMMUNION WITH GOD. — Ps. xxxvii. 3-7 ; xlii. 
 1 ; Ixiii. 5, 6, 8 ; Ixxiii. 23-2e^ ; Cant, passim ; Matt. v. 
 8 ; Luke xxiv. 32 ; 1 Cor. x. 16 ; 2 Cor. hi. 18 ; Eph. 
 ii. 6 ; 1 John i. 3 ; Rev. hi. 20. 
 
 The believer has, in his, — 1. Attributes, when the 
 soul, according to its capacity, is moulded after the Di- 
 vine image, and when it responds to the Divine attri- 
 butes by affections of love, joy, submission, trust, &c. 2. 
 Works of creation, providence, and grace, when we 
 adore and serve God, and are transformed as we behold. 
 2 Cor. hi. 18. 3. Ordinances. 
 
 Dr. Payson recommends Christians who would raise 
 their minds to close communion with God, to take one 
 scene in the life of Christ a-day for meditation, and 
 
70 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 dwell upon it closely, till the scene grows clear and 
 bright, and the heart begins to burn with love to the 
 Saviour. 
 
 Archbishop Leighton. — Bishop Burnet declares 
 that, having known him intimately for many years, he 
 had never seen him in any other temper than that in 
 which he would wish to live and die. 
 
 Hewitson writes : — I think I know more of Jesus 
 Christ than of any earthly friend.” Hence one who 
 knew him well remarked, ‘‘ One thing struck me in Mr. 
 Hewitson. He seemed to have no gaps, — no intervals 
 in his communion with God. I used to feel, when with 
 him, that it was being with one who was a vine watered 
 every moment.” 
 
 “ When one that holds communion with the skies 
 Has filled his urn where those pure waters rise, 
 
 And once more mingles with us meaner things, 
 
 ’Tis e’en as if an angel shook his wings ; 
 
 Immortal fragrance fills the circuit wide 
 
 That tells us whence his treasures are supplied.” — Cowper, 
 
 Favored — Eden, Peniel, Sinai, Temple, Mount 
 
 of Transfiguration, Olivet, &c. 
 
 Favored Persons. — Enoch, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, 
 David, Elijah, Daniel, Stephen, Paul, John, &c. 
 
 Isa. lix. 2 ; 2 Cor. vi. 14-18. 
 
 COMMUNION OF SAINTS.— 1 Sam. x. 26 ; xxiii. 
 16; Ps. Iv. 14; cxix. 63; cxxii. 3; Prov. xiii. 20; 
 xxvii. 9, 17 ; Eccles. iv. 9-12 ; Mai. iii. 16 ; Mark v. 
 18, 19 ; Rom. i. 12 ; xii. 15, 16 ; Eph. ii. 18—22 ; iv. 
 12 (Z) ; Heb. iii. 13 ; 1 John i. 3 {ni). 
 
 The Jewish economy contained many provisions to 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINIIS. 
 
 71 
 
 promote. Cf. the passover, and peace-offerings, which 
 were directed not to be eaten alone, but in company. 
 The annual feasts, to celebrate which God’s people had 
 many a happy journey, and much sweet communion. 
 Ps. Ixxxiv. 7. Cf. the golden candlestick,— six branches 
 around the centre branch. 
 
 So in the Christian dispensation, — conversation, devo- 
 tion, social worship, the Lord’s Supper, &c. Cf. the Lord’s 
 prayer, Our Father the end of St. Paul’s epistles. 
 
 The house Beautiful well sets forth Bunyan’s reali- 
 zation of the communion of saints. It stood by the road- 
 side. Watchful was the porter at the door. Discretion, 
 Prudence, Piety, and Charity talked with Christian till 
 supper, when their communion was about the Lord of 
 the hill. After which good Christian slept in the cham- 
 ber called Peace, and in the morning was shown the 
 study, the armory, the Delectable Mountains, and other 
 rarities, and sent on his way rejoicing. 
 
 The Rev. J. H. Francke writes : — It is with Chris- 
 tians as with burning coals. If these are scattered far 
 apart, one after the other is easily extinguished ; but, 
 when collected together, the fire of one preserves that 
 of the other, and the glowing coals often ignite others 
 that lie near.” 
 
 A husband and wife remain one though a hundred miles 
 apart. Believing souls have spiritual sympathy and 
 attachment, irrespective of distance, time, or state. 
 
 COMPANY.— Exod. xxiii. 2; Josh, xxiii. 7; 2 
 Chron. xix. 2 ; Ps. i. 1 ; cvi. 35 ; cxix. 63 ; Prov. iv. 
 14 ; xiii. 20; xxviii. 19; Rom. xii. 2; 1 Cor. v. 6; xv. 
 33; Eph. V. 11; Col. iv. 5. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 72 
 
 Bad company is like a nail driven into a post, which, 
 after the first and second blow, may be drawn out with 
 little difficulty; but being driven up to the head, the 
 pincers can scarcely, take hold to draw it out. 
 
 The Christian who has put aside his religion because 
 he is in worldly company, is like a man who has put off 
 his shoes because he is walking among thorns. 
 
 Pitch. — Did you never touch pitch, alid it stuck to 
 your fingers that you could not w^ash it off for days? 
 Such is the influence of a bad companion. 
 
 Iodine. — Chemists tell us that one grain of iodine 
 imparts color to 7,000 tim.es its weight of water. So 
 wide is the circle of one bad book, or one evil coun- 
 selor. 
 
 Sir Peter Lely used to make it a rule never to look 
 upon a bad picture, as he found, by experience, when he 
 had done so, his pencil always took a tint from it. Prov. 
 iv. 14-16. 
 
 Eliot, the missionary. — It was said of him by one of 
 his friends, I was never with him but I got, or might 
 have got, some good from his company.’’ 
 
 Usher. — Archbishop Usher and Dr. Preston were 
 very intimate, and often met to converse on learned and 
 general subjects ; when the good archbishop used com- 
 monly to say, ‘‘Come, Doctor, let us have one word 
 about Christ before we part.” 
 
 The bee-hunter in America puts a piece of honey- 
 comb into a box, and catches a bee. He then covers the 
 box, and very soon the bee fills himself with the honey. 
 Being let loose, it finds its way home, and in a little 
 time returns, but not alone. He brings his companions 
 with him, and in turn they bring their companions, till 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 73 
 
 the box is filled with a full swarm of bees. Let every 
 Sunday scholar, and every attendant at a Christian 
 church, do likewise. If they have tasted that Word 
 which is sweeter than honey, let them bring their com- 
 panions and neighbors with them, till the school and the 
 church be filled with devout and thoughtful hearers. 
 
 CONFESSION OF SIN. — Lev. xvi. 21; Ps. xxxii. 
 5; xxxviii. 18: li.; Prov. xxviii. 13; Jer. iii. 13, 25; 
 Dan. ix. 20 ; Luke xv. 18; 1 John i. 9. 
 
 ‘‘ I HAVE SINNED.” — A sermon with seven texts, show- 
 ing the diflFerent kinds of confession, as the words are 
 used by Pharaoh, Balaam, Saul, Achan, Judas, Job, the 
 Prodigal. — Spurgeon, 
 
 “ A man will confess sins in general; but those sins 
 which he would not have his neighbor know for his right 
 hand, which bow him down with shame like a wind- 
 stricken bulrush, these he passes over in his prayer. 
 Men are willing to be thought sinful in disposition, but 
 in special acts they are disposed to praise themselves. 
 They therefore confess their depravity and defend their 
 conduct. They are wrong in general, but right in par- 
 ticular. Whether they shall confess their faults or not, 
 they generally leave to their moods, and not to their 
 principles. ' ’ — Beecher. 
 
 ‘‘We tell God that we are sinners, miserable and 
 helpless, but cannot bear to be told so by others.” — 
 Adam. 
 
 John Bradford. — It was observed of him, that when 
 he was confessing sin he would never give over confess- 
 ing till he had felt some brokenness of heart for that sin ; 
 
 and that, when praying for any spiritual mercy, he would 
 7 
 
74 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERING'S. 
 
 never give over the suit until he had got some relish for 
 that mercy. 
 
 CONSCIENCE. — Job xxvii. 6; Prov. xxiii. 7; John 
 viii. 9; Acts xxiii. 1; xxiv. 16; Rom. ii. 15; ix. 1; 2 
 Cor. i. 12; 1 Tim. i. 5; hi. 9; iv. 2 (Cf. Eph. iv. 19); 
 2 Tim. i. 3; Titus i. 5; Heb. ix. 14; xiii. 18; 1 Pet. ii. 
 19; hi. 16; 1 John hi. 18-21. 
 
 Power of an evil. Gen. hi. 8; iv. 9; xlii. 21 (after 
 twenty-two years); 1 Sam. xxiv. 5, 6; 2 Sam. xxiv. 10; 
 1 Kings xxi. 20 (Ahab after Naboth’s murder); Prov. 
 xxvih. 1 ; Matt, xxvii. 3 ; Mark vi. 16. 
 
 Has three ofiSces, — to instruct, command, and judge. 
 
 Is ignorant, flattering, seared, wounded, scrupulous, 
 or good. 
 
 Difi’ers from the understanding, as common glass differs 
 from a looking-glass. 
 
 Understanding is a common glass, that lets in all the 
 forms and colors of external objects ; conscience is a 
 looking-glass, opaque, which reflects only internal objects. 
 Through the first we see other people; by the second we 
 see ourselves.” — Cfordon. 
 
 Is too often, like an alarm clocks awakening at first, 
 but after a time it loses its effect. 
 
 - Like the awful lightning-flash, revealing in one fearful 
 instant the secrets of the deepest darkness, though anx- 
 iously concealed in the darkened room. Yet too fre- 
 quently the illumination is but for a passing moment ; 
 the heart returns again to the same darkness as before. 
 
 Many have conscience enough to make them uneasy in 
 sin, but not conscience enough to keep them from sin.” 
 — Adam, 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 75 
 
 M. Henry used to say, when persecuted for his opin- 
 ion, ^‘How sweet it is to have the bird in the bosom sing 
 sweetly.’’ Cf. Charles IX., who could never bear to 
 lay awake in the night without music playing; Tibe- 
 rius, who declared in the Senate that he suffered death 
 daily. 
 
 CONTENTMEXT.-Gen . xxviii. 20; Ps. xxxvii. 1-8; 
 Prov. XV. 16 ; xvi. 8 ; xxx. 7, 8 ; Matt. vi. 11, 25-34 ; 
 Phil. iv. 11; 1 Tim. vi. 6; Heb. xiii. 5. 
 
 Cf. Hebrew servant. Exod. xxi. 2-6. 
 
 Manna, which, gathered as God gave it, was good ; 
 but if sought to be hoarded, bred worms. 
 
 ‘‘Nature is content with little, grace with less, sin with 
 nothing. ’ ’ — Brooks, 
 
 “ They that deserve nothing should be content with 
 anything. Bless God for what you have, and trust God 
 for what you want. If we cannot bring our condition to 
 our mind, we must bring our mind to our condition. If 
 a man is not content in the state he is in, he will not be 
 content in the state he would be in.” — 3Iason. 
 
 “ One staff on a journey is helpful ; but a bundle of 
 sticks is a burden.” 
 
 The wheels of a chariot move, but the axletree moves 
 not ; the sails of a mill move with the wind, but the mill 
 itself moves not ; the earth is carried round its orbit, but 
 its centre moves not. So should a Christian be able, 
 amidst changing scenes and changing fortunes, to say, 
 “0 God, my heart is fixed, my heart is fixed.” 
 
 It was the beautiful expression of a Christian, who 
 had been rich, when he was asked how he could bear his 
 reduced state so happily, ‘‘ When I was rich, I had God 
 
76 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 in everything, and now I am poor I have everything in 
 God.” 
 
 An Italian Bishop, having struggled hard through 
 life without repining, was asked the secret of his being 
 so uniformly happy, and replied that it consisted in 
 ‘^making a right use of his eyes.” Being requested to 
 explain, he added, In whatsoever state lam, I first look 
 up to heaven, and remember that my principal business 
 here is to get there. I then look down upon the earth, 
 and call to mind how small a space I shall occupy in it 
 after death. Lastly, I look abroad upon the world, and 
 observe how many there are more unhappy than myself. 
 Thus I learn where true happiness is placed, where 
 all my cares must end, and that I have no reason to 
 repine.” 
 
 Fable. — A canary and a gold-fish had their lot thrown 
 together in the same room. One hot day the master of 
 the house heard the fish complaining of his dumb condi- 
 tion, and envying the sweet song of his companion over- 
 head, Oh, I wish I could sing as sweetly as my friend 
 up there !” whilst the canary was eyeing the inhabitant 
 of the globe, How cool it looks ! I wish my lot were 
 there.” ‘‘So then it shall be,” said the master, and 
 forthwith placed the fish in the air, and the bird in the 
 water ; whereupon they saw their folly, and repented of 
 their discontent ; of which the moral is sooner drawn 
 than practiced : — Let every man be content in the 
 state in which Providence has placed him, and believe 
 that it is what is best fitted for him. 
 
 CONTROVERSY. 
 
 In many cases injurious : — 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 77 
 
 “ Many contx’oversies about religion have almost 
 brought religion itself into controversy.” 
 
 Two learned physicians and a plain, honest husband- 
 man met at an inn. The two doctors, falling into a dis- 
 pute about the nature of aliment, could eat no dinner ; 
 while the plain, honest countryman, who understood 
 nothing of the dispute, fell heartily to his meal, gave 
 God thanks, went to his labor with renewed strength, and 
 reaped the fruit of his industry. Such,” says Bishop 
 Horne, ‘Gs the difference between polemical and practi- 
 cal Christians.” 
 
 Yet controversy is, in other cases, needful and useful. 
 
 A man can scarcely be an earnest Christian in the 
 present day,” Dr. M‘Neile has well said, ^‘without being 
 a controversialist.” 
 
 As in manv of the Scotch mountains we often see the 
 
 %f 
 
 cloud hanging on its side, as a part of the mountain, but, 
 as soon as it is broken by the wind, it descends in re- 
 freshing dew upon the mountain side, and runs down the 
 steep to fructify the mountain flowers ; so the mist of 
 controversy is a means, when scattered, of enriching the 
 understanding and fructifying the heart. 
 
 ‘‘My great controversy,” said a good man,” is with 
 myself.” ^ 
 
 The Pastor’s Prayer. — A pastor, having just fln- 
 ished family worship, w*as reading Leighton’s works in 
 his study, when he was called down to see a visitor. “ I 
 have called to see you,” said Mr. G., “about your ser- 
 mon last Sabbath. 
 
 “You insisted upon repentance and faith, as flrst 
 duties. I w^as not entirely satisfled w'ith your reason- 
 ing. I have some points of difficulty which erabar- 
 
78 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 rass me. Perhaps you can so explain them as to relieve 
 me.” 
 
 Mr. G. then proceeded to state his difficulties, not in 
 the clearest manner, but still showing some forethought 
 and contrivance. They were certain metaphysical ques- 
 tions as old as the human race, which have been an- 
 swered a thousand times. 
 
 The pastor heard him patiently, and when he had fin- 
 ished, inquired, Mr. G., are you prepared for death 
 and the final Judgment?” I cannot say I am.” 
 
 The pastor remained silent for a short time, and then 
 said, Let us pray.” With this he knelt down, and 
 presented all the difficulties of the case before God. 
 The prayer was fervent, solemn, and earnest. 
 
 Mr. G. retired somewhat abruptly, and complained to 
 his friends that his difficulties had been evaded, and 
 prayer had been resorted to as a subterfuge. But that 
 prayer proved more effectual than controversy. The 
 young man afterwards confessed it so. 
 
 I was displeased,” he wrote, with your sermon, be- 
 cause Ifelt it to he true, and I hoped to perplex you by 
 discussion, and thus ease my own conscience. But the 
 Holy Spirit triumphed, and I am a brand plucked out 
 of the fire .” — Christian Treasury, 
 
 CONVERSATION.— Ps. xix. 14; xxxiv. 13; xlv. 
 2 ; cxli. 3 ; cxlv. 11 ; Prov. x. 11, 19-21 ; xv. 23 ; xviii. 
 4, 7, 21; Eccl. v. 3 ; x. 11-14; xii. 11; Mai. hi. 16; 
 Matt. xii. 36, 37 ; Luke xxiv. 32 ; John iv. 27 ; Eph. 
 iv. 29 ; V. 4 ; Col. iv. 6. 
 
 Our conversation need not always be of grace, but 
 it should always be witJb grace .” — Mattheiv Henry, 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 79 
 
 John Locke, having been introduced by the Earl of 
 Shaftesbury to the Duke of Buccleuch and Lord Halifax, 
 these three, after a while, sat down, and began to play 
 at cards. Locke began to write ; when one of them 
 asked him what he was writing. ‘‘ My Lord,’’ said he, 
 ‘‘having waited with impatience for the honour of being 
 in company with the greatest geniuses of the age, I 
 thought I could do nothing better than write down vour 
 conversation.” The well-timed ridicule had the desired 
 effect, and the party quitted their play, and entered into 
 a conversation more worthy the dignity of their character. 
 
 Bishop Latimer, when examined before Bonner, at 
 first answered without much thought and care ; but pre- 
 sently hearing the rustling of a pen behind the curtain^ 
 he perceived that his words were being taken down. Oh, 
 if Christians would remember that the recording angel is 
 always so near them, how much more circumspect and 
 holy would their conversation be. 
 
 Instances are recorded, without number, of the influence 
 of conversation for good or bad, — 
 
 Henry Martyn. — It is said to have been a sino^le re- 
 mark of Simeon’s, at Cambridge, about the blessing that 
 had followed Dr. Carey in India, that first awakened 
 Henry Martyn to the cause of Missions. 
 
 Wilberforce. — It was in a conversation at Xice about 
 some Evangelical clergyman, who, he thought, carried 
 things too far, that Milner proposed to read the Greek 
 Testament together daily with him. The plan was agreed 
 to, and the entrance of the Word thus gave light to the 
 great statesman’s mind, and was one chief means of his 
 conversion. 
 
 (See also Books,) 
 
80 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 The Countess of Huntingdon was once speaking to 
 a workman who was repairing a garden wall, and press- 
 ing upon his care the welfare of his soul. Some time 
 after she spoke to another workman, Thomas, I fear 
 you never pray, nor look to Christ for salvation.’' 
 ‘‘Your Ladyship is mistaken," said the man; and, on 
 asking him what first led him to turn to Christ, he said, 
 “I heard what passed between you and James at such a 
 time, and the word you designed for Jiim^ took hold of 
 meJ' “ How did you hear it?" “I heard it on the 
 other side of the garden, through a hole in the wall, and 
 shall never forget the impression I received." Thus 
 does the Spirit illustrate his own Word. (Eccl. xi. 1, 6.) 
 
 [See similar instances, midier Pi^ovidenceJ] 
 
 The Rev. Spencer Thornton. — It was the excellent 
 rule he used to make : — In every call, leave at least one 
 word for Christ." 
 
 CONVERSION.— Ps. xix. 7; Matt, xviii. 3; John 
 iii. 5 ; Acts iii. 19 ; James v. 19. 
 
 “ Many persons come to the right point in conversion, 
 but they never shove off. I question them about their 
 state, and I find all as it should be; but they are waiting 
 for something — they know not what, — standing still in 
 thought and feeling." — Beecher. 
 
 The instrumental causes of, would form a deeply in- 
 teresting record, but far transcend the limits of this 
 book. (See Index, for some illustrations, mh voce Con- 
 version.) 
 
 God’s Word. See “Illuminated Bible" (Scripture). 
 
 God’s Providence. — The celebrated Mr. Alexander 
 Henderson (seventeenth century) was presented to the 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 81 
 
 parish of Leuchan, Fife. His settlement was so un- 
 popular, that on the day of his ordination the church 
 doors were shut, and secured by the people, so that the 
 minister who attended, and the precentor, were obliged 
 to go in by the window. Shortly after, having heard of 
 a communion in the neighbourhood, at which Mr. Bruce 
 was to be an assistant, he went thither secretly, and, for 
 fear of attracting notice, placed himself in a dark corner 
 of the church. Mr. Bruce, having come into the pulpit, 
 paused for a little, as was his manner, — a circumstance 
 which excited Mr. Henderson’s surprise, — but it aston- 
 ished him the more, when he heard the text announced, 
 “ He that entereth not in by the door^ but climbeth up some 
 other ivay^ the same is a thief and a robber. (John x. 1.) 
 The words so struck his heart that he could not forget 
 them, but they proved the means of his conversion to 
 God. 
 
 God’s Spirit suggesting a sudden impulse upon the 
 mind. Cennick, an excellent and devoted minister, was 
 thus impressed, while walking along Cheapside. 
 
 Affliction. — “ I could never see till I was blind.” 
 
 The counsel of Christian People. 
 
 “Just AS I am.” — An Indian and a white man at 
 worship together, were both brought under conviction 
 by the same sermon. The Indian was shortly after led 
 to rejoice in pardoning mercy. The white man, for a 
 long time, was under distress of mind, and at times ready 
 to despair, but he was at last brought also to a comfortable 
 experience of forgiving love. Some time after, meeting 
 his red brother, he thus addressed him, “ How is it that 
 I should be so long under conviction, when you found 
 comfort so soon?” “ Oh, brother,” replied the Indian, 
 
 G 
 
82 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 me tell you. There come along a rich prince. He 
 propose to give you a mw coat. You look at your coat, 
 and say, ‘ I don’t know ; my coat pretty good. I think 
 it will do a little longer.’ He then offer me new coat. 
 I look on my old blanket. I say, ^ This good for noth- 
 ing.’ I fling it right away, and accept the beautiful 
 garment. Just so, brother, you try to keep your own 
 righteousness for some time ; you loathe to give it up ; 
 but I, poor Indian, had none ; therefore, I glad at once 
 to receive the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.” 
 
 CONVICTION.— Jer. iv. 3 ; John xvi. 8, 9 ; Acts 
 ii. 37 ; ix. 6 ; xvi. 30. 
 
 . like an arrow — axe — hammer — ploughshare — 
 
 north wind. 
 
 SHOULD BE DEEP. — For want of this, how many 
 
 are like Pliable, in the ‘‘Pilgrim’s Progress,” who went 
 with Christian a little way. He was ravished with the 
 glory of the prospect, but felt no burden upon his back ; 
 so, when they came to the Slough of Despond, he was 
 at once disheartened, and turned back again ; yea, began 
 to ridicule his former efforts. 
 
 If Stifled, harden. 
 
 “ As the worst traveling is, when the road is frozen 
 after a thaw, so those are frequently the most hardened 
 who have had some convictions — who have had some 
 knowledge of the Gospel, and some religious affection, 
 and have then relapsed into their natural hard-hearted- 
 ness.” — Arrow smith. 
 
 CREATURE COMFORTS. Ps. xx. 7, 8 ; Isa. xl. 
 6-8 ; Jer. ii. 13 ; Jonah ii. 8 ; Micah vii. 5-7 ; 1 Cor. vii. 
 29-31; Gal. v. 24; 1 John ii. 15-17. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 83 
 
 Luther used to say, — The greatest temptation the 
 devil has for the Christian is comfort.” 
 
 Trust not so much to the comforts of God as to the 
 God of comforts.” — Mason. 
 
 ‘‘May 9. — How kindly has God thwarted me in every 
 instance where I sought to enslave myself. I will learn 
 at last to glory in disappointments.” — M‘Cheyne. 
 
 Cf. The Manna. Israelites taught moderation by— 
 
 KibrotMiattaavaJi. Numbers xi. 31-35. 
 
 Cherith. 1 Kings xvii. 1-15. Trial of faith, 
 
 1. Elijah was in the path of duty. 2. It failed gradually. 
 3. It was the withdrawal of life’s necessaries, not luxuries. 
 Yet see the 'wisdom and goodness of Providence. Elijah 
 was taught many useful lessons of trust and preparation for 
 future work, and God provided for his wants. When one 
 supply fails, God can furnish another. It was only sending 
 the man of God from Cherith to Zarephath. 
 
 Jonalis 0-ourd. Jonah iv. 
 
 “ 1. Creature comforts are short-lived. 2. The comforts we 
 most delight in are generally the first to perish. 8. Our com- 
 forts often perish from unforeseen and inconsiderable causes. 4. 
 They perish often, when most needed.” — Bradley. 
 
 “Hq builds too low, who builds below the skies.” — 
 
 “ Build not thy nest on any tree of earth, seeing God 
 hath sold the forest to death.” — Rutherford. 
 
 “ I fear that I adore his comforts more than himself, 
 and that I love the apple of life more than the tree of 
 life. ” — Rutherford. 
 
 -A-pp. — 1. The poor. Ps. xxxiv. 10. 
 
 2. The distressed. Ps. xlii. 11. 
 
 3. The distrustful. Ps. xxxvii. 3-7. 
 
84 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 4. The earthly-minded. Jonah ii. 8 ; Isa. Iv. 
 2 ; Col. hi. 2. 
 
 CRITICISING SPIRIT. 
 
 How often ministers and parents speak very unwisely 
 of the sermons they have heard, and of the characters 
 of Christian people, before their own children and ser- 
 vants, and their friends and visitors ! 
 
 Sept. 2. — Sabbath Evening. — Reading. Too much 
 engrossed and too little devotional. Preparation for a 
 fall. Warning. We may be too engrossed with the 
 shell even of heavdfily things.’' — M^Qheyne's Life. 
 
 CURSE. 
 
 ^‘Believers undergo many crosses, but no curses." — 
 ArrowsmitJi. 
 
 A saint doth pray, not only that the curse may be 
 removed, which sin hath brought, but that the sin may 
 be removed, w’hich brought the curse. 
 
 Ebal (which, according to Gesenius, means, void of 
 leaver). How could Israel respond ‘‘Amen" to the 
 curses pronounced from thence ? They saw on Ebal 
 that altar which Joshua had built, and on which had 
 been offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings to the 
 Lord. Thus we see how Gal. hi. 13, delivers us from 
 terror, — “ Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the 
 law, being made a curse for us." It was like the halle- 
 lujah over the smoke of torment. The law was illumin- 
 ated by the blaze of the altar fire. 
 
 DANCING. 
 
 “ Attending places of vain and fashionable amusement 
 tends to stifle all serious reflection, and cherish a vain 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS* 
 
 85 
 
 and airy temper, and to promote an idle and dissolute 
 life. It tends to make youn;^ people forget that they 
 are sinners, and that they must die and come to judg- 
 ment. It tends to make them neglect reading, medita- 
 tion, and secret prayer. It tends to render them deaf 
 to all inward warnings of God's Spirit, and to the checks 
 of their own consciences, and deaf to all the outward 
 calls of the Gospel, the counsels of their ministers, their 
 parents, and other spiritual friends." — Br, Bellamy, 
 
 Eternity. — A gay and worldly ladj had a pious 
 servant. Night after night she was kept up till four or 
 five o’clock, waiting for her mistress’s return from her 
 fashionable parties ; and night after night she was found 
 reading the Bible, or some good book. One night, the 
 mistress looked over her shoulder, and asked, laughing, 
 ‘‘What melancholy stuff are you reading this time?’’ 
 But her eye caught the word Eternity ; and suddenly 
 the laugh was changed for a strange feeling of sadness. 
 Sleep fled from her eyes, and mirth from her heart, and 
 the word Eternity still haunted her, until a conviction 
 of her unprepared state led to serious inquiry, and that 
 to a full surrender of her heart to God. 
 
 The SCRIPTURAL DANCES afi*ord no warrant for dancing 
 at the present day, and as at present practiced. They 
 were (1), only on particular and festive occasions ; (2), 
 for religious cheerfulness, not for sensual pleasure ; (3), 
 not mixed, but for one sex only, — all men, or all maidens, 
 — generally the latter ; (4), held in the day chiefly, not 
 by night. Besides which, we often see the evil resulting 
 from them, because perverted. 
 
 DAY OF GRACE. — Ps. cx. 3 ; Prov'. x. 5; Jer. viii. 
 
 8 
 
86 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 20 ; Matt. xx. 1-7 ; Luke xix. 41, 42 ; John ix. 4 ; xi. 
 9 ; xii. 35 ; xvii. 4 ; Rom. xii. 11, 12 ; 2 Cor. vi. 2 ; 
 1 Thess. V. 5, 8 ; Heb. iv. 7. Called a day^ which is — 
 
 1. A short time, and therefore calls for diligence. 1 
 Sam. xxi. 8. The King’s business requires haste. 
 
 2. A limited time, beyond which there is no mercy. 
 Eccl. ix. 10 ; Luke xiii. 9. 
 
 3. A varying time ; as summer days are longer than 
 winter days ; and there are sunny days and cloudy days. 
 
 But the rainbow of God’s mercy is seen only in the 
 day of grace. We should look for it in vain in the night 
 of eternal darkness. 
 
 A Roman Captive. — I t is recorded of a Roman 
 prince, that when a captive whom he had taken de- 
 manded time to deliberate, whether he would be the 
 enemy of Rome, or not, the prince drew a circle round 
 him, with the end of his rod, and required him to decide 
 before he left that circle. So does God deal with sin- 
 ners. Rev. ii. 21 ; Isa. Iv. 6 ; Prov. i. 20-33. 
 
 DAY OF JUDGMENT. — Matt. xxv. ; John v. 22; 
 Acts xvii. 21 ; Rom. ii. 16 ; 2 Cor. v. 10 ; Heb. ix. 27 ; 
 Rev. vi. 12-17 ; xx. 1, 12. 
 
 ' That day,'' An expression often used by St. Paul, 
 of the day of judgment, as if it were a time so often 
 thought of, that he need say no more. 2 Tim. i. 12, 18 ; 
 iv. 8. Cf. Luke x. 12. 
 
 Compared to, — the Harvest — Reckoning of accounts 
 — Separation (tares and wheat, sheep and goats, good 
 and bad fish) — Vintage — Winnowing — (For suddenness) 
 — Thief in the night — lightning — snare — trumpet. Cf. 
 Judges vii. 20-22. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 87 
 
 The Three Friends. — “ I have read of a man who 
 had a suit, and when his cause was to be heard, he ap- 
 plied himself to three friends, to see what they would do. 
 One answered, he would bring him as far on his journey 
 as he could; the second promised him that he would go 
 with him to his journey’s end ; the third engaged to go 
 with him before the judge, and to speak for him, and 
 not to leave him till his cause was heard and determined. 
 These three are, a man’s riches, his friends, and his 
 graces ; his riches will help him to comfortable accom- 
 modation, while they stay with him ; hut they often take 
 leave of a man, before his soul takes leave of his body ; 
 his friends will go with him to the grave, and then leave 
 him ; hut his graces will accompany him before God. 
 They will not leave him nor forsake him ; they will go 
 to the grave and to glory with him.” — Brooks. 
 
 “Will my Case be called to-day?” So asked a 
 client of his lawyer, with the greatest eagerness, having 
 heard that the Lord Chancellor’s decision was expected. 
 “ Are you sure,” was his anxious inquiry, “that nothing 
 is left undone ? If judgment is pronounced against me, 
 I am a ruined man;” The lawyer was a Christian man, 
 and the question suggested to him the solemn inquiry, 
 “ What if my case come on to-day before the Eternal 
 Judge, whose sentence there is no reversing ! Am I 
 prepared?” Let every reader of this hook put the im- 
 portant question to himself — Is nothing left undone for 
 me ? 
 
 An Infidel was introduced by a gentleman to a min- 
 ister with the remark, “ He never attends public wor- 
 ship.” “ Ah,” said the minister, “ I hope you are mis- 
 taken.” “ By no means,” said the stranger, “I always 
 
88 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS, 
 
 spend S-unday in settling my accounts.” “ Then, alas !” 
 ■was the calm, but solemn reply, “ you will find, Sir, that 
 the Day of Judgment loill be spent in the same manner.” 
 The Interpreter’s House. — There (in the “Pil- 
 grim’s Progress ”) Christian was shown an awful picture, 
 in the man who, as he got out of bed, shook and trem- 
 bled, because he had heard the shout, “ Arise, ye dead, 
 and come to judgment !” (See the whole account). 
 
 “What hoes that remind you oe?” — J. B. .walked 
 home with me, telling me what God had done for his 
 soul, when one day I had stopped at the quarry, on ac- 
 count of a shO’Wer of rain, and took shelter with my pony 
 in the engine-house. I had simply pointed to the fire 
 of the furnace, and said, “ What does that remind you 
 of?” and the words had remained deep in the man’s 
 soul. — M^'Oheyne's Life. 
 
 Eccl. si. 9; Amos iv. 12; v, 18-20; Matt, xiii. 40-43; Luke 
 X. 12-15 ; xii. 8-10; 1 Gor. i. 8 ; 2 Tim. iv. 8. 
 
 DEATH. — Gen. Hi. 19 ; xxiii. 4 ; Josh. xxiii. 14, 
 15; 2 Sam. xiv. 14; Job i. 21; vii. ; xiv. ; xxix. 18; 
 Ps. xxxix. ; Ixxxii, 6, 7; xc. ; cxvi. 15; Prov. xiv. 32; 
 Eccl. vii. 1 ; ix. 10; xii.; Luke xxiii. 46; John xxi. 
 19; Acts vii. 59, 60; Rom. v. 12; vi. 23; 1 Cor. hi. 
 21, 22 ; XV. ; 2 Cor. xi. 23 (?) ; Phil. i. 21-23 ; hi. 21 ; 
 
 2 Tim. i. 10-12; Heb. ii. 9, 15; ix. 27; xi. 13, 21, 
 22; Rev. i. 18; ii. 10; xiv. 13. 
 
 Numb, xxiii. 10. — “ Let me die the death of the 
 righteous, and let my last end be like his.” (Spoken 
 near Pisgah.) 
 
 Balaam has been well called the ‘‘Judas of the Old Testa- 
 ment,” Contrast his pious profession with his mournful end ; 
 and let it be an example to those who trust in good wishes and 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS* 
 
 89 
 
 vain desires. “ Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, 
 for the end of that man is peace.” (Ps. xxxvii. 37). Cf. Is. 
 xxxiii. 14. 
 
 Deut. xxxiv. 5. — “ So Moses, the servant of the Lord, 
 died there in the land of Moab, according to the word 
 of the Lord ; and he buried him.” 
 
 “ Moses had just sung, ‘ There is none like unto the God of 
 Jeshurun. . . . The Eternal God is thy refuge, and under- 
 
 neath are the everlasting arms.’ And so he is laid to rest. And 
 lo ! fifteen hundred years afterwards, how safe he is! — how 
 blessed! for, ‘ there appeared unto them Elias with Moses, and 
 they were talking with Jesus.’ ” (Mark ix. 4.) — Bonar. 
 
 Compare these two. Very near the place where Ba- 
 laam was, Moses died ; yet what a difference ■ 
 
 There are many who desire to die the death of the 
 righteous, but do not endeavor to live the life of the 
 righteous. Gladly would they have their end like theirs, 
 but not their vray. They would be saints in heaven, but 
 not saints on earth .” — Mattlievj Henry, 
 
 Ps. xxiii. 4. — Yea, though I walk through the val- 
 ley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil ; for Thou 
 art with me ; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” 
 
 “Here is one word, indeed, which sounds terrible; it is, 
 death, which we must all count upon ; there is no discharge in 
 that war. But, even in the supposition of the distress, there 
 are four words which lessen the terror. 1. It is but the shadow 
 of death; there is no substantial evil in it. The shadow of a 
 serpent will not sting, nor the shadow of a sword kill. 2. It 
 is the valley of the shadow; deep, indeed, and dark, and dirty; 
 but the valleys are fruitful, and so death itself is fruitful of 
 comforts to God’s people. 3. It is but a walk in this valley, a 
 gentle, pleasant walk. The wicked are chased out of the world, 
 and their souls are required, but the saints take a walk to an- 
 other world as cheerfully as they take their leave of this. 4. It 
 8 * 
 
90 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 is a walk through it, they shall not be lost in the valley, hut get 
 safe to the mountain of spices on the other side of it.” — 3IaU 
 thew Henry, 
 
 Ps. xlviii. 14. — This God is our God for ever and 
 ever; He will be our guide unto death.’’ 
 
 Unto death, and over death. 
 
 “ ITot one object of his care 
 Ever suffered shipwreck there.” — Bonar. 
 
 Luke vii. 13. — And when the Lord saw her, He had 
 compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.” 
 
 “ Here learn, that (1), Death is the great destroyer of hap- 
 piness ; hut (2), Jesus is the destroyer of death.” — Dr. Hamilton 
 
 Emblems of : Water spilt on the ground, 2 Sam. xiv. 
 
 14. — Sleep (calm and peaceful, from which there is a 
 joyous waking), John xi. 11. — Cutting down the grass 
 or the flower (difference of rank or age, but all alike 
 leveled by the mower’s scythe), Ps. xc. 5, 6. — Desolat- 
 ing flood (violent and irresistible), Ps. xc. 5. — A shadow 
 (fleeting and harmless), [see above]. — A valley (deep 
 and dark, but fruitful), Ps. xxiii. 4 ; Hos. ii. 15. — A 
 tent taken down, 2 Cor. v. 1. — A change of place (from 
 a world of trial to a world of triumph ; from the wilder- 
 ness to Canaan), Phil. i. 23. — Passing over Jordan.* 
 Jer. xii. 5. 
 
 To the Believer, is but putting oS* rags for robes, 
 going out of one room of his Father’s house to another, 
 more fair and light ; falling asleep in his Father’s arms ; 
 being ejected from a decaying cottage to be taken to a 
 palace : like a child being sent for home, from school. 
 
 * Jordan (the river of judgment, divided for Israel and Elijah 
 to pass tlirough, and in which our Saviour was baptized). 2 Kings 
 ii. 14. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATEERIXG3. 
 
 91 
 
 It is remarkable that we have three instances in Scrip- 
 ture, in which the exact time of death was foretold ; yet 
 we find this solemn warning ineffectual to save the person 
 warned : — 
 
 Hezekiah, fifteen years. Is. xxxviii. ; yet see chap, 
 xxxix. 1-7. 
 
 Hananiah, one year. Jer. xxviii. 16, IT. 
 
 The rich fool, one dav. Luke xii. 20. 
 
 Marriage Service. — TThat service is considered to 
 be so joyful and cheering as the marriage service ? 
 Where should ive look to find real happiness, at least ex- 
 pected, if not there ? Yet hov death creeps in I — “ To 
 have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for 
 worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to 
 love and to cherish, till death us do part” ! 
 
 “ Here lie the rejiaixs of And is this 
 
 all of beauty, rank, and power ? 
 
 Turk’s Turbak, the origin of, is supposed by many 
 to have heen the wearing of the winding-sheet, to remind 
 the wearer of his own mortality. 
 
 Color of Mourxikg. — It is singular to observe the 
 different colors different countries have adopted for 
 mourning. In Europe, black is generally used, as re- 
 presenting darkness, which death is like to. In China, 
 white, because they hope that the dead are in heaven, the 
 place of purity. In Egypt, yellow, representing the de- 
 cay of trees and fiowers. In Ethiopia, hroicn, the color 
 of the earth from whence man is taken, and to which he 
 returns. In some parts of Turkey, blue, representing 
 the sky, where they hope the dead are gone; but in 
 other parts, purple, or violet, because, being a kind of 
 
92 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE UATHERlNG^* 
 
 mixture of black and blue, it represents, as it were, sor- 
 row on one side and hope on the other, --^Encyc, Brit, 
 EARTHEisr Vessels, under the ceremonial law, if they 
 were polluted, there was no way but to break them ; so 
 there is no way of purifying oUr sinful bodies but by 
 breaking them by death.” — Hopkins, 
 
 My death will be no more regarded by the world 
 than that of a worm or a fly ; but it will be of infinite 
 consequence to me .” — Adam s Private Thoughts, 
 
 Sand-blind were our hope if it could not look beyond 
 the water to our best heritage.” — Rutherford, 
 
 Hallyburton.— I am not acting the fool,” were 
 his words to his physician the day before his death ; 
 
 but I have weighed eternity during the past night, I 
 have looked on death as stripped of all things pleasant 
 to me ; I have considered the spade and the grave ; and 
 in view of all this I have found that in the way of God 
 which gives me satisfaction and makes my heart rejoice.” 
 A PROPER view of death may be useful to abate most 
 of the irregular passions. Thus, for instance, we may 
 see what avarice comes to in the coffin of the miser ; — 
 this is the man who could never be satisfied with riches ; 
 but see now a few boards enclose him, and a few square 
 inches contain him. Study ambition in the grave of that 
 enterprising man ; see his great designs, his boundless 
 expedients, are all shattered and sunk in this fatal gulf 
 of all human projects. Approach the tomb of the proud 
 man ; see the haughty countenance dreadfully disfigured, 
 and the tongue that spoke the most lofty things con- 
 demned to eternal silence. Go to the tomb of the mon- 
 arch, and there study quality ; behold his great titles, 
 his royal robes, and all his flatteries,— all are no more 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS/ 
 
 93 
 
 for ever in this world. Behold the consequence of in- 
 temperance in the tomb of the glutton ; see his appetite 
 now fully satiated, his senses destroyed, and his bones 
 scattered. Thus the tombs of the wicked condemn their 
 practice, and strongly recommend virtue.” — Saurin. 
 
 If a man were tied fast to a stake, at whom a most 
 cunning archer did shoot, and, wounding many about 
 him, some above and below, some beyond and some 
 short, some on this hand and some on that, and the poor 
 wretch himself so fast bound to the stake that it were 
 not possible for him in any way to escape, would it not 
 be deemed madness in him if, in the meantime, forgetting 
 his misery and danger, he should carelessly fall to bib 
 and quaff, to laugh and be merry, as if he could not be 
 touched at all ? Who would not judge such a man be- 
 side himself that should not provide for his end ? Such 
 Bedlamites are most amongst us who, knowing and un- 
 derstanding that the most expert archer that ever was, 
 even God himself, hath whet his sword, and bent his 
 bow, and made it ready ; and hath also prepared for him 
 the instruments of death, and ordained his arrows (Ps. 
 vii. 12, 13) ; yea, that He hath already shot forth his 
 arrows and darts of death, and hath hit those that are 
 above us, superiors and elders ; such as be ever near us, 
 kindred and allies, on the right hand our friends, on the 
 left our enemies ; yet we think to be free, sit still as men 
 and women unconcerned, not so much as once thinking 
 that our turn may be next.” — Spencer. 
 
 Put the case that one man should give unto another 
 many loaves of bread, conditional that he should every 
 day eat one ; but if the party should come to know that 
 in one of them lay hid a parcel of deadly poison, yet in 
 
94 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 which of them it was he should be utterly ignorant, oh, 
 how careful would he be in tasting any of them, lest he 
 should light upon that which might prove his fatal de- 
 struction ! Thus it is that God hath given to us many 
 days, — to some more, to some less, — but in one of these 
 He hath, unknown to us, conveyed the bitter sting of 
 death ; and it may so fall out that in the day of our 
 greatest rejoicing a deadly cup of poison may be reached 
 out unto us. Death, like an unbidden guest, may rush 
 in upon us, and spoil all our mirth on a sudden. Oh, 
 how watchful, how diligent, should the consideration of 
 these things make every one of us to be to look upon 
 every day as the day of our death, every breathing the 
 last breathing we shall make ; to think, upon the ring- 
 ing of every passing bell, that ours may be the next ; 
 upon hearing the clock strike, that there is one hour less 
 to live, and one step nearer to our long home — ^ the 
 house appointed for all living !’ ” — Ihid. 
 
 Pilgrim’s Progress. — Now I farther saw that be- 
 twixt them and the gate was a river ; but there was no 
 bridge to go over, and the river was very deep. At the 
 sight, therefore, of this river the pilgrims were much 
 stunned ; but the men that went with them said, " You 
 must go through, or you cannot come at the gate.’ They 
 then addressed themselves to the water, and, entering, 
 Christian began to sink ; and crying out to his good 
 friend Hopeful, he said, ‘ I sink in deep waters ; the bil- 
 lows go over my head; all his wwes go over me. Se- 
 lah.’ Then said the other, ‘Be of good cheer, my bro- 
 ther; I feel the bottom, and it is good.’ Then said 
 Christian, ‘Ah! my friend, the sorrow of death hath 
 compassed me about ; I shall not see the land that flows 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 95 
 
 with milk and honey.’ And with that a great darkness 
 and horror fell upon Christian, so that he could not see 
 before him. Hopeful therefore here had much ado to 
 keep his brother’s head above water ; yea, sometimes he 
 would be quite gone down, and then ere a while would 
 rise up again half dead. Hopeful did also endeavor to 
 comfort him, saying, ^ Brother, I see the gate, and men 
 standing by to receive us but Christian would answer, 
 ‘ It is you they wait for; you have been hopeful ever 
 since I knew you.’ ^ And so have you,’ said he to Chris- 
 tian. ‘Ah, brother,’ said he, ‘surely if I was right. He 
 would now rise to help me ; but for my sins He hath 
 brought me into the snare, and hath left me.’ Then I 
 saw in my dream that Christian was in a muse awhile. 
 To whom also Hopeful added these words, — ‘Be of good 
 cheer ; Jesus Christ maketh thee whole.’ And with that 
 Christian brake out with a loud voice, ‘ Oh, I see him 
 again, and he tells me, “ When thou passest through the 
 waters, I will be with thee ; and through the rivers, they 
 shall not overflow thee.” ’ Then they both took courage, 
 and the enemy was after that as still as a stone until 
 they were gone over. Christian therefore presently 
 found ground to stand upon ; and so it followed that the 
 rest of the river was but shallow, but thus they got over.” 
 Rowland Hill. — During the last two or three years 
 of Rowland Hill’s life he very frequently repeated the 
 following lines : — 
 
 “ And when I’m to die, 
 
 Receive me, I’ll cry, 
 
 Ror Jesus has loved me, I cannot tell why : 
 
 But this I do find, 
 
 We two are so joined, 
 
 He’ll not be in glory and leave me behind.” 
 
96 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 The last time he occupied my pulpit,” writes his 
 friend and neighbor, the Rev. George Clayton, when 
 he preached excellently in behalf of a charitable institu- 
 tion, he retired to the vestry after service under feelings 
 of great exhaustion. Here he remained until all but 
 ourselves had left the place. At length he seemed, with 
 some reluctance, to summon energy enough to take his 
 departure, intimating that it was probably the last time 
 
 he should preach in W -. I offered my arm, \vhich 
 
 he declined, and then follow^ed him as he passed down 
 the aisle of the chapel. The lights were nearly extin- 
 guished, silence was profound. Nothing, indeed, was 
 heard but the slow, majestic tread of his own foot-steps; 
 when, in an undertone, he thus soliloquized : — 
 
 ‘‘ ‘And when I’m to die,’ &c. 
 
 To my heart this was a scene of unequaled solemnity ; 
 nor can I ever recur to it without a revival of that 
 hallowed, sacred, shuddering sympathy which it first 
 awakened.” 
 
 When the good old saint lay literally dying, and ap* 
 parently unconscious, a friend put his mouth close to his 
 ear, and slowly repeated his favorite lines, — 
 
 “And when I’m to die,” &c. 
 
 The light came back to his fast-fading eye, a smile over- 
 spread his face, and his lips moved in a vain attempt to 
 articulate the words. This was the last sign of con- 
 sciousness he ever gave. 
 
 We could almost wish that every disciple of Christ 
 would commit these lines, quaint as they are, to memory, 
 and weave them into the web of his Christian experience. 
 Confidence in Christ and undeviating adherence to Ilirriy 
 can alone enable us to triumph in life and death. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 97 
 
 DEATH OF CHRIST.-Isa. liii.; Dan. ix. 26; Zach. 
 xiii. 7 ; Luke xxiv. 46 ; John iii. 14, 15 ; x. 17, 18 ; xii. 
 24, 32; Heb. ii. 9; xii. 2. 
 
 Typified.— Isaac, Gen. xxii.; paschal lamb. Ex. xii., 
 the sacrifices, burnt-ofi’ering, sin-offering, &c. ; sacrifices 
 on Day of Atonement, Lev. xvi. 15; scapegoat. Lev. 
 xvi. 20 ; smiting of the rock. Ex. xvii. 6 ; brazen serpent, 
 John iii. 14, 15. 
 
 “I should think, if a person were saved from death by 
 another, he would always feel deep grief if his deliverer 
 lost his life in the attempt. I had a friend who, stand- 
 ing by the side of a piece of frozen water, saw a young 
 lad in it, and sprang upon the ice in order to save him. 
 After clutching the hoy, he held him in his hands, and 
 cried out, ‘ Here he is ! here he is ! I have saved him !’ 
 But, just as he caught hold of the boy, he sank himself, 
 and his body was not found for some time afterwards, 
 when he was quite dead. Oh, it is so with Jesus. My 
 soul was drowned. From heaven’s high portals He saw 
 me sinking in the depth of hell. He plunged in. 
 
 “ ‘He sank beneath his heavy woes, 
 
 To raise me to a crown ; 
 
 There's ne’er a gift his hand bestows, 
 
 But cost his heart a groan.’ 
 
 “ Ah, we may indeed regret our sin, since it slew 
 0 esus/ ' — Spurgeon, 
 
 Good Friday. — The Rev. George Wagner speaks, in 
 his ‘^Life,” of being called to visit a poor man, who had 
 to undergo a painful operation, and begged that it might 
 he deferred to Good Friday, that he might fix his mind 
 more fully upon the sufferings of Christ. 
 
 There are few stronger proofs of the indifference of the 
 
98 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERTNUS. 
 
 natural heart to Christ, than the way in ivhich so many 
 spend Good Friday, as a day of pleasure and amusement. 
 Christ was six hours upon the cross, in agony for us; we 
 cannot bear to sit one hour to hear of it. 
 
 ‘‘ Death stung himself to death, when he stung Christ.’* 
 — Romaine, 
 
 DEBT. — Lev. xix. 13; 1 Sam. xxii. 2; Matt. vi. 12; 
 xviii. 32, 33; Rom. xiii. 8. 
 
 Ejected Ministers. — Philip Henry remarks it, as a 
 'wonderful providence, that during the persecution of the 
 2,000 ejected ministers, notwithstanding many were very 
 poor, and had such large families, he never heard of one 
 arrested for debt. 
 
 DECEIT. — Ps. V. 6; Prov. xi. 1; xx. 17; Isa. liii. 
 9 ; Jer. xlviii. 10 ; Matt. xiii. 22 ; Eph. iv. 22 ; Heb. 
 iii. 13; 2 Pet. ii. 13. 
 
 Compared to a deceitful how^ Hosea vii. 16. — A sum- 
 mer brook, Job vi. 15. (Cf. Isa. Iviii. 11.) — A dishonest 
 merchant, Hosea xii. 7. — The daughters of Zion, Isa. iii. 
 16. — Decoy birds, Jer. v. 27. 
 
 Trust not the whiteness of his turban ; he bought 
 the soap on credit .” — Turkish Proverb. 
 
 One of those sins we often see punished retributively 
 in this world. Those sins chiefly cry to God, concerning 
 which human laws are silent. 
 
 Leads to falsehood, cowardice, flattery, &c. 
 
 Ex. Satan, Rebekah and Jacob, Laban, Levi and 
 Simeon, Ehud, Delilah, David, Simon (Acts viii. 9). 
 
 Cf. David. Ps. ci. — Nathaniel. John i. 47. — Jesus. 
 1 Pet. ii. 22. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 99 
 
 DECREES, Divine, The. — A person, whose life had 
 been anything but that of a genuine Christian, was, 
 nevertheless, a great speculator on the high points of 
 theology. This remained with him till he came to his 
 deathbed, when he became perplexed with knotty ques- 
 tions about the Divine decrees. Thomas Orr, a person 
 of very different character, was sitting beside him, en- 
 deavoring to turn his mind to his more immediate wants. 
 ^^Ah, William,” said he, ‘‘this is the decree you have 
 at present to do with,^‘ He that believeth shall be saved ; 
 he that believeth not shall be damned.’ ” 
 
 DEDICATION TO GOD.— Numb. vii. 10; 1 Kings 
 vii. 51; 2 Chron. xxxi. 12; Ezra vi. 16; Rom. xii. 1; 
 xiv. 7, 8; 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20; 1 Peter iv. 2-4. 
 
 Cf. the many examples of, under the Jewish econ- 
 omy : — 
 
 The humt offering, wholly consumed ; the meat offer- 
 ing, offered with the burnt offering, representing the 
 offerer pardoned and accepted, and then presenting him- 
 self to the Lord ; and this offered with the drmk offering, 
 showing the cheerfulness of the surrender (1 Sam. i. 24; 
 X. 3); without leaven or honey (carnal corruption), but 
 with salt (purity and friendship.) 
 
 There was also express provision made that the poor 
 might bring their offering (Lev. ii. 7, 14); and upon all 
 was oil (setting apart), and frankincense (acceptance). 
 
 Cf., also, the special offerings, — first-fruits^ tithes^ 
 thank-offerings^ Kazarites^ voivs^ 
 
 “Like the child with the stalk of grapes, who picked 
 one grape after another from the cluster, and held it out 
 to her father, till, as affection waxed warm, and self faded, 
 
100 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 she gaily flung the whole into her father’s bosom, and 
 smiled in his face with triumphant delight; so let us do, 
 until, loosening from every comfort, and independent of 
 the help of broken cisterns, we can say, ‘ I am not my 
 own.’ ‘Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is 
 none upon earth that I desire beside Thee.’ ” — Bonar. 
 
 “And here we offer and present unto Thee, 0 Lord, 
 ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, 
 and lively sacrifice unto Thee,” &c. — Communion Ser- 
 vice. 
 
 Application. — Ps. cxvi. 12. A solemn question for 
 Christians. — My heart — my body — house (Deut. xx. 5; 
 Ps. XXX., titlcj) — purse — time — influence. How much is 
 dedicated to the Lord ? 
 
 Remember Acts v. 1-11 ; 2 Cor. viii. 
 
 DELAYS — God’s.— Ps. xiii. 1; Ixix. 3 ; Ixxvii. 7-13; 
 Hab. i. 2. 
 
 Cf. Abraham, long waiting for Isaac; then (Gen. xx’ . 
 4, 9, 10), the third day, bound him, stretched forth his 
 hand; then 11-14. Joseph and David. Long, anxious 
 years before their advance. 
 
 Jesus. Matt. xiv. 25 (fourth watch, almost daybreak); 
 John xi. 5, 6. 
 
 Matt. XV. 23. “ It is said, ‘ He answered him not a 
 
 word ;’ but it is not said, ‘ He heard not a word.’ These 
 two differ much. Christ often heareth, when He doth 
 not answer. His not answering is an answer^ and speaks 
 thus, — Pray on, go on, cry on, for the Lord holdeth his 
 door fast bolted, not to keep you out, but that you may 
 knock, and it shall be opened.” — Rutherford. 
 
 “ Let us remember that God gives liberal interest for 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 101 
 
 every year that He keeps our preyers unanswered : and 
 that what becomes us is to wait at his footstool, and not 
 to hurry his arrangements. The most luscious fruits are 
 those which are longest in maturing ; the richest blessino's 
 are often those ■which take longest in coming. An unripe 
 blessing may prove sour to the teeth, and unhealthful, 
 when partaken of. Impatience is almost always accom- 
 panied by loss.” — Rev. P. B. Power. 
 
 Isa. xlix. 14-16; liv. 9, 10; Hab. ii. 3 ; 2 Tim. 
 ii. 19. 
 
 DEPRAVITY — Total, of the heart. — Gen. vi. 5; 
 Ps. liii. ; Iviii. 3; Eccl. vii. 10; ix. 3; Jer. xvii. 9; 
 Hosea vi. 7 ; Rom. iii. 10-18 ; vii. 9-25 ; 1 John i. 8. 
 
 Cf. the figures, — Blind — asleep — sold — captive — dead, 
 
 “ The seeds of all my sins are in my heart, and per- 
 haps the more dangerous that I do not see them.” — 
 31'Ch.eyne. 
 
 “.iSothing is to me a greater proof of the flesh being 
 utterly Satanic, than the fact that, though Satan ‘ works 
 in the children of disobedience,’ they mistake his opera- 
 tions for the spontaneous movements of their own will ; 
 they walk according to ‘ the Prince of the power of the 
 air ;’ and they are not conscious of the fact, — their walk 
 is so entirely according to the desire of their own hearts.” 
 — Hezvitson. 
 
 “We are sinners by the corruption of the heart, and 
 it is a fatal mistake to suppose that we are so only by 
 the commission of sin. Our guilt does not then begin to 
 exist, when it is brought into action, but to appear ; and 
 what was always manifest to God, is now become so to 
 ourselves and others.” — Adazzi. 
 
 9 * 
 
102 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHEROGS. 
 
 “ Our corruptions are like lime, which discovers not 
 its fire by any smoke or heat, till you cast water (the 
 enemy of fire) upon it.” — CharnocJc. 
 
 The fall of man has made our hearts like the load- 
 stone. We refuse gold and silver, and pearls, and price- 
 less jewels, and only draw to ourselves inferior things, 
 like steel and iron. 
 
 A man once wrote on the door of his house, Let 
 nothing evil enter here !” on which another, passing by, 
 remarked, Then the master of the house must never 
 come in.” 
 
 A mountain stream, whose pure and salubrious 
 waters are continually polluted by the daily washing and 
 cleansing of poisonous minerals, is a just emblem of the 
 flesh, w^hose desires, imaginations, and affections were 
 once pure and healthy, but are now like a troubled and 
 corrupted spring, which is always sending out foul water.” 
 — Salter, 
 
 Broken Glass. — In visiting some of our glass manu- 
 factories, it is wonderful to see how, out of a few simple 
 materials (a little flint, &c.), a skillful workman can 
 make the most beautiful and delicate articles. But 
 suppose one of these had been shivered by a fall into 
 ten thousand fragments ; and we saw the workman col- 
 lect the scattered pieces, throw them into the furnace, 
 and remodel them into an object of still greater beauty; 
 should we not praise his skill and admire his wisdom ? 
 Yet such is the work of God with man. Rom. v. 15-21. 
 
 DIFFICULTIES.— Gen. xxii. 7, 8; Ps. xxvii. 13, 14; 
 Prov. xxvi. 13 ; Eccl. xi. 4 ; Isa. xl. 6-8 ; Zech. iv. 7 ; 
 Matt. xi. 12 ; Mark xvi. 3, 4 ; Luke xiii. 24. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 103 
 
 Never covet ea^y patK^. The Lord keep you and 
 me from that sin, beloved.” — </. H, Evans. 
 
 Men may judge us by the success of our efforts. 
 God looks at the efforts themselves .” — Oharlotte Eliza- 
 beth. 
 
 ‘‘Wicked men stumble at a straw in the way to 
 heaven ; and climb over great mountains in their way to 
 destruction.” 
 
 “ Little strokes fell great oaks.” 
 
 J^OGS. — The way to go through difficulties is the same 
 as when we walk home through a fog. When we enter, 
 all seems dark and mist before us, and as we advance we 
 are completely enveloped by the hazy, cheerless cloud. 
 But if there be a little space around us, which is clear 
 enough to show the path a few yards before, it is enough. 
 On we go, straight through, and we have our reward in 
 the end. So it is with the Christian. 
 
 The Hill Difficulty. — ^Bunyan’s representation of 
 this is striking. At the base were two easy by-ways, 
 called Danger and Destruction, where Formalist and 
 Hypocrisy went and perished. The true and narrow 
 way lay right up the hill ; but it was so steep that 
 Christian fell from running to going, and from going to 
 climbing on his hands and knees. Yet, observe the kind- 
 ness of the Lord of the hill ; — at the foot, there was a 
 spring, where pilgrims might refresh themselves ; and 
 half-way up was an arbor, to break the length, and give 
 opportunity to rest. 
 
 “Can you climb?” a captain asked of a sailor-boy 
 before taking him out in his ship. The trial was soon 
 after made, and the poor boy’s head began to grow dizzy 
 as he mounted higher and higher on the rigging. “ Oh, 
 
104 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 I shall fall,” he cried, looking down upon the sea. 
 ‘‘Look up, my boy,” shouted the captain ; and so he did, 
 and gained the mast-head. Thus is it with us. When 
 we look below and see the waves, we fear, or, like Peter, 
 we begin to sink; but keep the eye fixed on Jesus, 
 “look up,” and the difficulty is overcome. 
 
 DOCTRINE. — John vii. 17 ; Acts ii. 42 ; Rom. vi. 
 17 ; Eph. iv. 14 ; 1 Tim. iv. 13, 16 ; vi. 3 ; 2 Tim. iii. 
 16; Heb. xiii. 9; 2 John ix. 
 
 “In the Bible, the word doctrine means simply teach- 
 ing^ instruction. It was a moral direction, a simple 
 
 maxim, or a familiar practical truth The doctrines 
 
 which the schools teach are no more like those of the 
 Bible than the carved beams of Solomon’s temple were 
 like God’s cedar-trees on Mount Lebanon.” — Beecher. 
 
 Many people seem to think that ministers should be 
 dwelling constantly upon promises rather than on doc- 
 trines. But every promise is founded upon a doctrine. 
 
 Legh Richmond used well to say, “ Preach doctrine 
 practically, and practice doctrinally . ” 
 
 “ I always find,” he says, “ that when I speak from the in- 
 ward feelings of my own heart with respect to the work- 
 ings of inbred coi-ruption, earnest desire after salvation, a sense 
 of my own nothingness, and the Saviour’s fullness, the people 
 hear, feel, are edified, and strengthened. Whereas, if I de- 
 scend to mere formal and cold explanation of particulars which 
 do not afiect the great question, ‘ What must I do to he 
 saved ?’ my hearers and I grow languid and dull together, and 
 no good is done.” 
 
 So Newton preached election. {Vide “Calvinism.”) 
 
 Revivals. — It is w^ell worth consideration how many 
 of the Church’s most remarkable revivals have been 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINUS. 
 
 105 
 
 commenced by sound, earnest doctrinal preaching. Cf. 
 the Reformation in England, Germany, and the Ameri- 
 can revivals under President Edwards, Nettleton, and 
 others. 
 
 DOOR, Christ the. — Gen. xix. 11 ; Matt. xxv. 10 ; 
 Luke xiii. 25 ; John x. 1--10 ; xiv. 6 ; Acts iv. 12 ; Eph. 
 ii. 18 ; Heb. x. 19-22. 
 
 The Widow’s Daughter. — The daughter of a poor 
 widow had left her mother’s cottage. Led astray by 
 others, she had forsaken the guide of her youth, and 
 forgotten the covenant of her God. Fervent, believing 
 prayer was the mother’s only resource ; nor was it in 
 vain. Touched by a sense of sin, and anxious to regain 
 the peace she had lost, late one night the daughter re- 
 turned home. 
 
 It was near midnight, and she was surprised to find 
 the door unlatched. But she was soon told, in the ful- 
 ness of the mother’s heart, ‘‘Never, my child, by night 
 nor by day, has that door been fastened since you left. 
 I knew that you would come back some day, and I 
 was unwilling to keep you waiting for a single moment.” 
 
 Reader, are you yet far from home — God’s home of 
 love and holiness ? Remember, then, the door is open. 
 Ps. Ixxxvi. 5 ; Isa. i. 18. Oh ! enter in at once. 
 
 DOUBTS. — Deut. xxviii. 66 ; Ps. xlii. 11 ; Matt, 
 xiv. 31 ; xxviii. 17 ; Mark ix. 22-24 ; Luke xii. 29 ; 
 1 Tim. ii. 8. 
 
 Are not inconsistent witli true grace, when (1), they are ac- 
 companied with much shame and sorrow of spirit ; (2), the 
 believer longs for the very things he fears he has not (Ps. cxix. 
 
106 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 20; Job xxiii. 3); (3), the believer strives to believe; (4), he 
 keeps “looking to Jesus” in the darkness. Peter, when sink- 
 ing, yet prayed. Sinking times are praying times. 
 
 Let doubting Christians ask themselves three ques- 
 tions, — 1. Whether there be anything gained by doubt- 
 ing ? 2. Whether there is anything more pleasing to 
 
 God than to trust him when all comforts are out of view ? 
 3. Whether you must not venture on Christ at the last? 
 and if you venture on him at the last, why not now ?” — 
 TF. Bridge. 
 
 Slough of Despond. [See Pilgrim's Progress.") 
 - — The trial Christian had at first setting out. The steps 
 W’hich he missed. Pliable turned back. 
 
 J. Newton says : — When a man comes to me and 
 says, ‘I am quite happy,' I am not sorry to find liiiii 
 come again with some fears. I never knew a work stand 
 well without a check." 
 
 ‘‘1 only want," says one, ‘‘to be sure of being safe, 
 and then I will go on." No ; perhaps then you will go 
 off. 
 
 Mede. — It is related that he used to have his scholars 
 come to him every evening, and the first question he 
 asked them was, “ Quid dubitas ?" What doubts have 
 you had to-day ? for he always affirmed, that to doubt 
 nothing, and to understand nothing, were the same. 
 
 Marshall (the author of the treatise on “ Sanctifica- 
 tion") was, in his early years, for a long time under 
 great distress of mind from the burden of sin. * At last 
 he stated his case to Dr. Thomas Goodwin, who, after 
 hearing him enumerate a long catalogue of his sins, 
 replied, “ You have forgotten the greatest sin of all, — 
 the sin of unbelief, in refusing to believe in Christ, and 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 107 
 
 rely on his atonement and righteousness for your accept- 
 ance with God.” This word in season banished his 
 fears. He ventured to believe, and was happy. 
 
 “Dr. Owen was for nearly five years under doubts 
 and fears ; when one day he went to hear Mr. Calamy, 
 the popular preacher, at Aldermanbury Church. Mr. 
 C. happened not to preach, and many went away at 
 once. Mr. Owen stayed, and well it was, for the sermon 
 was on the text, AVhy are ye so fearful, 0 ye of little 
 fiiith?’ It just met his doubts, and thus paved the way 
 for his future usefulness .” — Ormes Life, 
 
 Dr. Merle D’Aubigne. — When a student at Kiel he 
 was oppressed with doubts, and went to Klenken, an 
 old-experienced teacher for help. The old man refused 
 to answer them, saying, “Were I to rid you of these, 
 others would come. There is a shorter way of destroy- 
 ing them. Let Christ be to you really the Son of God 
 the Saviour, and his light will dispel the darkness, and 
 his Spirit lead you into all truth.” It was hard advice 
 to follow, but its wisdom was afterwards acknowledged 
 and owned. 
 
 DRAWING, Divine. — Cant. i. 4; Jer. xxx. 21; 
 Hos. ii. 14 ; xi. 2-4 ; Mark iii. 13 ; John vi. 44 ; xii. 32 ; 
 James iv. 8. 
 
 Cf. God’s drawing his enemies to judgment. Judges 
 iv. 7 ; Micah iv. 11, 12 ; Zeph. iii. 8 ; Rev. xix. 17, 18. 
 
 The salvation of God’s chosen ones may be well repre- 
 sented by a chain let down from heaven to earth, of 
 which the poor but believing sinner takes hold, which is 
 taken up from earth again to heaven. 
 
 Dr. Payson once, in the progress of a revival at 
 
108 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 Portland, gave notice that he would he glad to see any 
 young person who did not intend to seek religion. Any 
 one would have been surprised to hear that about thirty 
 or forty came. He spent a very pleasant interview with 
 them, saying nothing about religion till, just as they 
 were about to leave, he closed a few very plain remarks 
 thus: “Suppose you should see coming down from 
 
 heaven a very fine thread, so fine as to be almost invisi- 
 ble, and it should come and gently attach itself to you. 
 You knew, we suppose, it came from Hod. Should you 
 dare to put out your hand and thrust it away?” He 
 dwelt for a few moments on the idea, and then added, 
 
 Now such a thread has come from God to you this 
 afternoon. You do not feel, you say, any interest in 
 religion. But by your coming here this afternoon God 
 has fastened one little thread upon you all. It is very 
 weak and frail, and you can easily brush it away. But 
 you will not do so ? No ; welcome it, and it will enlarge 
 and strengthen itself until it becomes a golden thread, to 
 bind you for ever to a God of love.” 
 
 DRESS. — Exod. xxxiii. 4; xxxv. 22; xxxviii. 8; 
 
 2 Kings ix. 30 ; Ps. xlv. 13 ; Isa. iii. 16-24 ; Ezek. xvi! 
 7-13 ; Matt. vi. 28-33 ; 1 Tim. ii. 9 ; 1 Pet. iii. 3. 
 
 Silkworm. — The brightest silk the silkworm weaves 
 it designs to be its shroud. When it has attained its 
 duration, and lived its time, it looks out for some corner 
 where it may die unseen, and there it envelopes itself 
 with the beautiful web, which we prize so highly, as its 
 shroud. Oh, that those who flaunt in their gayety would 
 remember that they are wearing a shroud, and that the 
 object of their pride was first used as the robe to cover death. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 109 
 
 [See “Death. The Turkish Turban.”] 
 
 Simplicity. — Krummacher illustrates simplicity in 
 dress by a little fable : — 
 
 “ The angel who takes care of the flowers, and sprin- 
 kles upon them dew in the still night, slumbered on a 
 spring-day in the shade of a rose-bush, ^hen he awoke, 
 he said, ‘ Most beautiful of my children, I thank thee 
 for thy refreshing odor and cooling shade. Could you 
 now ask any favor, how willingly would I grant it !’ 
 
 “ ‘Adorn me, then, with a new charm,’ said the spirit 
 of the rose bush in a beseeching tone. 
 
 “ So the angel adorned the loveliest of flowers with 
 simple moss. Sweetly it stood there, in its modest at- 
 tire, the vioss-rose^ the most beautiful of its kind.” 
 
 So the costliest ornaments are often the simplest. 
 There is no gold, nor jewel, nor sparkling pearl equal 
 to the “ ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is 
 in the sight of God of great price.” 
 
 Charles V. — The Due de Najara, coming to the 
 Court of the Emperor richly dressed, with a numerous 
 train in rich liveries, the Emperor said, “ The Duke does 
 not come so much to see me as that I may see him.’ ” 
 
 DRUNKENNESS.— Prov. xxi. 17; xxiii. 21, 29- 
 35; Isa. v. 11, 12; Hos. iv. 11; Hab. ii. 15; Luke 
 xxi. 34 ; 1 Cor. vi. 10 ; vii. 31 ; Eph. v. 18. 
 
 About 30,000 drunkards die in this country (England) 
 every year (15,000 in London) ; so that there are about 
 83 funerals of drunkards every day (including Sundays) 
 in the year. 
 
 In 1858, 85,472 persons were charged with drunken- 
 10 
 
no 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 ness before the magistrates, and 83,086 for assault; of 
 which, probably, nine-tenths were the result of drink. 
 
 In the United States it was reckoned a few years ago 
 there were 300,000 drunkards. 
 
 In London, there were, in 1848, of bakers, butchers, 
 cheesemongers, fishmongers, grocers, green-grocers and 
 fruiterers, and dairymen, 10,790 shops, and 11,000 
 public-houses. 
 
 In Scotland, a short time ago, it was found in forty 
 cities and towns, every 
 
 149 people support a dram shop ; whilst it takes — 
 
 981 to support a baker, 
 
 1,067 ,, butcher, 
 
 2,281 „ bookseller. 
 
 4^ the insanity, f ^ ^ 
 
 _ : ) are supposed to ongmate 
 
 the pauperism, -< -it 
 
 , . 1 m drunkenness, 
 
 f the crime, v 
 
 The cost to this country of intoxicating drinks is about 
 $300,000,000 annually, which is almost equal to the 
 whole annual income of the State, and nearly three times 
 that of the army and navy. On gin alone $135,000,000 
 are spent ; whilst on literature, $25,000,000. 
 
 Gambling-houses. — The furnishing of the wine-cel- 
 lar at Crockford’s gambling-house cost $350,000 ; the 
 whole building, $300,000 ; and its furniture, $175,000. 
 Thus there was spent on this place of iniquity alone, 
 more by several thousand dollars than the whole sum 
 raised for the London City Mission, to fill the great me- 
 tropolis with happy homes and happy hearts. 
 
 The LACEDiExMONiANS used to exhibit slaves, when 
 drunk, to their children, to excite in them a horror of 
 drunkenness. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. Ill 
 
 DUTY. — Ezra iii. 4 ; Eccles. ix. 10 ; Luke xvii. 10. 
 Doing the right thing in the right way.” 
 
 ‘‘ Satan’s two chief aims are, — to 'prevent our duties, 
 or to pervert them.” 
 
 If the Lord command, oh, to have no truce with 
 consequences !” — J, H, Evans. 
 
 Do the duty that lies nearest thee,” is a rule that is 
 often useful when Christians are in doubt. 
 
 The Rev. J. H. Stewart writes, in his^ diary : — ‘‘1 
 begin to see that religion consists, not so much in joyful 
 feelings, as in the constant exercise of devotedness to 
 God, and in laying ourselves out for the good of others.” 
 Old Monk. — There is a story told of an old monk 
 who was favored with an unusual vision of Christ. When 
 the bell rang for him to go and distribute the alms, he 
 had a severe struggle to determine whether he should go 
 to his duty or remain. At length the sense of duty pre- 
 vailed. He went, and returned, expecting to find the 
 vision gone. But, to his surprise, it was there still, and 
 as he entered the room, he heard a voice, saying, ‘‘ If 
 thou hadst not gone, I had.” 
 
 Hannah More well says, — In my judgment, one of 
 the best proofs that sorrow has had any right effect upon 
 the mind is, that it has not incapacitated you from busi- 
 ness, your business being your duty.” 
 
 Dr. Judson sent once for a poor Christian convert, 
 who was about to engage in something which he feared 
 would not be for her spiritual good. ‘‘Look here,” he 
 said, snatching a ruler from the table, and tracing a not 
 very straight line upon the floor ; “ here is where you 
 have been walking. You have made a crooked track, 
 to be sure, — out of the path half the time ; but then you 
 
112 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 have kept near it, and not taken to new roads ; and you 
 have, to a certain extent, grown in grace ; and now here 
 you stand. You know where this path leads. You 
 know what is before you ; some struggles, some sorrows, 
 and, finally, eternal life and a crown of glory. But to 
 the left branches olf another very pleasant road, and 
 along the air floats, rather temptingly, a pretty bubble. 
 You do not mean to leave the path you have walked in 
 fifteen years j you only want to step aside and catch the 
 bubble, and think you will come back again ; but you 
 never will,'' 
 
 The matter thus put was blessed by God, and the wo- 
 man long after confessed that though she had taken 
 many crooked paths since, the Doctor’s ruler, and coun- 
 sel, and prayer came to her mind, and strengthened her 
 to resist temptation. 
 
 Sir Henry Lawrence. — One of the last dying wishes 
 of this brave and Christian soldier was that this inscrip- 
 tion should be placed upon his tomb : — Here lies Henry 
 Lawrence, who tried to do his duty.’' 
 
 EARLY DEATHS.— Ps. cii. 23; Isa. Ivii. 1; Jer. 
 XV. 9. 
 
 Who gathered these lilies ?” asked the gardener, 
 as he came into the garden and found some of his fairest 
 and loveliest lilies cut. ‘‘I did,” replied the master. 
 Then the gardener held his peace. 
 
 It is mysterious how many of God’s choicest servants 
 have been removed so early. Cf. H. K. White and An- 
 drew Gray, 21 ; John Janeway, 23 ; Patrick Hamilton, 
 24 ; Hugh Binning, 26 ; R. M. M^Cheyne, and Captain 
 Vicars, 29 ; David Brainerd and H. W. Fox, 30 ; Felix 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS, 
 
 113 
 
 Neff, 31 ; J. H. Forsyth and H. Martyn, 32 ; Toplady 
 and W. Archer Butler, 35 ; W. H. Hewitson, 38, &c. 
 
 “What is this voice to us?” says Bonar of the early 
 death of M‘Cheyne. Ps. Ixxvii. 19. “ Only this much 
 
 vre can clearly see, that nothing was more fitted to leave 
 his character and example impressed on our remembrance 
 for ever than his early death. There might he envy 
 while he lived ; there is none now. There might have 
 been some of the youthful attractiveness of his graces 
 lost had he lived many years ; this cannot be impaired 
 now. It seems as if the Lord had struck the flower 
 from the stem ere any of the colors had lost their bright 
 hues, or any leaf its fragrance.” 
 
 Jesus himself. See an emblem, which referred to his 
 early death (33), Lev. ii. 14. (Bonar on Lev.) The 
 voluntary offering of firstfruits, green from the field ; not 
 suffered to ripen under a genial sun, but plucked when 
 green, and dried by the fire. So was it with Jesus, Ps. 
 xxii. 15; cii. 4. 
 
 EARLl RISINGr. — Ps. v. 3; Prov. vi. 9-11; xx. 
 13; xxxi. 15; Cant. vii. 12; Eph. v. 16. 
 
 One of the chief promoters of healthy a devotional 
 spirit, and decision of character. 
 
 There have been few eminent men who have not been 
 early risers. Cf. Buffon (who used to say he owed ten 
 or a dozen of his best works to his servant who pulled 
 him out of bed every morning at six) ; Frederick the 
 Great (who rose at four) ; Peter the Great; Hunter (who 
 used to declare that for twenty years he had risen, sum- 
 mer and winter, before the sun) ; Kant, Earl of Chester- 
 field, Duke of Wellington, &c., &c. 
 
 10 ♦ a 
 
114 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 Almost all old men hare been early risers. Take the 
 following, many of whom rose at four : — 
 
 Sir M. Hale, 68; Bishop Burnet, 72; Bufifon, 81; 
 Dr. Franklin, 84; J. Wesley, 88; Lord Coke, 85; 
 Fuseli, the painter, 81 ; Washington, 68 ; Stanislaus, 
 King of Poland, 89 ; James Mason, 110 ; Lewis Cornars, 
 above 100. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact in the history of the Church, 
 that some of the most useful commentaries have been 
 written chiefly before breakfast, — 
 
 Matthew Henry used to be in his study at four, and 
 remain there till eight ; then, after breakfast and family 
 prayer, he used to be there again till noon ; after dinner 
 he resumed his book or pen till four, and spent the rest 
 of the day in visiting his friends. 
 
 Doddridge’s ^‘Family Expositor^'"' he himself alludes 
 to as an example of the difference of rising between five 
 and seven, which, in forty years, is nearly equivalent to 
 ten years more of life. 
 
 Dr. Adam Clarke’s Commentary was chiefly pre- 
 pared very early in the morning. 
 
 Barnes’s popular and useful Commentary has been 
 also the fruit of early morning hours.” 
 
 Simeon’s ^‘Sketches” were chiefly worked out be- 
 tween four and eight. 
 
 EARNESTNESS.— Neh. vi. 3; Ps. Ixiii. 8; cxix. 
 164 ; Eccles. ix. 10 ; Matt. xiii. 44-46 ; xiv. 12 ; Luke 
 xvi. 8 (cf. Micah vii. 3) ; Phil. ii. 30 ; iii. 8 ; 2 Tim. iv. 2. 
 
 Cf. the figures used — striving — wrestling — fighting — 
 racing, laboring, &c. 
 
 Lord Eldon used to say of the law, that a man must 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 115 
 
 work like a horse, and live like a hermit, to succeed. 
 Luke xvi. 8. 
 
 No man can ever become eminent in anything unless 
 he work at it with an earnestness bordering upon enthusi- 
 asm.'' — Robert Hall. 
 
 A soldier in battle should feel as if the whole battle 
 depended upon himself.” 
 
 ^AVe are afraid of being desperate Christians. Oh, 
 let us be desperate ! The Church needs extremity — a 
 great tug out of the world.” — Lady Powerscourt. 
 
 A proud scion of the aristocracy one day taunted one 
 of the most influential Members of the House of Com- 
 mons, by saying, I remember your origin, when you 
 blacked my father’s boots.” ‘^Well, Sir,” was the re- 
 ply, and didn’t I do it well ?” 
 
 EASTER. 
 
 No day was more highly honored in* the primitive 
 Church (see Wheatley) ; yet scarce anything caused more 
 bitter spirit and unholy strife ; the constant struggles 
 and debates about the time of keeping Easter caused 
 many deaths. 
 
 The ancient salutation of the primitive Christians, 
 when they first met on Easter morning, was, Christ is 
 risen;" to which the response was, Christ is risen in- 
 deed;” or else, ‘‘and hath ajj'peared unto Simon" — a 
 custom still retained in the Greek Church. 
 
 The Moravians have a separate Litany in their 
 Church, which they use every Easter-day morning in the 
 church-yard, at six o’clock : on which occasion they re- 
 fer by name to all their members who have died in the 
 past year. 
 
116 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 The Rev. C. Simeon. See his ‘^Life’’ for an account 
 of his entrance into joy and peace in believing, April 4, 
 1779. For a long time before he had been in the deep- 
 est distress, envying even the dogs that passed under his 
 window. But his preparation for receiving the Lord’s 
 Supper was greatly blessed to enlighten his dark mind. 
 It was in Passion-week that he met with the expression 
 in Bishop Wilson on the Lord’s Supper,” ‘Hhat the 
 Jews knew what they did when they transferred their 
 sins to the head of their offering.” The thought rushed 
 into my mind, — What ! may I transfer all my guilt to 
 another ? Has God provided an offering for me, that I 
 may lay my sins on His head ? Then, God willing, I 
 will not bear them one moment longer. Accordingly, I 
 sought to lay my sins upon the sacred head of Jesus, and 
 on the Wednesday began to have a hope of mercy; on 
 the Thursday that hope increased; on the Friday and 
 Saturday it became more strong ; and on the Sunday 
 morning (Easter Bay) I awoke early with those words 
 upon my heart and lips, ‘ Jesus Christ is risen to-day ! 
 Hallelujah! Hallelujah!’ From that hour peace flowed 
 in rich abundance into my soul ; and at the Lord’s table, 
 in our chapel, I had the sweetest access to God through 
 my blessed Saviour.” 
 
 Felix Neff. See an account also, in Dr. Gilly’s 
 ‘‘ Life,” of a remarkable Easter week he had in the Alps. 
 The whole week was spent in penitence and prayer, 
 pious reading or conversation, and attending the Church 
 services. ‘^During the whole eight days,” he says, 
 had not thirty hours’ rest.” There was a general awak- 
 ening among the people. At some of the services the 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS, 
 
 117 
 
 people 'were so affected that they could scarcely sing. 
 Two of the leading singers could not raise a note. 
 
 ENVY. — 1 Sam. xviii. 8, 9 ; Ps. xxxvii. 1 ; Prov. 
 xiv. 30 ; xxiii. 17 ; Eccl. iv. 4 ; Isa. xi. 13 ; Ezek. 
 xxxi. 9; 1 Cor. xiii. 4; James hi. 16; iv. 5, 6; 1 
 Peter ii. 1, 2. 
 
 Weak eyes cannot bear strong light.” 
 
 Envy is a stone that, if thrown, falls back upon the 
 thrower.” 
 
 It is his own punishment. Hence Nazianzen well 
 says, — Nothing is more unjust than envy, and yet 
 nothing is more just.” 
 
 Judges xii. an example of its effect — the envy of 
 Ephraim cost 42,000 lives. Cf. Isa. xi. 13. 
 
 Ex. Satan — Cain — Rachel — Joseph’s brethren — 
 Aaron — Korah — Joshua — Saul — Sanballat — Haman — 
 the Jews against Christ. 
 
 ETERNITY. — Ps. xc. 1, 2, 4; Isa. Ivii. 15 (^Mn- 
 habiteth,” i. e., fills up) ; Matt. xxv. 46 ; 2 Cor. iv. 18; 
 Eph. iii. 11 ; Heb. ix. 14 ; xiii. 8, 20. 
 
 M. Gr. lies sore upon my conscience. I do no good 
 to that woman. She always managed to speak of things 
 about the truth. Speak boldly. What matter in eter- 
 nity the slight awkwardnesses of time?” — 31^Cheynes 
 Memoirs. 
 
 What is Eternity?” — The question was asked at 
 the Deaf and Dumb Institution at Paris, and the beau- 
 tiful ansvrer was given by one of the pupils, The life- 
 time of the Almighty.” 
 
 At an Inn in Savoy, a Christian traveler saw the fol- 
 
118 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 lowing inscription, printed upon a folio sheet, and hung 
 upon the wall (the same being placed, he was told, in 
 every house in the parish) : — ‘‘ Understand well the 
 force of the words, — A God, a moment, an eternity ; — - 
 a God who sees thee, a moment which flees from thee, 
 an eternity which awaits thee ; a God, whom you serve 
 so ill ; a moment, of which you so little profit ; an eter- 
 nity, which you hazard so rashly. 
 
 Suppose, after one of our most violent snow-storms^ 
 which covers the earth for thousands of miles, one sin- 
 gle flake were melted in a thousand years ; or if a single 
 beam of the sun's rays stood for a year, and as many 
 years were added as there have been rays flooding the 
 earth since the sun began to shine ; or if a single drop 
 of the ocean were exhaled in a million years, till the last 
 drop was taken up ; — though we cannot conceive the du- 
 ration of such apparently almost interminable periods, — 
 yet, though we could, eternity would stretch as far be- 
 yond them, as if they had not yet begun. 
 
 The Hermit. — A profligate young man, as an aged 
 hermit passed by him, barefoot, called out after him, 
 “ Father, what a miserable condition you are in, if there 
 be not another world after this!" True, my son," 
 replied the anchorite ; but what will thine be, if there 
 be?" 
 
 Lord William Russell, when he was on the scaf- 
 fold, about to be beheaded, took his watch from his 
 pocket, and gave it to Dr. Burnett, who was attending 
 him, with the remark, My timepiece may be of service 
 to you. I have no further occasion for it. My thoughts 
 are fixed on eternity." 
 
 A Question oe Time." — How do you find your 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 119 
 
 patient this morning, doctor?” No better; I have 
 been hoping for a favorable change, but the disease is so 
 far advanced that there is no probability of his recovery. 
 He may yet live a few days, more or less ; but it is only 
 2 . question of time'' How often is such an announce- 
 ment made to sorrowing friends ! But oh ! are these 
 questions of time only ? Are they not, with many others 
 which we think questions of time^ much rather questions 
 of eternity ? 
 
 EXAMPLE. — Exod. xxiii. 2; Prov. xiii. 20; John 
 xiii. 15 ; Rom. viii. 29 ; 1 Cor. xi. 1 ; xv. 33 ; 2 Cor. 
 viii. ; 1 Tim. iv. 12 ; James v. 10 ; 1 Peter v. 3 ; Jude 
 
 7. 
 
 Like footmarks in the snow, showing where one 
 
 has trodden the road before. 
 
 Like the copies put before children to imi- 
 tate. 
 
 a friendly guide, carrying a lantern in 
 the dark road before us. 
 
 He that gives good precepts, and follows them by a 
 bad example, is like a foolish man who should take great 
 pains to kindle a fire, and when it is kindled, throw cold 
 water upon it to quench it.” — Seeker, 
 
 Every father is like a looking-glass for his children to 
 dress themselves by. Let every parent take heed to 
 keep the glass bright and clear, not dull and spotted. 
 
 There are three kinds of bad examples that do us 
 harm : — 1. Those we have been led to imitate. 2. Those 
 we have prided ourselves on being exempt from. 3. Those 
 that drive us to the opposite extreme. 
 
 C^SAR. — One of the great secrets of his power over 
 
120 
 
 ILLtJSTKATIVE GATHERING'S. 
 
 his soldiers was, that he seldom said, Ite/^ Go, BtJt 
 
 Venite,"’ Come^ follow me. 
 
 Fenelon. — Lord Peterborough, more famed for his 
 wit than his religion, when he had lodged with Fenelon, 
 the Archbishop of Cambray, was so charmed with his 
 piety and beautiful character, that he said to him, at 
 parting, If I stay here any longer, I shall become a 
 Christian in spite of myself/' 
 
 The Rev. J. A. James, the well-known minister of 
 Birmingham, says, in one of his lectures, — If the pre- 
 sent lecturer has a right to consider himself a real 
 Christian, — if he has been of any service to his fellow- 
 creatures, and has attained to any usefulness in the 
 Church of Christ, he owes it, in the way of means and 
 instrumentality, to the sight of a companion, who slept 
 in the same room with him, bending his knees in prayer, 
 on retiring to rest. That scene, so unostentatious, and 
 yet so unconcealed, roused my slumbering conscience, 
 and sent an arrow to my heart ; for, though I had been 
 religiously educated, I had restrained prayer, and cast 
 off the fear of God. My conversion to God followed, 
 and soon afterwards my entrance upon college studies 
 for the work of the ministry. Nearly half a century 
 has rolled away since then, with all its multitudinous 
 events ; but that little chamber, that humble couch, that 
 praying youth, are still present to my imagination, and 
 will never be forgotten, even amidst the splendor of 
 heaven, and through the ages of eternity. 
 
 EXCUSES. — Gen. xix. 18 (^^not so far, not so fast, 
 not so soon”) ; cf. v. 14. Judges v. 16-18, 23. (What 
 a true picture of excuses ! Reuben was kept back by 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 121 
 
 internal divisions. Gilead was too far off. Dan too 
 busy with his ships. Asher occupied in repairing his 
 breaches.) Cant. v. 3 ; Matt, xxiiii 5 ; Luke ix. 57-62 ; 
 xiv. 18-20; John xv. 22 (margin). 
 
 The real man is one who always finds excuses for 
 others, but never excuses himself.” — Beecher. 
 
 Pilgrim’s Progress.— Just after Christian had left 
 the cross, he found three men at the bottom of the hill, 
 fast asleep, with fetters upon their heels. Their names 
 were Simple, Sloth, and Presumption — apt types of the 
 different classes of men who put off Gospel offers with 
 vain excuses. When urged by Christian to awake and 
 rise, Simple said, ‘‘I see no danger.” Sloth said, ‘‘Yet 
 a little more sleep;” and Presumption said, “Every vat 
 must stand upon its own bottom.” And so they lay down 
 to sleep again, and Christian went on his way. 
 
 Common Excuses. — Says one, — 
 
 1. I have a family to provide for. But see ilatt. xvi. 
 26 ; Luke ix. 59-62. 
 
 2. Religion makes men melancholy. So David Hume, 
 the infidel, affirmed. But the good answer was given to 
 him, that he was a very unfit person to judge, for two 
 reasons : — 1. That most probably he had seen very few 
 true Christians ; and 2, If he had, the sight of him was 
 enough to make a true Christian sad. 
 
 3. “ So many Christians are inconsistent.” Alas ! too 
 
 true. But the faults of professors are not proof against 
 the religion they profess. Do worldly men act thus ? 
 Thousands of tradesmen cheat, but do they, therefore, 
 refuse to buy and sell ? Many drugs are adulterated ; 
 will they, therefore, take no medicine ? “ It is the 
 
 11 
 
122 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 deviFs snare to blind worldly people’s eyes with the dust 
 from the soiled garments of Christians.” 
 
 4. ‘‘ There are so many sects and parties. We don’t 
 know really which to choose!” So some would be of 
 none I Suppose the same person were on a journey, and 
 saw some travelers choose one way, and some another, 
 though all aiming to go to the same city;^ — because one 
 went by the highway, and another by the bridle road, 
 and another would, perhaps, persist in going over hedge 
 and ditch, until he missed the way completely, — rwould 
 the objector, therefore^ turn back, and stop at home? 
 Would he not rather take the more pains to inquire the 
 best road ; and then act upon the information he had 
 obtained ? 
 
 5. ‘‘I can read the Bible as well at home.” But 
 query ? — Do you read the Bible at home ? and can you 
 read it as well? Is there no advantage in united prayer 
 — no promised blessing to God’s own ordinances ? The 
 Ferry Boat Company would, however, have no jealousy 
 with the man who preferred using a small boat, or swim- 
 ming from Dover to Calais alone. It would be the 
 best thing to make him desire their steamer for the 
 future 1 
 
 6. I am afraid of being laughed at, or being thought 
 singular.” And will that screen thee, poor soul 1 in the 
 day of judgment ? Luke ix. 23-26 ; xii. 4-9. 
 
 7. ‘^As for me, I make no profession.” 
 
 8. ‘‘I am afraid I should not be able to maintain 
 a profession, and therefore I had better not make 
 one.” 
 
 Oh, what pride and self-complacency there lurks in 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 123 
 
 these excuses! But what folly! Will such mock mo- 
 desty avail in the day of wrath ? 
 
 9. ‘‘ To become a Christian will bring much hardship, 
 and a heavy yoke.” Try it, and you will find. Matt, 
 xi. 29, 30, &c., &c., &c. 
 
 “Wanted a Will.” — Such are some of the many 
 excuses people make. They would come to church, but 
 they want fit clothes — a hat, a bonnet, or a shawl ; or 
 they want some one to look after the children at home ; 
 or they want a seat of their own at church. They want 
 time ; they want rest after the six days’ work. They 
 
 '^ant . But their wants are innumerable. Yet 
 
 there is one want they never name ; which would swallow 
 up all the rest; they want — the ivill. “Where there’s 
 a will there’s a way.” And, let us add, — 
 
 Wanted the Spirit of God, to give the will. Chris- 
 tian ministers, visitors, parents, teachers, pray more that 
 it may be given. 
 
 EXPEDIENCY. 
 
 “ "All things to all men,’ in any sense but the right 
 sense, is nothing to any man.” — Tupper. 
 
 “ ‘ Honesty is the best policy,’ but he who acts from 
 that principle is not an honest man” (because he acts 
 from policy, and not from the love of right). — ArcJthishop 
 Whately, 
 
 “ The highest principle is the highest expediency.” 
 
 “ Satan’s moral svstem is the inverse of the moral 
 system, and his rule of action, expediency. He never 
 commences his game of deceit, either with individuals or 
 churches, by a direct contradiction of the truth, but by 
 a qualified admission of its claims, and in this manner 
 
124 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 gives it the go-by, in order that he may be able to ope- 
 rate in its rear. Murder, for instance, is murder, and 
 not for a moment to be tolerated ; but a contingency may 
 arise when it is expedient that one man should die for 
 the people. Hell is hell, and death is death, and both are 
 objects of terror and righteous aversion; but it may be 
 expedient to make a covenant with the one, and an agree- 
 ment with the other.” — Captain Cordon. 
 
 EXTREMES meet. 
 
 Too far east is west.” 
 
 . , as intense heat and intense cold produce like 
 
 effects. 
 
 Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.” 
 
 (See Delays,) 
 
 FAITH. — 1 Sam. xvii. 45 ; Dan. iii. 17 ; vi. 10, 23 ; 
 Hab. ii. 4; Matt. xvi. 16; Mark v. 36; ix. 22~24; xvi. 
 16; Luke xvii. 5; John i. 12,13; vi. 69; xi. 27; xx. 
 28, 29 ; Acts viii. 37; xv. 9; Rom. i. 17; iv. 19, 20; 
 V. 1; X. 17 ; 2’Cor. v. 7; Gal. ii. 20; Eph. ii. 8; vi. 16; 
 Phil. i. 29; 1 Thess. v. 8 ; 1 Tim. vi. 12; Heb. x. 38 ; 
 xi.; xii. 2; James ii. 14-26; 2 Peter i. 1. 
 
 Rom. X. 10. — With the heart man believeth unto 
 righteousness.” 
 
 “With the heart''' Just the distinction between historic, 
 temporary, and dead faith, and that which is living. One is 
 the belief of the understanding only, the other the appropriation 
 of the heart. Wicked men and devils may have the one ; true 
 believers only can have the other.” 
 
 Heb. xi. 1. — ^‘Now faith is the substance of things 
 hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 125 
 
 The substuntiation — realization, 
 
 “The word properly means that which is placed under; then 
 ground, basis, foundation, support. Then it means also reality, 
 substance, existence ; in contradistinction from that which is 
 unreal, imaginary, or deceptive.” — Passow. 
 
 “A belief that there is such a place as London or Calcutta, 
 leads us to act as if this were so, if we have occasion to go to 
 either. A belief that money may be made in a certain under- 
 taking leads men to act as if this were so. A belief in the 
 veracity of another leads us to act as if this were so.” — Barnes. 
 
 “ Faith makes invisible things visible, absent things present, 
 things that are very far off to be very near unto the soul.” — 
 Brooks. 
 
 “ Faith is not a sense, nor sight, nor reason, but a 
 takino; God at his word.'’ — J, H. Evam. 
 
 ‘‘ Faith is nothing else but the soul’s venture. It 
 ventures to Christ, in opposition to all legal terrors ; it 
 ventures on Christ, in opposition to our guiltiness ; it 
 ventures for Christ, in opposition to all diflSculties and 
 discouragements.” — T7. Bridge, 
 
 is compared to, — 
 
 A shield. Eph. vi. 16. 
 
 Breastplate. 1 Thess. v. 8. 
 
 The eye of the soul. So Num. xxi. 8, 9. It was not 
 the nimble foot, nor the strong arm, that were of use, 
 but the eye, however dim and weak, directed to the 
 Brazen Serpent. Isa. xlv. 22. 
 
 The hand of the soul, — to hold and to work. 
 
 Then saith he to the man. Stretch forth thine hand.” 
 But how could he ? — it Tvas withered ! Faith is obeying 
 Christ’s word, and believing Christ’s promise. ‘^And 
 he stretched it forth ; and it was restored whole, like as 
 the other.” Matt. xii. 13. 
 
 The life of the body. 
 
 11 * 
 
126 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 “The soul is the life of the body. Faith is the life 
 of the soul. Christ is the life of faith.”— .FtoeZ. 
 
 The master-Tcey, that opens out God’s treasures. 
 
 The master-wheel, that sets the other wheels in motion. 
 2 Peter i. 5-7 (faith first in the list). 
 
 The tendril of the ivy, that clasps it round the giant 
 oak. 
 
 The telescope^ that reveals to believers the wonders of 
 the world of light. And think of the revelations the 
 telescope has made ! 
 
 Hyssop.— Hyssop is a plant which roots itself in the 
 rock or wall. It is a low, and apparently mean produc- 
 tion, but it has great medicinal qualities. 1 Kings iv. 
 33; Ps. li. 7. It is a type of faith. Faith is a plant 
 of the Spirit's production, in the garden of grace. It 
 roots itself in Christ, the living Rock, and grows by 
 nurture received from Him. It is low and contemptible, 
 in the opinion of men ; nothing is more vilified or con- 
 temned than faith. It is a humble plant, but it is the 
 instrumental grace by which Christ is 'apprehended and 
 privileges are embraced." — Mrs. Stevens. 
 
 described by various figures in Scripture : — 
 
 Believing on Christ. Mark xvi. 16. 
 
 Coming to Christ. John vi. 37. 
 
 Receiving Christ. John i. 11, 12. 
 
 Committing ourselves to Him. 2 Tim. i. 12. 
 
 includes chiefly three distinct acts : — 
 
 1. Self-renunciation. 
 
 2. Appropriation. 
 
 3. Recumbency, or Reliance. — Watson. 
 
 ‘‘ The way to have a strong faith is to think nothing 
 of yourself." — Dr. Gordon {ivlien dying). 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 127 
 
 Faith is the soul’s outward, not inward, look. The 
 object on which faith fixes its eye is, not the heart’s 
 ever-varying frames, but the never-varying Christ.” — 
 Baillie. 
 
 ‘‘Reliance is the essence of faith. Christ is the ob- 
 ject, the Word is the food, and obedience the proof. 
 So that true faith is a depending upon Christ for salva- 
 tion, in a way of obedience, as He is offered in the 
 
 Word The true tears of repentance flow from 
 
 the eye of faith. ... We must derive our works from 
 faith, and demonstrate our faith by works. . . . Men 
 would first see, and then believe ; but they must first 
 believe and then see. . . . There may be joy without 
 faith, and there may be faith without joy. ... A con- 
 stant faith begets a constant peace.” — Mason. 
 
 True faith may be called colorless, like air or water. 
 It is but the medium through which the soul sees Christ ; 
 and the soul as little rests upon it as the eye can see the 
 air. When any are bent upon examining or analyzing 
 it — resting upon it — they are obliged to color and 
 thicken it, i. e., they substitute for it something or other, 
 — a feeling, a notion, sentiment, conviction, — upon which 
 they may rest or dote. They aim rather at experience 
 without them, than Christ within them.” — Newman. 
 
 Child’s Definition. — It was the beautiful reply of a 
 child, when asked, “What is faith?” and she answered, 
 “Doing God’s will, and asking no questions.” 
 
 There are many doubts and hindrances to believing in 
 Christ for salvation : — 
 
 Objection 1. — “ Repentance is necessary before faith.” 
 “I must repent before I can believe.” — True. But 
 
 what is repentance, but the desire to come to Christ? If 
 
128 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 we would truly repent, the best way to begin is, to begin 
 to believe. A soul that would find Christ must repent 
 first, and believe first, for the two are joined together, 
 rather than distinct and separate acts. Repentance is 
 the ‘‘ tear from the eye of faith.” 
 
 “The subject of true repentance is a convinced, believing 
 soul. An unconvinced sinner cannot be a true penitent, for 
 what the eye sees not, the heart rues not. Neither can an 
 unbelieving sinner be so, for without faith the heart may be 
 rent for sin, but not from it. Faith is the spring and source of 
 repentance ; so that, though the graces of faith and repentance 
 are given together, and at once, in respect of time ; yet, in the 
 order of nature^ faith goes before repentance, and the acting of 
 faith before the exercise of repentance, and he that would re- 
 pent must first believe in Christ, that he may repent.” — Boston. 
 
 Objection 2. — Regeneration is necessary, before we 
 venture on Christ.” — But what is regeneration but a 
 begetting anew, or creating again in Christ Jesus ? and 
 faith is the uniting grace ; and, therefore, when you 
 truly believe, you are regenerated, and not till then. 
 
 Objection 3. — An entire surrender of ourselves is 
 necessary to salvation.” — True, But how is it obtained ? 
 Not so much before receiving Christ, as after. All 
 resolutions made to do this, before coming to him, will 
 prove useless and vain. 
 
 Objection 4. — Our Saviour teaches us to pray, 
 ‘Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that 
 trespass against us.’ ” This shows that true faith can 
 exist only when w'e are willing to obey this. Yet, if we 
 strive to obey, before we venture on Christ, we shall 
 certainly fail to do it, in the love of God. 
 
 Reason and Faith.— “ A Roman wrote to Tully, to 
 inform him in something concerning the immortality of 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 129 
 
 the soul. Tally writ back again unto him, ‘ Read but 
 Plato upon the subject, and you will desire no more !’ 
 The Roman returned him answer, ‘ I have read it over 
 again and again ; but I know not whence it is, when I 
 read it, I assent unto it, but I have no sooner laid the 
 book out of my hand but I begin to doubt again whether 
 the soul be immortal — yea or no.’ So it is with all 
 persuasion from natural principles ; as to that extent of 
 doctrine it would persuade us of, the persuasion that 
 ariseth from them is faint, and very weak. It is true 
 that Nature hath principles to persuade the soul by, to 
 some kind of assent, — as, that there is a God, and He 
 must be worshiped. ^Look upon me,’ saith Nature; 
 ‘ I have not a spire of grass but tells me there is a God. 
 See the variety, greatness, beauty of my work. Read a 
 great God in the workmanship of the heavens, — a glori- 
 ous God in a beauteous flower, — a wise God in my choice 
 of works ; — behold a God in the order thou hast seen in 
 m-e ; see him in my law, written in my heart.’ From 
 these, and such like things. Nature bequeaths a kind of 
 faith to the soul, and learns it to believe that there is a 
 God ; but this is far from faith, in the point of true 
 believing. ’ ’ — Spen cer. 
 
 Faith and Sight. — Two children were standing at 
 evening on the summit of a hill, watching the setting 
 sun, as it seemed slowly to roll along the bright horizon. 
 
 ‘^What a way,” said the elder, ‘‘the sun has moved, 
 since we saw it coming from behind that tree !” 
 
 “ And yet you remember,” said the younger boy, “ we 
 learned, in this morning’s lesson with our father, that the 
 sun never moves at all.” 
 
 “I know we did,” replied the first; “but I do not 
 
 9 
 
130 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 believe it, because I see it not so. I saw the sun rise 
 there this morning, and I see it set there to-night. How 
 can a thing get all that distance without moving ? You 
 know very well that if/ we did not move, .we should re- 
 main always just where wo are upon the hill.” 
 
 ‘‘But our father,” said the other, “told us it is the 
 earth that moves.” 
 
 “That is impossible, too,” replied the elder, “for you 
 see it does not move. I am standing upon it now, and 
 so are you, and it does not stir. How can you pretend 
 to think it moves, while all the time it stands quietly 
 under our feet ?” — [Adolphe Monod,) 
 
 The Diving-bell. — “ The true Christian is a man 
 working under water; he is out of his proper element ; 
 he could not live at all spiritually, unless he drew down 
 continually that pure, fresh, vital air into his soul, — even 
 the air of the heaven above him. His soul would die 
 without it ; but prayer is the open mouth, and faith is 
 the pipe, by which he constantly inspires the air of the 
 pure heaven above him ; and, strengthened by supplies 
 of grace, — ‘ Grace for grace,’ — fresh grace for fresh ef- 
 forts and fresh duties, — he is enabled to work in this 
 (comparatively) dim world, till, his day’s work being 
 over, he is drawn up, or rather springs up, as the diver 
 in the bell rises to the surface as soon as ‘ the weights’ 
 that kept him down are shaken off.” — Ohampneys 
 “ Floating Lights F 
 
 Bey.* A. Fuller. — The admirable discourse on “Walk- 
 ing by Faith,” the first sermon printed by Andrew Ful- 
 ler, owed its origin to a small matter. It was delivered 
 at an Annual Meeting of the Northamptonshire Associ- 
 ation, at whose request it was printed. Not a w’ord of 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 in 
 
 it was written, until after its delivery. On his way to 
 the Association, the roads in several places were flooded, 
 arising from recent rains, which had made the rivers 
 overflow. Mr^ Fuller came to one place where the water 
 was very deep, and he, being a stranger to its exact 
 depth, was unwilling to go on. A plain countryman re- 
 siding in the neighborhood, better acquainted with the 
 water than the preacher, cried out, Go on. Sir, you 
 are quite safe.” Fuller urged on his horse, but the 
 w^ater soon touched his saddle, and he stopped to think. 
 
 Go on. Sir, all is right,” shouted the man. Taking 
 the man at his word. Fuller proceeded ; and the text was 
 suggested, ‘‘We walk by faith, not by sight.” 
 
 The Large Umbrella. — Not long ago a great drought 
 prevailed in some of the midland counties of England. 
 Several pious farmers, wLo dreaded lest their expected 
 crops should perish for lack of moisture, agreed with 
 their pastor to hold a special prayer-meeting to petition 
 God to send rain. They met accordingly ; and the min- 
 ister, coming early, had time to exchange friendly greet- 
 ings with several of his flock. He was surprised to see 
 one of his little Sabbath-scholars bending under the 
 weight of a large old family umbrella. “Why, Mary,” 
 said he, “ what could have made you bring that umbrella 
 on such a lovely morning as this?” The child, gazing 
 on his face with evident surprise at the inquiry, replied, 
 “ Why, Sir, I thought, as we were going to pray for rain, 
 Fd be sure to want the umbrella.” The minister smiled 
 on her, and the service commenced. While they were 
 praying, the wind rose, the sky, before so bright and 
 clear, became overcast with clouds, and soon, amidst 
 vivid flashes of lightning and heavy peals of thunder, a 
 
132 
 
 ILLUSTRATR'E GATHERINGS. 
 
 storm of rain deluged the country. Those who attended 
 the meeting, unprepared to receive the blessing they 
 sought, reached their homes drenched and soaked, whilst 
 Mary and her minister returned together under the fa- 
 mily umbrella. — Union Magazine. 
 
 FAITH, HOPE, AND CHAKITY.— 1 Cor. xiii. 18; 
 Rom. V. 1—5 ; xii. 3, 9, 12 ; Gal. v. 5, 6 ; Col. i. 4, 5 ; 
 1 Thess. i. 3 ; 1 Pet. i. 21-23. 
 
 ‘‘Now abideth these three,” — Faith, by which we see 
 the glories of the eternal sphere ; Hope, by which we 
 mount toward them ; and Love, by which we grasp and 
 inherit them, — therefore the greatest of these is Love. 
 
 “Love, amid the other graces in this world, is like a 
 cathedral tower, which begins on the earth, and, at first, 
 is surrounded by the other parts of the structure. But, 
 at length, rising above buttressed walls, and arch, and 
 parapet, and pinnacle, it shoots spire-like many a foot 
 right into the air, so high that the huge cross on its sum- 
 mit glows like a spark in the morning light, and shines 
 like a star in the evening sky, when the rest of the pile 
 is enveloped in darkness. So Love, here, is surrounded 
 by the other graces, and divides the honors with them ; 
 but they will have felt the wrap of night, and of dark- 
 ness, when it will shine, luminous, against the sky of 
 eternity. ’ ' — Beecher, 
 
 FAMILY. — Gen. xviii. 19 ; xxx. 27 ; xxxix. 5 (how 
 much good one godly man may do in an ungodly family, 
 — Jacob in Laban’s, Joseph in Potiphar’s) ; xxxv. 2 ; 
 Josh. xxiv. 15 ; 2 Sam. vi. 11, 20 ; Job i. 5 ; John xi. 
 1*5; Acts X. 2, 33 ; xvi. 15, 31-34 ; xviii. 8 ; 2 Tim. i. 5. 
 
TTjr-TEATIVE GATHEETN^S. 
 
 133 
 
 Deut. iv. 9, 10: Neli. iv. 13; Ps. ci. (householders’ 
 psalm); cxxvii. ; cxxviii.; Jer. x. 25; xxxi. 1; Zech. 
 xii. 12 ; 1 Tim. iii. 5. 
 
 What is the Family ? 
 
 A little Empire^ where order should be maintained and 
 submission rendered. 
 
 A Eursery of happiness and usefulness on earth, and 
 for rest and glory in the great family in heaven; where, 
 as the proverb says, ‘-Like seed, like harvest.” Byron’s 
 mother would become frantic with passion, and throw the 
 tongs at him in early childhood; hence he became wild 
 and ungovernable.' Cowper’s mother was all kindness 
 and affection ; so her memory clung to him with fondness 
 all through life, though she died before he was six years 
 old. 
 
 A School. ‘‘ I was my father’s son, — he taught me 
 also ;” and good masters may look to make good scholars. 
 
 A Society^ a Divine institution ; the foundation of all 
 civil societv. 
 
 ft' 
 
 A Sanctuary^ where the man of business, jaded with 
 care ; the laborer, worn with toil ; the sailor from the 
 stormy waves ; the wanderer, weary and restless, — look 
 for repose. 
 
 A little Churchy — ‘‘a Church in the house,” where God 
 the Father is the Head, Christ the Elder Brother, and 
 the Spirit the Comforter, Teacher, Sanctifier. 
 
 An emblem of the great family above; ‘‘of whom the 
 whole family in heaven and earth is named.” 
 
 Family Failings. 
 
 Turning everything into ridicule. 
 
 The habit of viewing everything in a ridiculous light, 
 
 IS one of the family failings to be guarded afrainst. It 
 12 
 
134 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 too often leads to an unamiable desire to detect and hold 
 up to ridicule the faults of others ; and it almost always 
 destroys the finer feelings of admiration for what is beau- 
 tiful, and the tender and more lovable, of putting the 
 best construction on the actions of others, &c. 
 
 An irksome mode of carping and contradicting one 
 another. 
 
 No harm is meant, and no offence is taken ; but what 
 can be more irksome than to hear two sisters, for in- 
 stance, continually setting each other right upon trifiing 
 points, and differing from each other in opinion, for no 
 apparent reason, but from a habit of contradiction ? It 
 is generally on such trifles that this bad habit shows it- 
 self, so that it may seem needless to advert to it ; but it 
 is a family fault, and should be watched against, for it 
 is an annoyance, though but a petty one, never to be able 
 to open your lips without being harassed by such contra- 
 dictions as, Oh, no, that happened on Tuesday, not 
 Wednesday;” or, if you remark that the clouds look 
 threatening, to be asked in a tone of surprise, Do you 
 think it looks like rain ? I am sure there is no appear- 
 ance of such a thing.” Narrate an incident, every small 
 item is corrected ; hazard an opinion, it is wondered at 
 or contradicted ; assert a fact, it is doubted and ques- 
 tioned ; till you at length keep silence in despair. 
 
 Standing out for little things. 
 
 ^ ^ ^ ^ 
 
 Hi jK Hi ^ ^ 
 
 [Query. — Would it not be a good family exercise to fill up 
 the list ?] 
 
 The best way to keep the city clean, is for every 
 one to sweep before his own door.” — Chinese Proverb, 
 Cf. Neh. iii. 23, 28, 30. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 135 
 
 Family Maxims. 
 
 1. Let God be first. 
 
 2. Never be idle. “ Not a minute to spare.” 
 
 3. “ The power of littles.” 
 
 4. “ I will try.” 
 
 5. Attend to minor morals. 
 
 fr. Be happy and make happy. 
 
 7. Never say, “ We must do as others do. 
 
 Halybvrton, when dying : — “ Oh, blessed be God 
 that ever I was born ! I have a father, and a mother, 
 and ten brothers and sisters in heaven ; and I shall be 
 the eleventh. Oh, blessed be the day that ever I was 
 born ! I shall shortly get a very different sight of God 
 from what I have ever had, and shall be made meet to 
 praise Him for ever.” 
 
 “ ‘ I HAVE BEEN IN HIS FAMILY,’ Said Christian of 
 Talkative, ‘ and have observed him both at home and 
 abroad ; and I know what I say of him is the truth. His 
 house is as empty of religion as the white of an egg is 
 of savor. There is there neither prayer nor sign of re- 
 pentance for sin ; yea, the brute in his kind serves God 
 far better than he. He is the very stain, reproach, and 
 shame of religion to all that know him ; it can hardly 
 have a good word in all that end of the town where he 
 dwells, through him. Thus say the common people that 
 know him, — “A saint abroad, and a devil at borne.” 
 His poor family find it so. He is such a churl ; such a 
 railer at, and so unreasonable with his servants that 
 they neither know how to do for or to speak to him. Men 
 that have any dealings with him say it is better to deal 
 with a Turk than with him, for fairer dealings they shall 
 have at his hands. This Talkative, if it be possible, will 
 
136 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 go beyond them, defraud, beguile, and overreach them. 
 Besides, he brings up his sons to follow his steps ; and 
 if he finds in any of them a “ foolish timorousness’' (for 
 so he calls the first appearance of a tender conscience), 
 he calls them fools and blockheads, and by no means 
 will employ them in much, or speak to their commenda- 
 tions before others. For my part, I am of opinion that 
 he has by his wicked life caused many to stumble and 
 fall.; and will be, if God prevents not, the rum of many 
 more.' " — Pilgrim s Progress. 
 
 Is SUCH A MAN A CHRISTIAN ?" was asked of Whit- 
 field. ‘‘ How should I know ?" was the impressive an- 
 swer ; I never lived with him." 
 
 We are really what w^e are relatively." — P. Henry. 
 
 App. See the importance of prayer [for and with the 
 family) ; instruction (Deut. vi. 9) ; discipline (1 Kings i. 
 6 ; Prov. xxii. 6 ; 1 Tim. iii, 4, 5). Example. 
 
 John i. 41, 42. Have I found my brother ? 
 
 FAMILY WORSHIP. 
 
 Hem the day well with prayer and praises, and it 
 will be less likely to ravel out before night." 
 
 Wherever Abraham pitched his tent, there he built 
 an altar. 
 
 It was gravely asserted at a clerical meeting some 
 time ago, that not one-third of the heads of Christian 
 families statedly maintained family devotion. The re- 
 mark may seem a libel upon the Church ; but those who 
 have had the best opportunity of judging, give it their 
 assent. 
 
 How is it that many professing Christian families 
 have family prayer, in the morning, and not at night? 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE CMTHERINGS. 
 
 137 
 
 Does the night demand it less ? The daily sacrifice was 
 to be morning and evening. (Namb. xxviii. 3, 4.) 
 
 Philip Henry was most exemplary in his practice 
 of family devotion. Besides the regular plan of reading 
 and expounding the Scriptures morning and evening, he 
 used strongly to recommend singing, saying that it was 
 a way of exhibiting godliness, like Rahab’s scarlet thread, 
 to such as pass by our windows. (Josh. ii. 18 ; Ps. 
 cxviii. lo.) His children and sen'ants used to take 
 notes of his expositions ; and the foundation of Matthew 
 Henry’s Commentary was laid from these notes. Be- 
 sides this, on Thursday evening, instead of reading, he 
 used to catechise his children and servants upon the As- 
 sembly’s Catechism, with the Proofs, or sometimes in a 
 smaller catechism ; or else they read, and he examined 
 them in some other useful book, as Mr. Poole’s ‘‘Dia- 
 logues against the Papists and on Saturday evening 
 they gave him an account of what they could remember 
 of the chapters they had read through during the week, 
 each a several part in order. Besides this, he had also 
 days of humiliation with his family. The consequence 
 was that, in addition to the blessings resulting to his 
 own children, many who came to live with them dated 
 their first impressions from these services, and gave God 
 thanks that thev ever came under his roof. 
 
 Bradbury. — For a remarkable Providence once at- 
 tending family devotions in his house, see TTdeve^. 
 
 John Newton. — “ He used to make excursions in the 
 summer to different friends in the country, endeavoring 
 to make these visits profitable to them and their neigh- 
 bors by his continual prayers, and the expositions which 
 he gave of the Scriptures read at their morning and 
 12 ^ 
 
138 
 
 ILLtlSTUATIVE GATIIERINOS. 
 
 evening worship. I have heard of some who were first 
 brought to the knowledge of themselves and of God, 
 by attending his exhortations on these occasions ; for, 
 indeed, besides what he undertook in a more stated way 
 at the church, he seldom entered a room, but something 
 both profitable and entertaining fell from his lips. 
 Cecil's Life. 
 
 A. L. Newton.— It is stated in her interesting and 
 useful “ Life,” that Dr. M‘Neile’s exposition, at family 
 prayer, on Col. iii. 1, dwelling upon the word “ tf,” was 
 one of the chief means used by the Spirit to lead her to 
 become decided. 
 
 Spencer Thornton.— When at Cambridge he resided 
 in private lodgings, and his earnest and solemn mannei 
 in family prayer, was blessed to the conversion of the 
 landlady with whom he lived. 
 
 FATHER, God a.— Ps. Ixviii. 5 ; ciii. 13 ; Isa. Ixiii. 
 16 ; Ixiv. 8 ; Hosea xiv. 3 ; Mai. i. 6 ; Matt. v. 48 ; vi. 
 8, 9 ; xxviii. 19 ; Luke vi. 36 ; John xx. 17 ; Rom. viii. 
 15 ; 2 Cor. i. 3 ; vi. 18 ; Gal. iv. 6 ; Eph. iv. 6 ; 1 John 
 i. 3 ; Rev. xiv. 1. 
 
 Luke ii. 49. — “ Wist 
 ye not that I must 
 be about my Fa- 
 ther’s business?” 
 Luke xxiii. 46. — 
 “ Father, into thy 
 hands I commend 
 my spirit.” 
 
 " The first and last recorded words of 
 Jesus. So all through his life, 
 he honored the Father. Of 
 the seven sayings upon the cross, 
 < three were addressed to Him. 
 Luke xxiii. 34; Matt, xxvii. 
 46; Luke xxiii. 46; cf. John 
 iv. 34 ; v. 19-23 ; vi. 38 ; xvii. 
 4-8. 
 
 \ 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 139 
 
 God has a Father’s — 
 
 Hearty that pities, — spares — embraces all, especially 
 the young and weak of the family. 
 
 Wisdom. Appoints our path — assigns our work — 
 mixes our cup. 
 
 Rod, Not spared when needed, yet always used 
 with tenderness and yearning. 
 
 Blessing. Cf. Jacob — Moses — the High Priest (the 
 father of the nation). 
 
 A Sailor’s Faith. — It was the touching answer of a 
 Christian sailor, when asked why he remained so calm in 
 a fearful storm, when the sea seemed ready to devour the 
 ship? He was not sure that he could swim ; but he said, 
 Though I sink, I shall only drop into the hollow of my 
 Father’s hand; for He holds all these waters there.” — 
 From Arnot. 
 
 Similar was the well-known answer of a child, under 
 like circumstances of danger and alarm : — ‘A never fear 
 when my Father’s with me.” 
 
 My life hangs by a single thread ; but that thread 
 is in a Father’s hand.” — J. H. Fvans. 
 
 FAULTS. 
 
 It is observable that, whenever any saints of God, 
 under the Old Testament, are mentioned in the New, 
 they are always spoken of with honor, and their faults 
 and failings are not alluded to. On the contrary, the 
 ungodly are never spoken of, but with some blot, — Cain, 
 “ who was of that wicked one;” Ishmael, the persecutor; 
 Balaam, Korah, &c. 
 
 If the sun be eclipsed one day, it attracts more 
 
140 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE aATHERINGS. 
 
 attention than by its clear shining a whole year.” — 
 Seeker, 
 
 Many persons have quickness enough to discover 
 their faults, who have not energy enough to eradicate 
 them.” — Mrs. H. B. Stowe. 
 
 ‘‘ To reprove small faults with undue vehemence, is as 
 absurd as if a man should take a great hammer because 
 he saw^ a fly on his friend’s forehead.” 
 
 “ I should consider the Ethiopian’s skin and the leo- 
 pard’s spots more than I do, that I may pray more feel- 
 ingly, and cast myself wholly on Divine Providence.” — 
 Adam's Private Thoughts. 
 
 The National Life-boat Company have published a 
 chart of the chief places where shipwrecks have occurred ; 
 so should every man do with his own history and experi- 
 ence. 
 
 FEAR, GODLY. — Gen. xxxi. 42; xxxix. 9; Lev. xix. 
 14 ; 1 Kings xviii. 12 ; Neh. v. 9-15 ; Job xxviii. 28 ; 
 Ps. ii. 11 ; V. 7 ; xix. 9 ; xxxiv 7-11 ; xxxvi. 1 ; Ixxxix. 
 7 ; cxi. 10 ; cxii. 1 ; cix. 38, 63 ; exxx. 4 ; Prov. viii. 
 13 ; xiv. 26, 27 ; xv. 16, 33 ; xxiii. 17 ; xxviii. 14 ; 
 Isa. viii. 12-14 ; Jer. xxxii. 40 ; Hosea iv. 5 ; Mai. hi. 
 16 ; Matt. x. 28 ; Acts ix. 31 ; 2 Cor. vii. 1-11 ; Phil, 
 ii. 12. 
 
 The fear of the Old Testament is the love of the 
 New ; and the love of the New Testament is the fear of 
 the Old. 
 
 Many men affect to despise fear, and in preaching 
 resent any appeal to it ; but not to fear where there is 
 occasion, is as great a weakness as to fear unduly, with- 
 out reason. God planted fear in the soul as truly as He 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 141 
 
 planted hope or courage. Fear is a kind of bell or gong, 
 which rings the mind into quick life and avoidance upon 
 the approach of danger. It is the soul’s signal for ral- 
 lying.” — Beecher. 
 
 “ A low and normal action of fear leads to forecast ; 
 its morbid action is a positive hindrance to effort. Water 
 is necessary for the floating of timber ; but if a log be 
 saturated with water, it sinks in the very element which 
 should buoy it up. Many men are water-logged with 
 anxiety, and, instead of quickening them, it only para- 
 lyzes exertion.” — Ibid. 
 
 FEAR AND LOVE. — “Fear and love are necessary 
 to constitute that frame of mind wherein the essence of 
 piety or true godliness doth consist. Fear is necessary 
 to keep God in our eyes ; it is the office of Love to en- 
 throne Him in our hearts. Fear cautions or avoids 
 whatever may offend; Love yields a prompt and liberal 
 service. Fear regards God as a witness and a judge ; 
 Love cleaves to Him as a friend and a father. Fear 
 makes us watchful and circumspect ; Love renders us 
 active and resolute. In short, Fear and Love go hand- 
 in-hand, and mutually assist each other. Love keeps 
 Fear from being servile and distrustful ; and Fear keeps 
 Love from being forward and secure : and both spring 
 from one root, viz., Faith in God as a being possessed 
 of infinite perfection, and related to us as our Creator 
 and Governor, our Redeemer and Judge.” — Qope. 
 
 “I fear nothing — and there is nothing I have so much 
 reason to fear — as myself .” — Adani 8 Private Thoughts. 
 
 “ The world says of me, ‘ A good sort of man, but a 
 little too strict and precise.’ My real character is rather. 
 
142 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS, 
 
 ‘ He lias not the fear of God before his eyes, neither doth 
 he abhor aught that is evil.’ ” — Ibid, 
 
 ‘‘The fear-nots of Scripture.” See an excellent 
 little book, with this title, embodying the encouragements 
 of the Divine Word, under this head, for the comfort 
 of God’s people, — adapted especially to the tried and 
 fearful. 
 
 Filial Fear. — A little boy was tempted to pluck 
 some cherries from a tree which his father had forbidden 
 him to touch. “You need not be afraid,” said his evil 
 companion, “for if your father should find out that you 
 have taken them, he is too kind to hurt you.” “Ah,” 
 said the brave little fellow, “ that is the very reason 
 why I would not touch them ; for though my father 
 would not hurt me, yet I should hurt him by my disobe- 
 dience.” 
 
 FEAR OF Man. — Deut. vii. 17-21 ; Neh. vi. 10-14; 
 Ps. iii. 6 ; xxxii. 3 ; Ivi. 3, 4 ; cxviii. 6 ; Prov. xxviii. 
 1; xxix. 25; Isa. vii. 2; viii. 12, 13; 1. 7 ; li. 7, 8, 12, 
 13; Jer. i. 17, 18; Ezek. ii. 6; Micah iv. 4; Matt. x. 
 28; Luke xii. 4; John vii. 13; xii. 42, 43; xix. 38; 
 XX. 19; Acts iv. 19; ix. 29; xviii. 9; Phil. i. 14; 1 
 Pet. iii. 14. 
 
 Deuteronomy i. 21, 29 ; iii. 2, 22 ; vii. 17-21 ; xx. 
 8 ; xxxl. 6, 8. 
 
 No book in the whole Bible seems to impress more strongly 
 the duty of boldness and courage; and observe throughout the 
 motive, — the Lord has been with you ; “ the Lord thy God bare 
 thee, as a man doth bear his son” (i. 31) : and the Lord shall 
 he with you, “ he shall fight for you.” So we find all through 
 the “ fear-nots” of Scripture. The best remedy against the fear 
 of man is to get a vivid sight of “God with us.”— Isa. xii. 10, 
 13, 14. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 143 
 
 I do not know the person whose good opinion I do . 
 not love more than himself. .... I had a full 
 conviction that I stand in greater awe of P. L. than God.” 
 — Adam's Private Thoughts, 
 
 ‘‘ Do not fear the power of the world. When a blind 
 man runs against you in the street, you are not angry 
 with him. You say, ‘He is blind, poor man ! or he would 
 not have hurt you.’ So you may say of the world, 
 when they speak evil of Christ, ‘ They are blind.’ ” - 
 MPheyne, 
 
 “ Learn from your earliest days to inure your princi- 
 ples against the perils of ridicule. You can no more 
 exercise your reason, if you live in constant dread of 
 laughter, than you can enjoy your life if you are in con 
 stant dread of death.” — Rev, Sydney Smith, 
 
 “What would the nightingale care if the toad de- 
 spised her singing ? She would still sing on, and leave 
 the cold toad to his dank shadows. And what care I 
 for the sneers of men who grovel upon earth ? 1 will 
 
 still sing on in the ear and bosom of God.” — Beecher, 
 “Fear produceth unwilling, servile performances, as 
 those fruits that grow in winter, or in cold countries, are 
 sour, unsavory, and unconcocted; but those which grow 
 in summer, or in hotter countries, by the warmth and 
 influence of the sun, are sweet and wholesome. Such 
 is the difference between those fruits of obedience which 
 fear and love produceth. A goodly heart is like those 
 flowers which shut when the sun sets, and open again 
 when the sun returns and shines upon them. If God 
 withdraw His favor, and send the night of affliction, they 
 shut themselves and their thoughts up in silence; but if 
 the sun shine again, and shed abroad the light and sense 
 
144 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 of His love upon them, then their heart and mouth is 
 wide open towards heaven in lifting up praises to Him. 
 Hannah prayed silently so long as she was in bitterness 
 of spirit, and of a sorrowful spirit ; but as soon as Hod 
 answered her prayer, and filled her heart with joy, pre- 
 sently her mouth was enlarged into a song of thanks- 
 giving.” — Bishop Reynolds. 
 
 Ex. Abraham (Gen. xii. 12 ; xx. 11) ; Isaac (txen. 
 xxvi. 7) ; Saul (1 Sam. xv. 24) ; David (1 Sam, xxi. 10 
 -13 ; xxvii. 1-3) ; Elijah (1 Kings xix. 3) ; Nicodemus 
 (John iii. 1); Peter (Matt. xxvi. 69-75; Gal. ii. 12); 
 Blind man’s parents (John ix. 22). 
 
 FEELINGS.— Luke xiv. 26 ; Rom. xvi. 1 (charity 
 from principle, not from impulse) ; Gal. v. 24 ; Eph. 
 iv. 19. 
 
 Ex. fear (2 Sam. xvii. 33) ; joy (Matt. xiii. 20, 21) ; 
 repentance (1 Kings xxi. 27, 29); zeal (2 Kings x. 16); 
 reformation (Mark vi. 20). 
 
 “ Our minds are like a lute, soon put out of tune. In 
 fair weather it rings loud and clear ; but let the weather 
 change, and the sun of prosperity withdraw his beams, 
 and hide himself behind dark clouds of trouble, and then 
 our courage vanishes, and we give up ourselves to de- 
 spondency. ’ ’ — Gotthold. 
 
 the light and shade upon a waving field, cours- 
 ing each other, while the flying clouds now hide, and 
 now reveal the sun. 
 
 the changing of a brook at the different seasons 
 
 of the year; sometimes full, its swelling waters seem 
 ready to overleap its banks, and seem to say they shall 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 145 
 
 never fail ; but again we see it scarcely able to maintain 
 itself, — so variable are the Christian’s feelings. 
 
 The way to the great city — up mountains and 
 
 down valleys, and therefore the traveler has not always 
 a view of it, though still he is in the way. 
 
 The variableness of Christian moods is often a mat- 
 ter of great and unnecessary suffering ; but Christian life 
 does not follow the changes of feeling. Our feelings are 
 but the torch, and our life is the man that carries it. 
 The wind that flares the flame does not make the man 
 waver. The flame may sway hither and thither, but he 
 holds his course straight on. Thus oftentimes it is that 
 our Christian hopes are carried, as one carries a lighted 
 candle through the windy street, that seems never to be 
 so nearly blown out as when we step through the open 
 door, and in a moment we are safe^ within. Our wind- 
 blown feelings rise and fall through all our life, and the 
 draught of death threatens quite to extinguish them ; but 
 one moment more and they shall rise and for ever shine 
 serenely in the unstormed air of heaven.” — Beecher. 
 
 “ Our most exalted feelings are not meant to be the 
 common food of daily life. Contentment is more satis- 
 fying than exhilaration ; and contentment means simply 
 the sum of small and quiet pleasures. We ought not to 
 seek too high joys. We may be bright without trans- 
 figuration. The even flow of constant cheerfulness 
 strengthens ; while great excitements, driving us with 
 fierce speed, both rack the ship and end often in explo- 
 sions. If we were just ready to break out of the body 
 with delight, I doubt not but we should disdain many 
 things important to be done. Low measures of feeling 
 are better than ecstasies; for ordinary life, God sends 
 18 10 
 
146 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 his rains in gentle drops, or else flowers would be beaten 
 to pieces.*' — Ihid, 
 
 Feeling and Faith. — There are two classes of 
 Christians ; those who live chiefly by emotion, and those 
 who live chiefly by faith. The first class, those who live 
 chiefly by emotion, remind one of ships, that move by the 
 outward impulse of winds operating upon sails. They are 
 often in a dead calm, often out of their course, and some- 
 times driven back. And it is only when the winds are 
 fair and powerful, that they move onward with rapidity. 
 The other class, those who live chiefly by faith, remind 
 one of the magnificent steamers which cross the Atlantic, 
 which are moved by an interior and permanent principle, 
 and which, setting at defiance all ordinary obstacles, 
 adyance steadily and swiftly to their destination, through 
 calm and storm, through cloud and sunshine.” — Profes- 
 sor Upham, 
 
 The industrious peasant, sitting in his evening chair, 
 sees his children gathering round him, and courting his 
 affections by a hundred little winning ways ; he looks, 
 and smiles, and loves-. The next day he returns to his 
 labor, and cheerfully bears the burden of the day, to 
 provide for these, his little ones, and promote their in- 
 terest. During his day’s labor he may not feel his love 
 operate in such sensible emotions as he did the evening 
 before. Nay, he may be so attentive to other things, as 
 not immediately to have them in his thoughts. What 
 then ? He loves his children. Indeed, he gives proof 
 of it, by cheerfully enduring the toils of labor, and will- 
 ingly denying himself many a comfort, that they might 
 share their part ; and were he to hear of their being in- 
 jured or afflicted, he would quickly feel the returns of 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 147 
 
 glowing aflfection in as strong, or perhaps stronger, mo- 
 tions than ever. Thus the believer may have real love 
 to God in exercise, only it does not work in the same 
 way as at some other times.’' — A. Fuller. 
 
 Our union with Christ is the union of the covenant, 
 and therefore not dependent upon frames and feelings." 
 — A. L. Newton. 
 
 The ROCK does not shake nor change, though the sea 
 may ebb and flow about it." — Rutherford. 
 
 “ He who looks upon Christ through frames and feel- 
 ings, is like one who sees the sun on water, which quivers 
 and moves as the water moves; but he that looks upon 
 Him in the glass of his word by faith, sees Him ever the 
 same." 
 
 Whether sensible comfort or relish is vouchsafed in 
 religious exercises, or not, let our faith be fixed nakedly, 
 or irrelatively to anything else but the Word of the Living 
 God, and, as far as practicable, in the way that we be- 
 lieve a philosophical or mathematical truth, that is, 
 independently of our feelings." — Nottidges Correspon- 
 dence. 
 
 ‘‘ There is nothing in which young converts are more 
 prone to err than in laying too much stress upon their 
 feelings. If they have a comfortable half-hour in the 
 morning, it atones for a multitude of sins in the course 
 of the day. Christ says, ‘ If ye love Me, keep my e'^m- 
 mandments.’ " — Fr. Pay son to his Daughter. 
 
 FLATTERY. — Job xxxii. 21; Ps. v. 9; xii. 2, 3; 
 Iv. 21 ; Ixxviii. 36, 37 ; Prov. xx. 19 ; xxvi. 28 ; xx^iu 
 21; xxviii. 23 ; xxix. 5; Acts xii. 22 ; 1 Thess. ii. 
 
148 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 like the ivy that seems to embrace the tree in its 
 
 aflfection, but in reality chokes and kills it. 
 
 , ‘‘ the beast that biteth smiling.” 
 
 Beware of flattery; it is a rock thinly covered with 
 smooth water, upon -which unthinking youth are apt to 
 split ; nor do they perceive the danger till they are ship- 
 wrecked.” 
 
 Whitfield used to say, when flattered, ^‘Take care 
 of fire; I carry powder about me.” 
 
 FOREBODINGS.— Gen. xxi. 16-18; Ps. xlii. 11; 
 Ivi. 3 ; cxii. 4 ; Isa. xl. 27-31 ; Dan. iii. 17 ; Matt. xiii. 
 22 ; 1 Peter v. 7 ; Rev. ii. 10. 
 
 Gen. xlii. 36. — ‘‘All these things are against me.” 
 
 So thinks poor unbelief, in the dark hour. But sta}^ ! Were 
 all these things the tried Patriarch? Were they not, 
 
 rather, working for his good ? Oh, let us trust God, when we 
 cannot trace him ! 
 
 Judges vi. 13, 14. — “ Oh, my Lord, if the Lord be 
 with us, why then is all this befallen us ? and where be 
 all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, 
 Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt ? but now the 
 Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands 
 of the Midianites. And the Lord looked upon him, and 
 said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel 
 from the hand of the Midianites : have not I sent 
 thee ?” 
 
 “1. Most of our difficulties arise from discussing what be- 
 longs to God. 2. God does not reason with us, but replies to 
 our suspicious reasoning by displaying anew the love of his 
 heart and the power of his arm.” — Bonar. 
 
 1 Sam. xxiii. 26, 27. — “And Saul went on this side 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 149 
 
 of the TRountain, and David and his men on that side of 
 the mountain : and David made haste to get away for 
 fear of Saul ; for Saul and his men compassed David and 
 his men round about to take them. But there came a 
 messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come ; for 
 the Philistines have invaded the land.'’ 
 
 So, often the Lord helps his people in their distress by (1) 
 interposing the mountain between them and their enemies, and 
 (2) calling off the attention of their dreaded enemy to some 
 other quarter. What need to fear, therefore, if we know that 
 his shield is defending us, though it may be an unseen shield ? 
 
 1 Sam. xxvii. 1, 2. — And David said in his heart, 
 I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul : there is 
 nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape 
 into the land of the Philistines ; and Saul shall despair of 
 me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel ; so shall 
 I escape out of his hand. And David arose, and ha 
 passed with the six hundred men that were with him unU 
 Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath." 
 
 One snare of the Great Tempter. David thinks, ‘‘I can 
 help mj^self out of trouble, by flying to the Philistines.” But 
 no good can come by doing evil. Let us beware of this too 
 common resort. God’s saints never sin themselves out of 
 trouble, though Abraham, Job, Jonah, and many others, have 
 tried it. There were easy ways that ran round the base of the 
 hill Difficulty, but the name of the one was Danger, and of the 
 other Destruction ; the only right way was straight up the 
 hill. 
 
 Job vii. 7. — 0 remember that my life is wind : mine 
 eye shall no more see good." 
 
 Yet he did. “ The Lord blessed the latter end of Job more 
 than his beginning.” (See Job xlii. 12-17.) It was a better 
 moment for Job, when he said, “ Though He slay me, yet will 
 I trust in Him.” (Job xiii. 15.1 
 
 13 -5^ 
 
150 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 Mark xvi. 3, 4. — And they said among themselves, 
 Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the 
 sepulchre ? And when they looked, they saw that the 
 stone was rolled away : for it was very great/’ 
 
 “ Ills that never happened have mostly made men wretched.” 
 — Tupper. DiflS-Culties that we reckon upon meeting with in 
 our path strangely vanish, when we are seeking Christ ; an 
 unseen hand has cleared them away, before we came. 
 
 Phil. iv. 6. — Be careful for nothing ; but in every- 
 thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let 
 your requests he made known unto God.” 
 
 St Paul’s reply for undue anxiety , — Prayer and praise. The 
 latter should not be less frequently sought than the former. 
 “ When you cannot pray,” was the good advice of an excellent 
 minister, to one in trouble, “try to praise.” Cf. Acts xvi. 26 . 
 
 ‘^The soldier wastes his strength who fights with 
 shadows.” 
 
 ^‘We should remember that God has given us no 
 promise of exemption from trial for the future, but re- 
 quires us to live day by day on him. To he, therefore, 
 always fearing for the future, is to be taking matters 
 into our own hands, and then we cannot expect his help. 
 Is it not well that God often shows us our own weakness 
 when we do so ? It is good advice, though hard to 
 practice, ‘Never cross a bridge until you come to it.’ ” 
 The Discontented Pendulum. — There is a good 
 moral in Jane Taylor’s story of the discontented 
 pendulum, which began one gloomy day to calculate how 
 many times it would have to swing backwards and for- 
 wards in an hour, and then in a day, then in a week, 
 then in a month, and then in a year, and then in ten 
 years. How was it possible to do so much, or to work 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 151 
 
 at all any given moment, with the dark prospect of so 
 much work before it ? So the pendulum stopped. Nor 
 could it be induced to start again, till it was reminded 
 that though it would have so many times to tick in the 
 whole year, it had the year to do it in, and vras only re- 
 quired to do the hour’s work in the hour ! The anxiety 
 men heap upon themselves arises greatly from forgetting 
 this, and trying to provide for the morrow’s work to-day. 
 But leave to-morrow till it comes, — take care of the 
 minutes, and the hours will take care of themselves.” 
 
 The Two Seeds. — A gardener was about to sow some 
 seeds, when one exclaimed, Oh, let me not be buried 
 in the dark, damp earth ! Why should I not remain in 
 this warm sunshine where I am?” But the gardener 
 threw the seed into the ground, and covered it, without 
 regarding its complaint. As he did so, another seed 
 fell out of his hand, upon the stone close by, where it 
 remained exposed to the sunshine and heat. In a short 
 time it was parched and shriveled up ; while the buried 
 seed was just at the same time beginning to shoot up a 
 delicate little stem, which grew till it ripened into a 
 flower, and afterwards into the full-grown fruit. Was it 
 not better to pass through the darkness flrst ! 
 
 FORETASTES of Glory.— Gen. xlv. 2T. (How 
 Jacob rejoiced in the pledge of Joseph’s exaltation !) 1 
 Cor. ii. 9, 10 ; 2 Cor. i. 22 ; v. 5 ; xii. 3, 4 ; Eph. i. 14 ; 
 Phil. iii. 20; Heb. xii. 22-24; 1 John v. 11. Eath;^ 
 i, e,y now — in this w'orld. What is glory, but grace 
 begun ? — here the bud — there the flower ?] 
 
 Cf. Eden before the Fall. 
 
 Eschol’s grapes, (Numb. xiii. 23, 24.) 
 
152 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 Moses on Mount Pisgah. (Dent, xxxiv. 1~4.) 
 Firstfruits of the harvest, the pledge of the 
 whole. (So Rom. viii. 23.) 
 
 Canaan. — It is remarkable how often the phrase 
 occurs in Judges, “ The land had rest forty [or 
 eighty] years.” (See Judges iii. 11, 30; v. 31 ; 
 . . . .) God thus giving an emblem of the true 
 rest ; though any type of glory must be imperfect 
 here ! For ancient Israel there was war hetioeen 
 the rests, and sorrow in the rest. So is it stilly 
 — ^Hoil is for earth, rest is for heaven.” 
 
 Stephen. (Acts vii. 55, 56.) 
 
 like the spices of Ceylon and Madagascar, of 
 
 which sailors inhale the fragrance, before they land upon 
 the islands. 
 
 The First Fose of Summer F We value it chiefly 
 for the promise it gives of coming sunshine, flowers, and 
 fruit ; so our sweetest Sabbaths, Communions, seasons, 
 and glimpses of eternal joy. Oh, what sweet firstfruits 
 are they of the eternal summer, where no cloud can 
 overcast the sky, and no night can shorten or darken 
 the day of bliss ! 
 
 In the ‘‘Pilgrim’s Progress,” Bunyan has beauti- 
 fully described Christian’s earnests of glory, at three 
 different periods of his pilgrimage : — There was, first, 
 the view he had, from the house Beautiful, of the 
 Delectable Mountains, before he had to battle with 
 Apollyon ; then, from the Delectable Mountains, he had 
 a sight of the Celestial City ; and lastly, in the land 
 Beulah, they even met with the inhabitants of the city, 
 and heard the voices of them that dwelt therein. How 
 touching is the description of the latter : — 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 153 
 
 Beulah. — ‘‘Now I saw in my dream, that by this 
 time the pilgrims were got over the Enchanted Ground, 
 and entering into the country of Beulah (Isa. Ixii. 4-12 ; 
 Cant. ii. 10-12), whose air was very sweet and pleasant ; 
 the way lying directly through it, they solaced them- 
 selves there for a season. Yea, here they heard con- 
 tinually the singing of birds, and saw every day the 
 flowers appear in the earth, and heard the voice of the 
 turtle in the land. In this country the sun shineth night 
 and day : wherefore, this was beyond the Valley of the 
 Shadow of Death ; and also out of the reach of Giant 
 Despair ; neither could they from this place so much as 
 see Doubting Castle. Here they were within sight of 
 the City they were going to : also here met them some 
 of the inhabitants thereof ; for in this land the shining 
 ones commonly walked, because it was upon the borders 
 of heaven. In this land also the contract between the 
 Bride and the Bridegroom was renewed ; yea, here, ‘ as 
 the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so doth their 
 God rejoice over them.’ Here they had no want of corn 
 and wine ; for in this place they met with abundance of 
 what they had sought for in all their pilgrimages. Here 
 they heard voices from out of the City — loud voices, say- 
 ing, ‘ Say ye to the daughters of Zion, Behold, thy sal- 
 vation cometh ; Behold, his reward is with Him !’ Here 
 all the inhabitants of the country called them, ‘The holy 
 people, the redeemed of the Lord, sought out,’ ” &c. 
 
 “ Now, as they walked in this land, they had more 
 rejoicing than in parts more remote from the kingdom 
 to which they were bound ; and, drawing near to the 
 City, they had yet a more perfect view thereof. It was 
 builded of pearls and precious stones, also the streets 
 
154 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 thereof were paved with gold ; so that by reason of the 
 natural glory of the City, and the reflection of the sun- 
 beams upon it, Christian with desire fell sick ; Hopeful 
 also had a fit or two of the same disease : wherefore, 
 here they lay by it a while, crying out, because of their 
 pangs, ‘ If you see my Beloved, tell him that I am sick 
 of love.’ ” 
 
 The Christian cannot be always upon the Mount. 
 There is a need-be” that the light of glory should not 
 dazzle our weak eves. 
 
 I REMEMBER,” says Dr. Pierre, on my return to 
 France, after a long voyage to India, as soon as the sail- 
 ors had disoerned the shores of their native country, 
 they became, in a great measure, incapable of attending 
 to the duties of the ship ; some looked at it wistfully, 
 others dressed themselves in their best clothes ; some 
 talked, others wept. As we approached, their joy be- 
 came greater ; and still more intense was it when we 
 came into port, and saw on the quay their parents and 
 children ; so that we had to get, according to the cus- 
 tom of the port, another set of sailors to bring us into 
 the harbor. Thus would it be with God’s children, if 
 they saw the full and unclouded glory of eternity,. be- 
 fore they reach the eternal heaven. ‘ I have many things 
 to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.’ (John 
 xvi. 12.)” 
 
 John Holland, an old Puritan minister (of whom 
 little is known except the brightness of his death), when 
 he saw that he was near his end, called out, “ Come, oh, 
 come ! let us gather some flowers of comfort this hour.” 
 He requested to have Komans viii, read to him, and at 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 155 
 
 every verse lie stopped the reading, and explained it, to 
 the comfort of his own soul and the joy of his friends. 
 Having thus continued about two hours, he suddenly 
 cried out, Oh, stay your reading ! What brightness 
 is that I see?” They told him it was the sunshine. 
 ‘‘ Sunshine,” said he, “nay, my Saviour’s shine ! Well, 
 farewell world ! Welcome heaven ! The Day-star from 
 on high hath visited my heart. Oh, speak it when I am 
 gone, and preach it at my funeral, — God dealeth fami- 
 liarly with man. , I feel His mercy; I see His majesty; 
 whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell, 
 Godknoweth; but I see things that are unutterable.” 
 Thus ravished in spirit, he roamed towards heaven with 
 a cheerful look, and soft, sweet voice ; but what he said 
 could not be understood. 
 
 Flavel, at one time, on a journey, set himself to im- 
 prove his time by meditation ; when his mind grew in- 
 tent, till at length he had such ravishing tastes of heav- 
 enly joy, and such full assurance of his interest therein, 
 that he utterly lost the sight and sense of this world and 
 all its concerns, so that he knew not where he was. At 
 last, perceiving himself faint through a great loss of 
 blood from his nose, he alighted from his horse, and sat 
 down at a spring, where he washed and refreshed him- 
 self, earnestly desiring, if it were the will of God, that 
 he might there leave the world. His spirits reviving, 
 he finished his journey in the same delightful frame. He 
 passed that night without any sleep, — the joy of the 
 Lord still overflowing him, so that he seemed an inhabi- 
 tant of the other world. After this, a heavenly serenity 
 and sweet peace long continued with him ; and for many 
 years he called that day “one of the days of heaven,” 
 
156 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 and professed he understood more of the life of heaven 
 by it, than by all the discourses he had heard, or the 
 books he ever read. 
 
 Mr. Golding. — A little before his death, when his 
 brother said to him, You seem to enjoy foretastes of 
 
 heaven,’’ he replied, Oh, this is no longer a foretaste ; 
 
 this is heaven ! I not only feel the climate, but I breathe 
 the fine ambrosial air of heaven, and soon shall enjoy 
 the company.” The last words he was heard to utter 
 were, “ Glory, glory, glory!” He died in the twenty- 
 fourth year of his age. 
 
 FORGETFULNESS of God. — Deut. iv. 23 ; vi. 10-12 ; 
 xxxii. 18 ; Judges hi. 7, 8 ; 1 Sam. xii. 9 ; Ps. ix. 17 ; 
 X. 4; xliv. 17, 20; 1. 22; cvi. 21; cxix. 16, 93; Prov. 
 ii. 17 ; Isa. Ixv. 11; Jer. h. 13, 32; Hos. ii. 13; viii. 
 14. 
 
 Forgetting of accounts payeth not debts; nay, the 
 interest of a forgotten bond runneth up with God inter- 
 est upon interest.” — Rutherford. 
 
 Forgetful-green. — Your father had a battle with 
 Apollyon,” said Greatheart to Samuel, ‘‘at a place 
 yonder before us, in a narrow passage, just beyond For- 
 getful-green. And, indeed, that place is the most dan- 
 gerous place in all these parts ; for if at any time 
 pilgrims meet with any brunt, it is when they forget 
 what favors they have received, and how unworthy they 
 are of them. This is the place, also, where others have 
 been hard put to it. But more of the place when we 
 come to it ; for I persuade myself that to this day there 
 remains either some sign of the battle, or some monu- 
 ment to testify that such a battle there was fought.” 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 157 
 
 St. Paul’s Cloak. ^ — A street preacher in Germany 
 was one day assailed by some opponents, and one per- 
 son remarked that the Bible was full of fables. The 
 brawler referred to Paul having forgotten his mantle, — 
 Pastor B. — “ That is a passage quite suitable for me, 
 perhaps, also, for you. I am very forgetful. I see here 
 that the great apostle could forget, and this comforts 
 me, and admonishes me also, that I should endeavor to 
 make good what I forget. I thought once like you, and 
 forgot the one thing needful ; but I now endeavor not to 
 forget the goodness of God. Have you, brother, forgot- 
 ten this T' 
 
 FORMALISTS.— 1 Sam. xv. 22 ; Ps. 1. 7-15 ; Prov. 
 xxi. 3 ; Eccles. v. 1, 2 ; Isa. i. 11 ; Iviii. 3, 4 ; Hosea 
 vi. 6 ; Matt. xv. 8, 9, 13 ; Rom. ii. 17-29. 
 
 Those who wear the uniform, but do not fight the 
 battles of the Great King. 
 
 The Lord’s Prayer. — Suppose a person attends church 
 twice every Sunday, and uses it once daily at his own 
 family altar, — the Lord’s prayer is offered by such a 
 one between 700 and 800 times everv year. What a 
 fearful witness are its seven petitions against the soul, 
 offered so often, if the offering has been but a mockery, 
 — the utterance of the lips, not the worship of the heart ! 
 
 Six Tears of Sabbaths. — In the same way, in the 
 course of forty years there are 2,080 Sabbaths, or nearly 
 six years of Sabbaths. What will the judgment be, if 
 this long seed-time has been wasted ! 
 
 The Cranes. — ‘’Rhennus reporteth that he saw in 
 Metz, in Germany, two cranes standing, in silver, upon 
 the altar, into the bellies whereof the priests, by a device, 
 14 
 
158 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS'. 
 
 put fire and frankincense, so artificially, that all the fire 
 and smoke came out of the cranes’ beaks. A perfect 
 emblem of the public worship of a dead and formal peo- 
 ple ; the minister puts a little fire into them — they have 
 little warmth of themselves, or sense of true zeal ; and 
 as those cranes sent out sweet perfumes at their beaks, 
 having no smell at all thereof in themselves, so they 
 breathe out the svreet incense of prayer and zealous de- 
 votion, whereof they have no sense or spiritual under- 
 standing at all.” — Spencer. 
 
 Bunyan, in the Pilgrim’s Progress,” represents 
 Christian, after he had left the cross and passed by Sim-' 
 pie. Sloth, and Presumption, seeing Formality and Hy- 
 pocrisy come tumbling over the wall. They were born 
 in the land of Vainglory, and were going for praise to 
 Mount Zion. They had not entered in at the narrow 
 gate, as that by all their countrymen was esteemed too 
 far about, and they would fain make a short cut, for 
 which they pleaded custom, foolishly arguing, If we 
 get into the way, what matter which way we get in ?” 
 To which Christian beautifully contrasted his own sure 
 evidences of acceptance at the last When I come to 
 the gate of the city, the Lord thereof will know’ me for 
 good, since I have his coat on my back.” But when 
 they came to the foot of the steep Hill Difiiculty, they 
 turned aside, one into the path called Danger, which led 
 him into a great wood ; the other into the path called 
 Destruction, which led him into a wide field, full of dark 
 mountains, where he stumbled and fell, and rose no 
 more. 
 
 FOUNDATION, Christ a. — Gen. xlix. 24; Ps. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 159 
 
 cxviii. 22 ; Isa. xxviii. 16 ; Zech. iii. 9 ; Matt. xxi. 42 ; 
 Acts iv. 11, 12 ; 1 Cor. iii. 11 ; Eph. ii. 20 ; 1 Pet. ii. 
 6-8. 
 
 “ An interesting case was that of one aroused to con- 
 cern during his sermon on ‘ Unto whom coming as unto 
 a living stone.’ As he spoke of the Father taking the 
 gem out of his bosom, and laying it down for a founda- 
 tion-stone, she felt in her soul, ‘ I know^ nothing of this 
 precious stone; I am surely not converted.’ This led 
 her to come to speak with him. She was not under 
 deep conviction; but, before going away, he said, ‘You 
 are a poor, vile worm ; it is a wonder the earth does not 
 open and swallow you up.’ These words were blessed 
 to produce a very awful sense of sin. She came a second 
 time, with the arrows of the Almighty drinking up her 
 spirit. For three months she remained in this state, 
 till, having once more come to him for counsel, the living 
 voice of Jesus gave life to her soul while he was speak- 
 ing of Christ’s words, ‘If thou knewest the gift of God,’ 
 &c., and she went away rejoicing.” — M^Cheynes Life. 
 
 FRIENDSHIP. — Job xvi. 21 ; Ps. Ixxxviii. 8, 18 
 (acknowledging God’s hand) ; Prov. xvii. 17 ; xviii. 24 ; 
 xxvii. 6, 9, 17 ; Cant. v. 1 ; Micah vii. 2-8 ; Luke xii. 
 4 ; John xv. 13-15 ; 3 John 14. 
 
 False. — Deut. xiii. 6 ; Ps. xii. 2, 55 ; Prov. xxii. 24; 
 XXV. 19; Lam. i. 2; Micah vii. 2-8; Zech. xiii. 6; 
 Matt. xxii. 12 ; 1 Cor. xv. 33 ; James iv. 4. 
 
 The Jewish economy was eminently adapted to sanctify true 
 friendship, in the three annual feasts, gathering together so 
 many from all parts of the land. See Ps. Ixxxiv. 7. “ They 
 
 go from company to company” (marg.), alluding to the com- 
 
160 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 panies of fellow-worshipers, who went up to the holy city, 
 many a time strengthening each others’ hands in God. 
 
 Cf. also, the sending forth of God’s ministers, in all ages, h;y 
 twos : — Moses and Aaron, Elijah and Elisha, the seventy dis- 
 ciples, the two witnesses ; and in the history of the Church, 
 Luther and Melancthon, Cranmer and Latimer, &c., &c. 
 
 Promises may get friends, but it is performance that 
 keeps them.’' 
 
 Better is the ass that carries you, than the horse 
 that throws you.” 
 
 “ Poor and true is better than rich and false.” 
 
 Bees in Summer. — “ So long as there is blossom on 
 the trees, and honey in the blossom, the bees will fre- 
 quent them in crowds, and fill the place wdth music ; but 
 when the blossom is over, and the honey is gone, the 
 bees too will all disappear. The same happens in the 
 world with men. In the abode of fortune and pleasure 
 friends will be found in plenty ; but when fortune flies, 
 they fly along with it. For this reason, let good men be 
 advised to fly to Christ crucified, who never forsakes, in 
 their distress, those who truly seek Him.” — Crotthold, 
 The Unstrung Lute. — ‘‘ One evening one of a com- 
 pany of friends despatched a servant to his house for a 
 lute, and, on its being brought to the apartment, it had 
 lost tune, as usually happens to these instruments, when 
 exposed to the changes of weather or atmosphere. 
 While the owner was tightening the strings, Gotthold, 
 who was present, thought within himself. What is sweeter 
 than a well-tuned lute, and what more delightful than a 
 faithful friend, who can cheer us in sorrow with wise and 
 affectionate discourse ? Nothing, however, is sooner un- 
 tuned than a lute, and nothing is more fickle than a 
 human friend. The tone of the one changes with the 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 161 
 
 weather, that of the other with fortune. With a clear 
 sky, and a bright sun, and a gentle breeze, you will have 
 friends in plenty ; but let fortune frown, and the firma- 
 ment be overcast, and then your friends will prove like 
 the strings of the lute, of which you will tighten ten, 
 before you will find one which will bear the tension, or 
 keep the pitch.” — Grotthold. 
 
 It is one of the severest tests of friendship to tell 
 your friend of his faults. If you are angry wuth a man, 
 or hate him, it is not hard to go to him and stab him 
 with words ; but so to love a man that you cannot bear 
 to see the stain of sin upon him, and to speak painful 
 truth through loving words, — that is friendship. But 
 few have such friends. Our enemies usually teach us 
 what we are, at the point of the sword.” — Beecher. 
 
 The best cementer of Christian friendship is nearness 
 to Christ. As the spokes of a wheel, the nearer they 
 approach the centre, the nearer they approach each 
 other. 
 
 Lady Blessington. — A person in humble life, who 
 had known her every motion for the last eighteen years 
 of her life, said, My opinion is, that no woman was 
 ever overwhelmed with such professions of friends, and 
 attachment for so great a number of insincere acquain- 
 tances.” How mournfully did her end confirm the testi- 
 mony ! Surrounded in life by the most polished circles 
 of admirers, she died in poverty, almost without a friend. 
 Compare with such a case Ps. xxxvii. 37. 
 
 President Edwards, when he came to die, — his last 
 words, after bidding his relations good-by, were, ^‘Kow^ 
 where is Jesus of Xazareth, my true and never-failinj' 
 Friend ?” And so saying he fell asleep. 
 
 14 * 11 
 
1G2 
 
 ILLUST1^\TTVK (MTTIERTNGS. 
 
 ‘‘Doctor, what shall I do?” asked a patient of her 
 medical adviser, “my friends are all out of town.” 
 “You may have one Friend,” was the answer, “who is 
 never out of the way, but ever near and ever true. Jesus 
 is the best Friend, for earth or heaven.” 
 
 Ex. David and Jonathan, 1 Sam. xviii. 1-4 ; xix. 20; 
 2 Sam. i. 26. Hushai, David’s friend, 2 Sam. xv. 37. 
 Peter and John, John i. 35-42; Matt. iv. 18-22; Luke 
 V. 10; Mark v. 37 ; Luke xxii. 7, 8 ; John xiii. 23-29; 
 xviii. 15, 16; Matt. xvii. 37 ; Acts iii. 1; iv. 13; v. 
 20 ; viii. 14. Paul and Silas, Acts xv. 40. Aristobulus 
 and Narcissus, Rom. xvi. 10, 11 (marg.). 
 
 Cf. Abraham, James ii. 23. Moses, Exod. xxxiii. 11. 
 John Baptist, John iii. 29. Lazarus, John xi. 11. 
 
 FRUGALITY.— Luke xvi. 1, 2 ; John vi. 12. 
 
 “ A penny saved is a penny gained.” 
 
 “ He sups ill who eats all at dinner.” 
 
 “Need-nots.” — Baxter used to make it one of his 
 rules, — Spend nothing upon “ need-nots.” 
 
 GAMBLING. 
 
 “ The best throw of the dice is to throw them away.” 
 Mrs. Newell. — Nearly fifty years ago a young man 
 was appointed preceptor of the Bradford Academy, who 
 had just become interested in religion. He was invited 
 to attend a social party, and after a time cards were 
 brought out. This much tried him ; but he felt bound 
 to be decided, and left the room for another, especially 
 as some of his own pupils were of the party. Some of 
 the young ladies soon inquired, where was the pre- 
 ceptor ? They all then gathered round him, and he 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 163 
 
 stated his reasons, which led to a conversation upon re- 
 ligion. Harriet Attwood, afterwards Mrs. Newell, one 
 of the first missionary company who went from America, 
 traced her conversion to that conversation ; and the pre- 
 ceptor himself has been a faithful pastor of a church in 
 New Hampshire for more than forty years. 
 
 GIFTS. — (compared wdth grace.) — Luke x. 20 ; Rom. 
 xii. 6 ; 1 Cor. xii. 4 ; 28-31 ; xiii. 1, 2 ; xiv. 1. 
 
 Differ, as God has given to every one his sphere, 
 Joshua fights in the valley, whilst Moses prays on the 
 mount; Barnabas is a son of consolation, James and 
 John are Boanerges, the sons of thunder, 
 
 [Note. — It is a great thing for every man to know 
 his gift, and improve it. ‘‘ The right man in the right 
 place,” — always, however, putting first things first.”] 
 
 The Corinthian Church seems to have abounded 
 above all the Apostolic Churches, in the richness and 
 variety of gifts ; yet it was the most unfruitful and most 
 divided. 1 Cor. xiv. 26; i. 7 ; and i. 11-13; iii. 3. 
 
 Gifts without grace are often only a fair glove to 
 cover a foul hand ; grace hath the clean hand and pure 
 heart. Ps. xxiv. 4. They are like LAdah’s letter, who 
 carried his own death-warrant with him ; or, like a long 
 row of ciphers without a unit before them, looking large, 
 but having no real value. 
 
 “ Gifts may decay and perish, — they do not lie be- 
 yond the reach of corruption ; indeed, grace shall never 
 perish, hut gifts will. Grace is incorruptible, though 
 gifts are not. Grace is ‘ a spring, whose waters fail 
 not but the streams of gifts may be dried up. If 
 grace be corruptible in its own nature, as being but a 
 
164 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 creature, yet it is incorruptible in regard to its con- 
 server, as being the neiv creature. He that did create 
 it in us, will conserve it in us. He that did begin it 
 will also finish it. Gifts have their root in nature, but 
 grace hath its roots in Christ ; and therefore, though 
 gifts may die and wither, yet grace shall abide for ever. 
 Now, if gifts are perishing, then, though he that hath 
 the lea^t grace is a Christian, he that hath the greatest 
 gifts may be hut almost a Christian.” — Mead, 
 
 Balaam, Saul, Caiaphas, &c., all had prophetical 
 or other gifts ; yet, not having grace, what profit was it 
 to themselves or others ? 
 
 GOD. — Exod. XV. 11; xx. 2, 3; Deut. iv. 35; vi. 4; 
 xxxiii. 26; Job xi. 7-9; xxvi. 14; xxxvii. 23; Isa. 
 xliii. 10; xliv. 6; Matt. xix. 17; John i. 18; iv. 24; 
 Rom. xi. 33 ; 1 John i. 5 ; iv. 8. 
 
 The Being whose centre is everywhere, but whose 
 circumference is nowhere.” He who may be at once 
 easily apprehended by the lowest of His spiritual chil- 
 dren, and yet cannot be comprehended by the highest 
 of His seraphim. 
 
 One of the most ancient hieroglyphic representations 
 of God was the figure of an eye upon a sceptre, to de- 
 note that God sees and rules all things. 
 
 The Egyptian hieroglyphic was a winged globe and 
 a serpent coming out of it ; the globe to signify God's 
 eternity, the wings His active power, and the serpent 
 His wisdom. 
 
 The Thracian emblem was a sun with three beams ; 
 one shining upon a sea of ice, and melting it ; another 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 165 
 
 upon a rock, and melting it ; and a third upon a dead 
 man, and putting life into him. 
 
 It is a deep and difficult thing to conceive properly 
 of God in our thoughts of Him, but especially in our 
 addresses to Him ; thus much we know, that, as it is re- 
 vealed He is a Spirit, we should banish from our minds 
 every idea of His having any form or shape whatever, 
 and only think of Him as an infinitely glorious and un- 
 limited Being. Our heart should adore a spiritual Ma- 
 jesty which it cannot comprehend, and, as it were, lose 
 itself in His infinitude. We must believe Him great 
 without quantity, omnipresent without place, everlasting 
 without time, and containing all things without extent; 
 and when our thoughts are come to the highest, let us 
 stop, wonder, and adore.” — Bp. Hall. 
 
 A HEATHEN PHILOSOPHER once asked a Christian, — 
 ‘‘Where is God?” The Christian answered, “Let me 
 first ask you, Where is He not ?” — ArroicsmitJi. 
 
 Simonides, the philosopher, being requested to de- 
 scribe God, asked a week to think of it ; and, after that, 
 a month, and then a year ; then, being still unable, he 
 declined the task, declaring that the more he thought of 
 so oreat a Being, the less he was able to describe Him. 
 The Christian feels the same, nay, greater awe ; but he 
 has been permitted to see God revealing Himself. John 
 i. 18. 
 
 An Arab, when one day the question was put, “ How 
 do you know there is a God ?” turned with apparent in- 
 dignation upon tfie questioner, and replied, “ How do I 
 know whether a man or a camel passed my tent last 
 night?” His own footprints are the best evidence of 
 the existence and character of Jehovah. 
 
166 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 The character of God is but little seen but from 
 Revelation. Redemption, that is the glass which re- 
 flects its true beauty. Look at the light of day ; it pre- 
 sents one uniform and undistinguished and unbroken 
 mass of light. The many beautiful rays and colors which 
 united together to form that light are lost and hid from 
 our eyes. It is science only that has discovered to us 
 this fact. But when we take the prism, and cause this 
 apparently simple and uncompounded light to pass 
 through its sides, we are charmed with the beauty of its 
 rays, the richness and variety of its colors. So when 
 we turn away from the glass which redemption holds up, 
 how many of the attributes of God are hid from us ! 
 That it is which (as the prism separates and untwists the 
 rays of light) brings to light the hidden glories of the 
 Godhead. There it is. His justice and mercy. His holi- 
 ness and purity and love beam, and, like rays of light, 
 pour their efiulgence on our astonished sight ; and the 
 Almighty shines forth in all the glory and beauty of 
 these attributes now manifested and revealed to His 
 creation. ' ’ — Salter. 
 
 The eye is qualified to receive delightful impressions 
 from the objects of creation seen in reflected light. But 
 there is a point at which the eye fails, — the direct ap- 
 proach to the meridian sun. So it is with reason, — the 
 moral eye of man. It is qualified to examine the crea- 
 tion around us, and to draw arguments from observa- 
 tions on creatures; but where it approaches God, it fails, 
 and must veil itself before the incomprehensible splendor 
 of that bright luminary. When any process takes place 
 upon the organs of the natural eye, enabling it to de- 
 light in a direct look at the sun, such process resembles 
 
LLU5TP.ATIVE GATHf:RIXG5. 
 
 167 
 
 true, spiritual conversion, and then the individual is en- 
 abled to gaze on the eternal source of Life and love, 
 
 even God Himself.” — Ibid. 
 
 ‘ If God be for es, who can be against cs 
 When Antigonus was ready to engage in a sea-fight with 
 Ptolemy’.s armada, and the pilot cried out, ‘ How manij 
 more they are than tee the courageous king replied, 
 
 ‘ ’ Tii true if you count their numbers ; but for how many 
 do you value me T One God is sufficient against all the 
 combined forces of earth and hell. We are, therefore, 
 commanded to cast all our care on Him, for He caretn 
 for us.” — Spencer. 
 
 How many Gods are there ?” was said to a little 
 bov. “ One.” “ How do you know there is only one ?” 
 “ Because there is no room for more, for the one God 
 fills heaven and earth.” 
 
 GOSPEL.— Matt. x.viv. 14 ; Mark i. 14 ; xvi. 15, 16 ; 
 Luke ii. 10, 11 ; Acts xx. 24 ; Rom. i. 16 ; ii. 16 ; xv. 
 29 ; 1 Cor. i. IT ; ix. IT ;. 2 Cor. iv. -3-6 ; Gal. i. 8 ; 
 Eph. i. 13 ; vi. 15, 19 ; Phil. i. 2T ; Col. i. 5 ; 1 Thess. 
 i. 5 ; 2 Thess. i. 8 ; 1 Tim. vi. 3 ; 2 Tim. i. 10-13 ; 
 Heb. iv. 2 ; James i. 25 ; 1 Pet. i. 24, 25 ; iv. 6 ; Rev. 
 xiv. 6. 
 
 Matt. xi. 5, ‘‘ The poor have the Gospel preached to 
 them.” 
 
 •‘Think not that the beauties of this world are for the rich 
 and ^eat alone. The illuminated drawing-room, the green- 
 house, and the hot-house, they are theirs : but the quiet moon- 
 licrht the nio-htlv heavens, with their multitude of shining 
 worlds ; the sun, spreading his splendor over a sky of cloudless 
 blue, or lighting up the clouds of evening, with a thousand gor- 
 geous hues ; the air, perfumed in its passage over fields and 
 
168 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GfATIIERINUS. 
 
 heath ; the lovely flowers of the wild and hedge-row.— ‘these are 
 provided by a beneficent God for rich and poor alike. And 
 who would leave these for the painted gayeties of art ? So the 
 blessings of the Gospel are not for the learned alone. They may 
 taste the beautiesof the inspired poetry Letter, and penetrate more 
 deeply into the few obscurities of Holy Writ ; but the comforts 
 of the Bible,— pardon of sin,- reconciliation with God, peace 
 and holiness, and heaven,— these are for all ; these gladden the 
 heart of the laborer at his toil, of the patient of an hospital on 
 his dying bed. And beware, then, how thou quit these Divine 
 consolations for all that learning can ofier.” — Salter. 
 
 2 Cor. ii. 16, To the one, ^^we are a savor of death 
 unto death; and to the other, the savor of life unto 
 life.’’ 
 
 “See here what different effects the Gospel hath upon the 
 children of men, even as the sun hath in respect of his hot 
 beams; if it shines upon wax, it softens that; but if it 
 shines upon clay, it hardens that. Also, it shines upon a gar- 
 den, and causeth the herbs and flowers thereof to send forth a 
 fragrant scent; it shines upon a filthy dunghill, and what a 
 loathsome stench doth the same beam produce I So the Gospel 
 sun makes the hearts of believers soft and tender ; but it tends 
 (through sin and Satan's temptations) to make the hearts of 
 some wicked men more hard. ‘ The Gospel is a savor of life 
 
 unto life unto some, and of death unto death unto others.' " 
 
 Spencer. 
 
 1 Pet. i. 12, Which things the angels desire to look 
 into.” 
 
 “ The interest felt by the angels in all that concerns the Gos- 
 pel and the eternal interests of men, put on their probation, 
 fornn a very humbling contrast to our cold indifference in what 
 concerns us much more nearly than them. It is as if a ship, 
 nearing a lee-shore in the midst of tremendous breakers, while 
 every inhabitant of the neighboring coast was watching her 
 progress Avith beating hearts, and longing to see her delivered, 
 the passengers and crew should pursue their wonted amuse- 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINUS. 
 
 169 
 
 merits, or, hanging over the straining sides, idly speculate on 
 the number of billows, and sport with the raging foam. Alas ! 
 with the hosts of heaven there is all sympathy and intense 
 interest: with perishing men, all apathy and madness.” — 
 Christian Lady's Magazine. 
 
 The Gospel is a plant which is not affected by earthly 
 changes. It is the same in the temperate as in the tor- 
 rid zone, and as in the frigid. It does not seem to be 
 scorched by heats, or benumbed by cold. Age does not 
 diminish the freshness of its bloom ; soil does not affect 
 its nature ; climate does not modify its peculiar proper- 
 ties. Among the frost-bound latitudes of North America, 
 and the burning sands of jifrica, or the fertile plains of 
 India, we find it still shooting up the same plant of re- 
 nown, the same vine of the Lord’s right-hand planting, 
 the same ‘tree of life,’ raised up from the beginning of 
 time, ‘ whose leaves were for the healing of the nations,’ 
 and under which all kindreds, and tribes, and tongues, 
 and people shall one day rejoice, when privileged to take 
 shelter under its all-covering shade, and draw refreshing 
 nourishment from its perennial fruits.” — Dr, Duff. 
 
 Greenland Mission. — “ It is well known that the 
 Moravian missionaries in Greenland labored for several 
 years without any apparent success. They seem to have 
 thought, with many in the present day, that they should 
 first instruct the natives in the existence of God, the 
 creation of the world, the nature of their souls, &c. ; and 
 all this they did without exciting any degree of attention. 
 On one occasion, however, while one of these good men 
 was occupied in translating the Gospels, he was visited 
 by a number of these savages, who were desirous of 
 knowing the contents of the book. He began an address 
 15 
 
170 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE UATHEKINGIS. 
 
 to them by giving them some general scriptural instruc- 
 tion, and then slid into an account of the sufferings of 
 Jesus ; reading them the account of His agony, and 
 speaking much of the anguish which made him sweat 
 great drops of blood. 
 
 Now began the Spirit of God to work. One of these 
 men, named Kaiarnack, stepped forward to the table and 
 said, in an earnest and affecting tone, ‘ How was that ? 
 Tell me that once more, for I would fain be saved too.’ 
 Never had such language been heard from a Green- 
 lander before. A full statement of the Gospel was given. 
 This man became indeed converted to God, and eminently 
 useful. A change took place in the general character of 
 the preaching of the brethren, and their subsequent suc- 
 cess is well known.” 
 
 GRACE. 
 
 Ascribed to God, 1 Pet. v. 10. Christ, Ps. xlv. 2; 
 John i. 14, 16, 17 ; Rom. v. 15. Holy Spirit, Zech. xii. 
 10 ; Heb. x. 29. Ps. Ixxxiv. 11 ; cxv. 1 ; Isa. xliii. 25 ; 
 Ezek. xxxvi. 32 ; Zech. iv. 7 ; Acts xx. 24 ; Rom. iii. 
 24; iv. 4; v. 8, 20, 21; vi. ; xi. 5, 6 ; 1 Cor. i. 4; xv. 
 10; 2 Cor. viii. 9; xii. 9; Eph. i. 6, 7 ; ii. 4-10; 2 
 Tim. i. 9 ; Titus ii. 11 ; Heb. iv. 16 ; xii. 15-28 ; 1 Pet. 
 i. 13 ; V. 5; 2 Pet. iii. 18; Jude 4; Rev. xxii. 21. 
 
 John XV. 29, They hated me without a cause.” 
 
 The word Sajpedv here used is the same as in Eom. iii. 24, ‘‘being 
 justified /reeZy by his grace and afibrds an apt illustration of 
 Divine grace. As there was no cause in Christ that the Jews 
 should hate Him, so there was no cause in us ; no merit, no de- 
 sert that he should love us. Wickliffe’s prayer was as expressive 
 as quaint, “ Lord, save me gratis.'^ 
 
 Heb. xiii. 25, “ Grace be with you all. Amen.” 
 
171 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 2 Pet. iii. 18, ‘‘But grow in grace,” &c. 
 
 Rev. xxii. 21, “ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 be with you all. Amen.” 
 
 The last words of the three apostles, St. Paul, Peter, and 
 John (as their books stand in our Scriptures), are all of grace. 
 In their supposed chronological order, they speak of Christ (2 
 Tim. iv. 22; 2 Pet. iii. 18; John xxi. 25). Cf. Mai. iv. 6 (the 
 close of the Old Testament and the N'ew). 
 
 “ As the word mercy, in its primary signification, has 
 relation to some creature, either actually in a suffering 
 state or obnoxious to it ; so grace, in its proper and strict 
 sense, always presupposes unworthiness in its object. 
 Hence, Avhenever anything valuable is communicated, the 
 communication of it cannot he of grace, any further than 
 the person on whom it is conferred, is considered as un- 
 worthy by him who confers it. For. as far as any de- 
 gree of worth appears, the province of grace ceases, 
 and that of equity takes place. Grace and worthiness, 
 therefore, cannot be connected in the same act, and for 
 the same end. The one must necessarily give place to 
 the other, according to that very remarkable text, — ‘ If 
 by grace, then is it no more of works ; otherwise, grace 
 is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no 
 more grace ; otherwise work is no more work.’ As an 
 elegant writer (Hervey) observes, ‘ It is not like a fringe 
 of gold, bordering the garment : nor like an embroidery 
 of gold, decorating the robe ; but like the mercy-seat of 
 the ancient tabernacle, which was gold — yure gold — all 
 gold throughout.’ ” — Booth. 
 
 “ The notion of free grace may make persons dissolute, 
 but the sense of it restrains from sin. . . . Saul was not 
 so free in persecuting Christ, as Christ was in pardoning 
 
172 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 Paul. The goodness of God respects our emptiness, the 
 grace of God our sinfulness, and the mercy of God our 
 unworthiness. There is grace in the desire of grace, as 
 there is sin in the desire of sin. Grace is an immortal 
 seed, cast into an immortal soil, that brings forth immor- 
 tal fruit.” — Mason. 
 
 “ If God (says Mr. Hooker) should make us an offer 
 thus large ; — Search all the generations of men since the 
 fall of Adam, find one that has done only one action 
 which has past from him pure, without any stain or 
 blemish at all, and for that one man’s only action, neither 
 men nor devils shall be tormented, — do you think any 
 one person could be found that has done one such per- 
 fect action ? We firmly believe not; and if so, then all 
 must be of free grace. It is the peculiar glory of Gos- 
 pel grace to humble every believer in the dust, and from 
 gratitude and love to produce the best obedience.”— 
 Venn. 
 
 “ Had I all the faith of the patriarchs, all the zeal 
 of the prophets, all the good works of the apostles, the 
 constancy of the martyrs, and all the flaming devotion 
 of seraphs, I would disclaim them all in point of depen- 
 dence, and rely only on free grace. I would count all 
 but dung and dross when put in competition with the in- 
 finitely precious death and meritorious righteousness of 
 my dear Saviour Jesus Christ : and if ever a true and 
 lasting reformation of manners is produced amongst us, 
 it must (under the influence of the Eternal Spirit) be 
 produced by the doctrines of free grace. Till these 
 doctrines are generally inculcated, the most elegant 
 harangues from the pulpit, or the most correct disserta- 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERIN^GS. 
 
 *1 
 
 1 i o 
 
 tions from the press, will be no better than a pointless 
 arrow, or a broken bow.” — Servey, 
 
 Holiness and diligence in all our lawful employ- 
 ments are not superseded by the freeness of God s grace ; 
 as, when a schoolmaster teaches a boy gratis, we all 
 know that the youth cannot attain to learning without 
 some application of his own, and yet it does not there- 
 fore cease to be free on the teacher’s part ; nor is his 
 favor and kindness the less, because attention and dili- 
 gence are necessary on the part of the learner. Dr* 
 Arrow smith* 
 
 ‘‘We are apt to suppose that God is such a one as 
 ourselves. If we wish to enjoy the patronage of a great 
 man, we very naturally think we must say or do some- 
 thing that may acquire his esteem, and recommend us to 
 his notice. Thus would we also treat with God ; when, 
 alas ! the plain truth is, we can have, and say, and do 
 nothing that He approves, unless He himself give it of 
 His free grace, and work it in us by His Spirit.” — 
 Salter. 
 
 “ Grace is the same Divine principle in all God’s chil- 
 dren, how various soever it may seem on account of their 
 different tempers, abilities, or advancement in religion. 
 If you draw water out of one and the same well with 
 vessels of different metal, one of brass, another of cop- 
 per, a third of tin, and another of earth, the water may 
 seem at first to be of a different color, but when the 
 vessels are brought near to the eye, it is the same, and 
 the taste of the water has the same relish.” 
 
 “ Dei Guatia.” — “An officer, during an engagement, 
 received a ball which struck him near his waistcoat-pocket, 
 where a piece of silver stopped the progress of the 
 15 * 
 
174 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 nearly spent ball. The coin was slightly marked at the 
 words ‘ Dei gratia.’ This providential circumstance 
 deeply impressed his mind, and led him to read a tract, 
 which his beloved and pious sister gave him on leaving 
 his native land, entitled, • The Sin and Danger of Ne- 
 glecting the Saviour.’ This tract it pleased God to bless 
 to his conversion. Truly the ways of God are wonder- 
 ful, and in none more than the salvation of sinners.” — 
 Cope, 
 
 The Delusion. — A clergyman once represented the 
 conduct of awakened sinners towards God’s offers of 
 gratuitous salvation thus : — A benevolent and rich man 
 had a very poor neighbor, to whom he sent this mes- 
 sage, — ‘I wish to make you the gift of a farm.’ The 
 poor man was pleased with the idea of having a farm, 
 but was too proud at once to receive it as a gift. So he 
 thought of the matter much and anxiously. His desire 
 to have a home of his own was daily growing stronger ; 
 but his pride was great. At length he determined to 
 visit him who had made the offer. But a strange delu- 
 sion about this time seized him, for he imagined that he 
 had a bag of gold. So he came with his bag, and said 
 to the rich man, ‘ I have received your message, and 
 have come to see you. I wish to own the farm, but I 
 wish to pay for it. I will give you a bag of gold for it.’ 
 ^ Let us see your gold,’ said the owner of the farm. 
 ‘Look again, I do not think it is even silver.’ The poor 
 man looked, tears stood in his eyes, and his delusion 
 seemed to be gone ; and he said, ‘ Alas ! I am undone ; 
 it is not even copper. It is but ashes. Hoav poor I 
 am ! y I wish to own that farm, but I have nothing to 
 pay. Will you give me the farm ?’ The rich man re 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 175 
 
 plied, ^ Yes ; that was my first and only offer. Will you 
 accept it on such terms?’ With humility, but with 
 eagerness, the poor man said, ‘ Yes ; and a thousand 
 blessings on you for your kindness.’ ” — Br. Plumer. 
 
 ‘^Sammy’s part.” — There was a poor man whose in- 
 tellectual faculties had not advanced in harmony with his 
 physical growth, and for this reason his infantile name 
 had been perpetuated in his manhood. But God hath 
 chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the 
 wise.” 
 
 In a period of religious awakening, Sammy thought 
 himself a subject of the work, and, with others, presented 
 himself for admission to the Church. The ofiice-bearers 
 hesitated, on the ground that he might not have sufiBcient 
 capacity to comprehend the doctrines of the Gospel, 
 and the evidences of conversion. They concluded, how- 
 ever, to examine him, and began with the subject of re- 
 generation. 
 
 ‘‘ ‘Do you think, Sammy,’ said the pastor, ‘that you 
 have been born again V 
 
 “ ‘I think I have,’ was the answer. 
 
 “ ‘Well, if so, whose work is that?’ 
 
 “ ‘Oh, God did a part, and I did a part.” 
 
 “ ‘Ah, what part did you do, Sammy?’ 
 
 “ ‘Why, I opposed God all I could, and He did the 
 rest.’ 
 
 “ The result of the examination w^as, that so far as they 
 could judge, the Holy Spirit had been Sammy’s theo- 
 logical teacher, and had indeed created him anew in 
 Christ, ‘not of works, lest any man should boast.’ ” — 
 Christian Treasury, 
 
 Bev. J. W. Fletcher, of Madely.— “ Having ren- 
 
176 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 dered some services to Lord North, the Prime Minister, 
 during the American war, he received a polite communi- 
 cation from that nobleman, desiring to know if he stood 
 in need of anything which it w^as in his power to bestow. 
 Mr. Fletcher modestly replied, — ‘ He was sensible of the 
 minister’s kindness, but he only wanted one thing, which 
 he could not grant him, and that was more grace.’ It is 
 a high attainment to prefer the grace of God to earthly 
 honors and emoluments. None but God, the author of 
 grace, can incline the heart to this.” — Cope. 
 
 James LxUNG, a Scotch boy (whose history is related 
 in M^Cheyne’s Life,”) when near death, Mr. Miller, 
 of Wallacetown, asked him, — Would you like to get 
 better?” He answered, ‘‘I w^ould like the will of 
 Q-od.” — Mr. M. But if you were getting better, would 
 
 you just live as you did before ?” — James. “ If God did 
 not give me His grace, I would.” 
 
 GROWTH IN GRACE.— Job xvii. 9 ; Ps. xcii. 12 ; 
 Prov. iv. 18; Hos. vi. 3; xiv. 5—7 ; Mai. iv. 2; Luke 
 xvii. 5 ; John xv. 2, 8 ; Rom. i. 17 ; Eph. iv. 15 ; Phil, 
 i. 9 ; Col. i. 10 ; ii. 6, 7 ; 2 Thess. i. 3 ; Heb. v. 12-14 ; 
 vi. 1 ; 1 Pet. ii. 2 ; 2 Pet. i. 5—11 ; iii. 18. 
 
 Like Seed. — Growth after burial, John xii. 24 — im- 
 perceptible — sun — rain. 
 
 „ Trees. — Palm — cedar — vine, Ps. xcii. 12 ; Hos. 
 
 xiv. 5-7 (spreading in every direction — 
 downwards — upwards — on every side — grow- 
 ing as the lily, for beauty — the cedar, for 
 vigor, extent, and fragrance — the vine, for 
 
 fruitfulness ) 
 
 ,, A building. — Eph. ii. 20-22. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINaS. 
 
 177 
 
 Like The body, — Eph. iv. 15, 16--by the propor- 
 tionate and gradual increase of every part. 
 
 „ The path of the sun, — Prov. iv. 18— gradually 
 rising to the meridian, though often hidden 
 by clouds and mists. 
 
 „ The possession of Canaan, — Obtained by little 
 and little,” Exod. xxiii. 29, 30; Josh, 
 xiii. 1. 
 
 „ Polishing metal — ^First there is an opaque, dark 
 substance, neither possessing nor reflecting 
 light; presently, as the polisher plies his 
 work, you will see here and there a spark 
 shooting forth; then a broad surface of in- 
 creasing light, till, by-and-by, the workman 
 may see his own face clearly reflected as in 
 a sheet of glass. 
 
 „ The rising tide, — Imperceptible in its advances, 
 except when compared at some intervals — 
 apparently ebbing and flowing, and making 
 little way — amidst much fretting and foaming, 
 going back as often as advancing, yet really 
 making sure progress, until it has reached 
 the full height, and covered the shore. 
 
 There is nothing more fatal to piety than the idea 
 that it is a fixed point, — that conversion is safety. I 
 am converted, and therefore I am safe.” 
 
 We must estimate relatively* — as we consider the bur- 
 den a man bears, as well as the pace he runs. Watch 
 and pray against failures,” says Mrs. Hawkes ; ‘‘ but 
 take heed of desponding under them. Be content to 
 travel as you are able. The oak springs from the acorn, 
 but does not become a tree at once. Because the stage- 
 
 12 
 
178 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 wagon cannot travel to York as fast as the stage-coach 
 can, would you say it will never get there ? The mush- 
 room springs up in a night 5 but what is a mushroom ? 
 Do not be satisfied to he a dwarf ; but remember that 
 there must he time to grow.” 
 
 Swelling and growing are things very frequently 
 confounded, yet essentially different. The one is the 
 effect of disease, the other the sign of health. There 
 may be a swelling of our hand or foot, or some other 
 part of the body, but this is unnatural. So there may 
 he an enlargement of the unrenewed mind in knowledge, 
 or zeal, or great pretensions ; but “ knowledge puffeth 
 up.” “ Great swelling words of vanity” are the mark 
 of those who “ walk after the flesh.” (2 Pet. ii. 10, 18.) 
 
 Cecil says, — “ Growth in grace manifests itself by a 
 simplicity, that is, a greater naturalness of character. 
 There will be more usefulness, and less noise ; more 
 tenderness of conscience, and less scrupulosity; there 
 will he more peace, more humility. When the full corn 
 is in the ear, it bends down because it is full.” 
 
 Simeon. — “ Religion, in its rise, interests us almost 
 exclusively about ourselves ; in its progress, it engages 
 us about the welfare of our fellow-creatures ; in its more 
 advanced stages, it animates us to consult in all things, 
 and to exalt, to the utmost of our power, the honor of 
 our God.” 
 
 Newton has entered fully into the subject in his three 
 admirable letters, — Grace in the Blade ; Grace in the 
 Ear ; Grace in the Full Corn in the Ear. The chief 
 characteristic marks he assigns to these three states are, 
 desire, conflict, and contemplation. 
 
 Of the first,— c?esiVe, he says,— 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 179 
 
 A is not without knowledge, yet this state is 
 more usually remarkable for the warmth and liveliness 
 of the affections. On the other hand, as the work ad- 
 vances, though the affections are not left out, yet it 
 seems to be carried on principally in the understanding. 
 The old Christian has more solid, judicious, connected 
 views of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the glories of His 
 person and redeeming love. Hence his hope is more 
 established, his dependence more simple, and his peace 
 and strength (cceteris paribus) more abiding and uniform, 
 than in the case of a voung convert ; but the latter has, 
 
 •/O'' 
 
 for the most part, the advantage, in point of sensible 
 fervencv. A tree is most valuable, when laden with 
 ripe fruit, but it has a peculiar beauty when laden with 
 blossom. It is spring time with A. He is in bloom ; 
 and, by the grace and blessing of the Heavenly Hus- 
 bandman, will bear fruit in old age. His faith is weak, 
 but his heart is warm. He will seldom venture to think 
 himself a believer, but he sees, and feels, and does those 
 thiuors which no one could unless the Lord was with him. 
 
 o 
 
 The verv desire and bent of his soul is to God, and to 
 •/ ' 
 
 the Word of his grace. His knowledge is but small, but 
 it is growing everv dav.’’ 
 
 Of the second, — conflict : — 
 
 ‘‘ I apprehend that in the state of B, that is, for a 
 season after we have known the Lord, we have usually 
 the most sensible and distressing experience of our own 
 evil natures. 
 
 ‘‘ By a variety of exercises through the overruling and 
 edifying influences of the Holy Spirit, B is trained up 
 in a growing knowledge of himself and of the Lord. 
 He learns to be more distrustful of his own heart, and to 
 
180 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 suspect a snare in every step he takes. The dark and 
 disconsolate hours which he has brought upon himself in 
 times past make him doubly prize the light of God’s 
 countenance, and teach him to dread whatever might 
 grieve the Spirit of God, and cause Him to withdraw 
 again. The repeated and multiplied pardons which he 
 has received increase his admiration of, and the sense 
 of his obligations to the rich, sovereign, abounding mercy 
 of the Covenant. Much has been forgiven him, there- 
 fore he loves much, and therefore he knows how to for- 
 give and to pity others. He does not call evil good, or 
 good evil ; but his own experience teaches him tender- 
 ness and forbearance. He experiences a spirit of meek- 
 ness towards those who are overtaken in a fault, and his 
 attempts to restore such are according to the pattern of 
 the Lord’s dealings with himself.” 
 
 Of the third , — contemplation : — 
 
 C has obtained clearer, deeper, and more compre- 
 hensive views of the mystery of redeeming love, of the 
 glorious excellency of the Lord Jesus, in His person, 
 offices, grace, and faithfulness ; of the harmony and 
 glory of all the Divine perfections manifested in and by 
 Him to the Church ; of the stability, beauty, fullness, 
 and certainty of the Holy Scriptures; and of the 
 heights, depths, lengths, and breadths of the love of God 
 in Christ. Thus, though his sensible feelings may not 
 be so warm as when he was in the state of A, his judg- 
 ment is more solid, his mind more fixed, his thoughts 
 more habitually exercised upon the things within the 
 vail. He grows especially in three things, — 
 
 1. Humility , — A and B know that they ought to be 
 humbled, but C is truly so. ... From the exercise 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 181 
 
 of this grace he derives two others. . . . The one is 
 submission to the will of God. . . . The other is 
 tenderness of spirit towards his fellow-Christians. . . . 
 Here A is usually blameable ; the warmth of his zeal, 
 not being duly corrected by a sense of his own imper- 
 fections, betrays him often into a censorious spirit. But 
 C can bear with A likewise, because he hath been so 
 himself, and he will not expect green fruit to be ripe. 
 
 ^‘2. Spirituality, — He has learned, with the apostle, 
 not only to suffer want, but (which is, perhaps, the harder 
 lesson) how to abound. A palace would be a prison to 
 him without the Lord’s presence, and with this, a prison 
 would be a palace. From hence arises a peaceful reli- 
 ance upon the Lord. He has nothing which he cannot 
 commit into His hands, which he is not habitually aiming 
 to resign to His disposal. 
 
 3. A union of heart to the glory and will of God, is 
 
 another noble distinction of C.’s spirit Now, in 
 
 proportion as we advance nearer to Him, our judgment, 
 aim, and end, will be conformable to His,, and His glory 
 will have the highest place in our hearts.” 
 
 Ex. St. Paul. (See Humility,) St. Peter. — Cf. his 
 history in the Gospels, — zealous but rash, warm but self- 
 confident; in the Acts, — humbled after his fall, and 
 chastened in spirit ; — in the Epistles, — the ripened saint, 
 waiting for his departure, with calm peace and assured 
 hope. (Cf. also, the marks of humility, in the Gospel 
 of St. Mark, supposed to have been written under his 
 direction where, — ‘‘Everything tending to exalt himself 
 is omitted ; everything tending to lower himself is in- 
 serted.” — Gresswell.) Nicodemus. — The three stages 
 of his advance in courage. — John iii. 1, 2 (came to Jesus 
 16 
 
182 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 by nigbt) ; vii. 50 (defended Him before the Pharisees) ; 
 xix. 39 (took part openly in Christ’s burial, when His 
 professed disciples held back through fear). 
 
 GUIDANCE, Divine. — Ex. xxiii. 20 ; 2 Chron. xx. 
 12 ; Ps. XXV. 9 ; xxxi. 3 ; xxxii. 8 ; xxxvii. 23 ; xlviii. 
 14 ; Ixxiii. 24 ; Prov. iii. 5, 6 ; xi. 3 ; xvi. 9 ; xx. 24 ; 
 Isa. XXX. 21; xlix. 18; Iviii. 11; Jer. x. 23; John x. 
 4 ; Acts xvi. 6, 7 ; 1 Thess. iii. 11. 
 
 There are three ways by which God guides His people. 
 — By (1) His Word, (2) His Providence, and (3) His 
 Spirit, Ps. cvii. 7. — “ He led them forth by the right 
 way.” 
 
 Though it was not the nearest way, nor the easiest way, nor 
 the safest way. But it was “the right way,”— right, though 
 rough. Isa. Iv. 8, 9. 
 
 Israel of old was under God’s peculiar guidance, 
 manifested in three different ways, — the pillar of cloud 
 and fire, to direct their general journeys; the Urim and 
 Thummim, for Aaron to consult, in particular " cases 
 (Numb, xxvii. 21), and wise counselors, guided by God, 
 in individual and smaller matters, as Moses (Ex. xviii. 
 15; Numb. ix. 6-8, &c.), Hobab (Numb. x. 31). It is 
 remarkable that several cases occurred, where they acted 
 without consulting God, and always suffered for it. (See 
 Joshua ix. 14, 16 ; Numb. xiv. 40-45.) 
 
 With reference to the first of these modes of guidance, 
 Scott, the Commentator, says 
 
 ^^In allusion to this special guidance of Israel, many 
 pious persons use the expression, ^moving of the cloud,’ 
 as denoting the providential and gracious direction which 
 God now affords His people ; and^ doubtless, it is very 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 183 
 
 allowable thus to accommodate and apply these typical 
 passages to our own circumstances, provided it be done 
 with sobriety, judgment, and caution. But we should be 
 careful not to introduce a new rule of duty ; or give oc- 
 casion to error, uncertainty, or enthusiasm, by a vague 
 and indeterminate use of such allusions. We are not 
 under the same evident infallible guidance that Israel 
 was; the Word of God, soberly explained, is our only, 
 and our sufficient rule of duty ; and in understanding it, 
 and in applying general precepts to particular circum- 
 stances, good counsel, fervent prayer, and a careful 
 observance of Providence should be employed. Some 
 things are always our duty, when we have opportunity 
 and ability ; and these need no other direction. Other 
 things are lawful in themselves ; but it may be doubtful 
 whether, in our case and situation, they are advisable ; 
 that is, whether they are likely, all things considered, to 
 conduce to the glory of God and our own real good. 
 When, after mature consultation and fervent prayer, such 
 matters still remain doubtful, the events of Providence, 
 yea, perhaps, a prevailing bias of mind — may be of some 
 weight in the decision, especially in cases where self- 
 denial must be exercised, and danger encountered. But, 
 when any undertaking is evidently wrong, or plainly 
 inexpedient, or unadvisable, in the opinion of impartial 
 judges, and yet the inclination leads that way, — in this 
 case, that which men call ‘ the moving of the cloud, or 
 the opening of Providence, is generally no more than a 
 temptation of Satan. The suggestions of that enemy 
 are often mistaken for Divine impressions, and men fancy 
 they are following the Lord, when they are gratifying 
 
184 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 tteir own wayward inclinations.” — Scott's Commentary, 
 Exod. xl. 
 
 “ Take God into thy counsel. Heaven overlooketh 
 hell; God can at any moment see what plots are hatch- 
 ing there against thee.” — Gurnall. 
 
 “ The Christian must in all his ways have three guides, 
 — Truth, Charity, and Wisdom ; Truth, to go before him ; 
 Charity and A?isdom, on either hand.” — Ball. 
 
 “ I believe that wherever guidance is honestly and 
 simply sought, it is certainly given. As to our discern- 
 ment of it, I believe it depends upon the measure in 
 which we are walking in the light. One indulged sin 
 may so cloud the sky, that it spreads a mist, so that tc 
 see what God is doing is impossible.” — A. L. Newton. 
 
 How MAY we EXPECT DiVINE GUIDANCE tO be MANI- 
 FESTED? — See a striking letter of John Newton’s 
 (“ Omicron,” Letter xxviii.) 
 
 Some look for direction by, — 
 
 1. The lot. — “It is true the Scriptures, and indeed 
 right reason, assure us, that the Lord disposes the lot ; 
 and there are several cases recorded in the Old Testa- 
 ment, in which lots were used by Divine appointment ; 
 but I think neither these, nor the choosing Matthias by 
 lot, are proper precedents for our conduct. 
 
 2. “ Some, when in doubt, have opened the Bible at a 
 venture, and expected to find something to direct them, 
 in the first verse they should cast their eye upon. It is 
 no small discredit to the practice, that the heathen who 
 knew not the Bible, used their favorite books in the same 
 way. 
 
 3. “A sudden strong impression of a text has been by 
 many accepted as an infallible token of Divine guidance.” 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 185 
 
 But by this, a person may be unwarily misled into great 
 evils and gross delusions ; and many have been so. There 
 is no doubt but the Enemy of souls, if permitted, can 
 furnish us with Scripture in abundance, in this way, and 
 for these purposes. 
 
 4. ‘‘Some persons judge of the nature and event of 
 their designs by freedom which they find in 'prayer ^ 
 But “ self is deceitful, and when our hearts are much 
 fixed and bent upon a thing, they may put words and 
 earnestness into our mouths.’' 
 
 5. “A remarkable dream has sometimes been thought 
 as decisive as any of the foregoing methods of knowing 
 the will of God.” But, though all these methods may 
 be, and have been, used by God, for communicating His 
 will, they are not the rule. “ The promises are not made 
 to those who dream, but to those who watch.” 
 
 Upon the whole, then, “in general, God guides and 
 directs His people, by affording them, in answer to 
 prayer, the light of His Holy Spirit, which enables them 
 to understand and to love the Scriptures. The Word of 
 God is not to be used as a lottery; nor is it designed to 
 instruct us by shreds and scraps, which, detached from 
 their proper places, have no determined import ; but it 
 is to furnish us with just principles, right apprehensions 
 to regulate our judgment and affections, and thereby to 
 
 influence and direct our conduct In particular 
 
 cases, the Lord opens and shuts for them, breaks down 
 walls of difficulty which obstruct their path, or hedges 
 up their way with thorns, when they are in danger of 
 going wrong, by the dispensations of His Providence. 
 They know that their concernments are in His hands ; 
 they are Veiling to follow whither and when He leads, but 
 16 * 
 
186 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 are afraid of going before Him. Therefore, they are 
 not impatient ; because they believe, they will not make 
 haste, but wait daily upon Him in prayer ; especially 
 when they find their hearts most engaged in any purpose 
 or pursuit, they are most jealous of being deceived by 
 appearances, and dare not move farther or faster than 
 they can perceive His light shining upon their paths. 
 
 HABIT. 
 
 One year’s seeding, nine years’ weeding.” — Proverb. 
 
 The diminutive chains of habit are generally too 
 small to be felt, till they are too strong to be broken.” — ‘ 
 Pr. Johnson. 
 
 How many habits and opinions do we begin from im- 
 pulse, and persevere in from indolence !” — Panhy. 
 
 “ Like flakes of snow . — The seemingly unimportant 
 events of life succeed one another, as the snow gathers 
 too-ether: so are our habits formed. A single flake pro- 
 duces no material change ; but, as the tempest hurls the 
 avalanche down the mountain, and overwhelms the in- 
 habitant and his habitation, so passion, acting upon the 
 element of mischief, which pernicious habits have brought 
 together by imperceptible accumulations, overthrows the 
 edifice of truth and virtue .” — Jeremy Bentham. 
 
 “Little habits drive nails into our cofiins.” 
 
 HAPPINESS.— Deut. xxxiii. 29 ; Job v. 17 ; Ps. i.; 
 xxxvi. 8; Ixiii. 5; Ixxiii. 25; cxxvii. 5; cxxviii. ; cxliv. 
 15 ; cxlvi. 5; Prov. iii. 13, 17 ; xiv. 21; xxviii. 14 ; xxix. 
 18; Hah. iii. 17-19 ; Lukexii. 15; John xiii. 17 ; Rom. 
 xiv. 22; Phil. iv. 10-12; James v. 11; 1 Peter iv- 
 10 - 12 . 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERIXGvS. 
 
 187 
 
 Some persons’ happiness has no present tense. They 
 are always full of dark forebodings ; their sky is always 
 clouded. 
 
 Happiness is not the end of life, but character is.” — 
 Beecher. 
 
 (See Character.) 
 
 “ It is impossible to churn happiness out of a chest of 
 gold; it will never come. You can never. make unfading 
 crowns of fading flowers.” — Case. 
 
 “ He enjoys much who is thankful for little. A grate- 
 ful mind is a great mm^.^'—Secleer. 
 
 There are three things which, if Christians do, they 
 will And themselves mistaken If they look for that in 
 themselves, which can only be found in another, — perfect 
 righteousness ; if they look for that in the Law, which 
 can only be found in the Gospel, — mercy ; if they look 
 for that on earth, which is only to be found in heaven, — 
 perfection.”^ — P. Henry. 
 
 John Newton used to say, I see in this world two 
 heaps, of human happiness and misery. Now, if I can 
 take but the smallest bit from the one heap, and add it 
 to the other I carry a point. If, as I go home, a child 
 dropped a halfpenny, and if, by giving to it another, I 
 can wipe away its tears, I feel that I have done some- 
 thing; and I should be glad indeed to do greater things, 
 but I will not neglect this.” 
 
 Sydney Smith recommends it as a rule, to trv to make 
 at least one person happy every day, and adds the cal- 
 culation, — Take ten years, and you will have made 3,650 
 persons happy, or brightened a small town, by your con- 
 tribution to the fund of general joy. 
 
 John Howard, the philanthropist, in the midst of his 
 
188 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINaS. 
 
 constant perils and dangers, wrote from Riga, — ‘‘ I hope 
 T have sources of enjoyment that depend not on the par- 
 ticular spot I inhabit ; a rightly cultivated mind, under 
 the power of religion and the exercise of beneficent dis- 
 positions, affords a ground of satisfaction little affected 
 by lieres and theresJ^ 
 
 Dr. Arnold exclaimed, on the review of the past, “I 
 have enjoyed almost fearful amount of happiness.” 
 
 H. Martyn. — fear I have nojb learned the secret 
 of true happiness — a poor and contrite spirit.” 
 
 Sunshine.— The day had been overcast ; suddenly 
 the sun shone out, and a little patch of sunshine bright- 
 ened the corner of the carpet. Immediately Tray got 
 up, and, with a wise look trotted to the bright place, and 
 laid himself in it. ^ There’s true philosophy,’ said George ; 
 ‘ only one patch of sunlight in the place, and the saga- 
 cious little dog walks out of the shadow to roll himself 
 in the brightness.’ Let not Tray’s example be lost upon 
 us ; but wherever there shall shine one patch of sunlight, 
 let us enjoy it .” — Children s Paper. 
 
 HARDNESS OF HEART.— Ex. iv. 21; ix. 14; 
 xxxii. 9, 10 ; Josh. xi. 20 ; Job ix. 4 ; xvii. 4 ; Ps. Ixxxi. 
 12 (marg.) ; Prov. xxviii. 14 ; xxix. 1 ; Isa. xliv. 18 ; 
 xlviii. 4; Jer. v. 3; Ezek. iii. 7; xxxvi. 26; Mark hi. 
 5; vi. 52; xvi. 14; Rom. ii. 5; ix. 18; 1 Tim. iv. 2; 
 Heb. iii. 8-13. 
 
 A reckless mind — a seared conscience — a hardened 
 heart; — one step more, and — a lost soul.” 
 
 In BELIEVERS 
 
 There are times when the soul is conscious of such 
 excessive hardness, such absolute want of feeling, that 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 189 
 
 it is thankful to be grounded ; but no one else than God 
 could be trusted.” — A. L, Newton. 
 
 ‘‘Monday., Dee. 27. — Hardness of heart still con- 
 tinued; occasionally in prayer obtained relief, but all 
 day long tormented with unbelieving thoughts, — the 
 cause of them evidently an inordinate desire of enjoying 
 sensible comfort .” — Eewitsons Journal. 
 
 “ God is said to harden the heart when He withholds 
 restraininoT ^race, — to harden when He does not soften. 
 He is said to make blind w’hen He does not enlighten, as 
 freezing and darkness follow upon the absence of the 
 sun, the source of light and heat.” — Salter. 
 
 The Palimpsest. — Angelo Mario, a Jesuit librarian 
 at the Vatican, made the discovery many years ago, that 
 some of the ancient MSS. had more than one layer of 
 writing upon them. By certain chemical experiments, 
 he succeeded in making legible the ancient writing. 
 Archbishop Whately has suggested the theory, now gen- 
 erally admitted, that this was done on account of the 
 expensiveness or scarcity of parchment in the middle 
 ages. De Quincy, in his Confessions,” has given us a 
 chapter on the subject, applying it to signify different 
 layers of thought and emotion that have at different times 
 passed upon the heart, and become apparently covered 
 over completely with some other. So is it with the 
 hardened sinner. How many a layer of conviction after 
 conviction and partial reformations has he known, yet 
 still how thick a case covers his hardened heart ! 
 
 Past Feeling.” — ‘‘A faithful pastor relates the 
 following fact : — ^ I once entered a farm-house on a chilly 
 November evening, and spent an hour in personal reli- 
 gious conversation with its inmates. The aged father 
 
190 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 of the family — a most kind and amiable man — followed 
 me to the door and stopped me at the porch. He took 
 me by the hand and most deliberately said, I thank 
 you for this visit, and hope it will not be the last. As 
 you have just commenced your labors among us, I wish 
 to give you a word of advice, based on my own experi- 
 ence, — Let us old people alone^ and devote your labors to 
 the youth of your flock. Forty years ago I was greatly 
 anxious about my soul. Many were then converted ; but 
 I was not one of them. And now for years I have not 
 had a single feeling on the subject ! I know that I am 
 a lost sinner. I know that I can only be saved through 
 Jesus Christ. I feel persuaded that when I die 1 am 
 lost ! I believe all you preach, but I feel it no more 
 than if I were a block of marble. I expect to live and 
 die just as I am. So leave us to ourselves, and our sins, 
 and give your strength to the work of saving the young.’' 
 I remembered that incident, and watched the progress of 
 that man. His seat was rarely vacant in the sanctuary ; 
 but he was a true prophet of his own fate. He lived as 
 he predicted, and so he died. We laid him down at last 
 in his hopeless grave, in the midst of a congregation 
 over whom God had so often opened windows in heaven.’ 
 He was joined to his idols; God let him alone.” — Rev. 
 J. L, Cuyler. 
 
 Ex. Pharaoh, Sihon (Deut. ii. 80) ; Ahab, Zedekiah 
 (2 Chron. xxxvi. 13); Belshazzar (Dan. v. 20); Judas. 
 
 HARVEST. — Gen. viii. 22 ; Lev. xix. 9, 10 ; xxiii. 
 10-14 ; Deut. xxiv. 19 ; Ps. Ixv. ; Ixxxi. 13-16 ; cxxvi. 
 6 ; Prov. iii. 9; x. 5 ; Isa. ix. 3 ; xvii. 10, 11 ; Jer. v. 
 24, 25 ; Hosea ii. 8-22 ; Acts xiv. IT. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 191 
 
 Ex. xxxiv. 21. — Six days shalt thou work, but on 
 the seventh day thou shalt rest ; in earing time and in 
 harvest thou shalt rest.” 
 
 “ That is, ‘You shall not violate the Sabbath because it is 
 harvest.’ I have heard persons say, ‘It has been six days very 
 wet; the corn is standing, and Sunday happens to be a bright, 
 sunny day,’ and they say, ‘ We ought to go and cut down the 
 corn on the Sabbath-day.’ Here is a provision for this very 
 possibility ; God says, ‘ Even in harvest and earing time you 
 shall keep the Sabbath sacred to God.’ And I have noticed, 
 although I admit my observation has been very limited, that 
 that man who has cut down his corn on the Sunday, in order to 
 get it in well, did not succeed one whit better in the long run 
 than he that observed the Sabbath as holy, and waited for 
 sunny week-days, in order to do his week-day work.” — Dr. 
 Cumming. 
 
 Under the Jewish economy the law made very striking 
 provision that God should be acknowledged and honored. 
 Harvest was never to be commenced till the first-fruits 
 had been offered. (Lev. xxiii. 10—14.) No harvest was 
 to be reaped at all in the sabbatical year, or the year of 
 jubilee ; teaching a lesson of trust. Under all circum- 
 stances, the Sabbath was to be observed (Ex. xxxiv. 21) ; 
 and the poor were to be kindly remembered. (Lev. xix. 
 9, 10; Deut. xxiv. 19.) 
 
 Diorama of the Harvest. — Who is not familiar with 
 the pleasing and shifting scenes of the diorama ? It is 
 a clever way of painting pictures, and letting the light 
 so fall on particular parts — in particular directions, and 
 sometimes throwing out more light, and sometimes less, 
 — that the objects seem to have different appearances at 
 different times. To arrange any picture for the diorama, 
 different lights are needed. Now God’s Word is a 
 
192 
 
 TLLUSTRxVTlYE GATHERINGS. 
 
 lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path.*' (Ps. 
 cxix. 105 ; 2 Cor. iv. 4.) Let us illustrate the harvest 
 by this method, and see what varying truths it presents 
 to the mind : — 
 
 1. To produce the first dioramic change in the harvest 
 picture, see it represented in the Woi^d of Giod, We 
 must use those Scripture lamps. Matt. xiii. 1-9, 18-23 ; 
 Mark iv. 1-9, 14-20; Luke viii. 4-8, 11-15; Isa. Iv. 
 8-11. Here we see the Divine seed cast into different 
 places ; — the public path — that thin piece in the field, 
 near the gravel pit — there under the hedge, where the 
 thorns and thistles grew, but not the corn, and in the 
 wide, rich, fertile land. 
 
 2. Let a change come over our thoughts, and another 
 lamp be taken from God’s Word. (Matt. xiii. 24-30, 
 36-43.) Immediately the bending stalks and the still 
 sheaves represent immortal souls; but oh, liow different! 
 — all prepared for the threshing, the winnowing, the 
 sifting, when only real good grain will remain, and the 
 rest be blown away, or burnt. 
 
 3. Take a third set of lamps. (1 Cor. xv. 35-45 ; 
 John xii. 24.) Thus shall it be with the raised and 
 changed bodies of Christ’s own. How different to their 
 state now 1 (Phil. iii. 21.) 
 
 4. A fourth change. (Matt. ix. 37, 38 ; John iv. 35.) 
 
 Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields.” Ask any 
 
 missionary what is their state, and he must have a dull 
 heart who cannot see openings for exertion by the 
 Church, and he must have a dull ear who does not hear 
 the cry, Come over and help us.” 
 
 A Christian Farmer. — ‘‘Can I ever forget,” says 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATIIERIXOS. 
 
 193 
 
 the Rev. F. Storr, the yearly scene of Mr. Last’s 
 harvest-field ? On the ripe and golden grain telling that 
 it was time to put in the sickle, intimation was given to 
 me that on such a morning, at such an hour, if God per- 
 mitted, my presence was requested in the harvest-field. 
 I attended at the time named, and found myself in a 
 group of twelve or fifteen men and lads, with their mas- 
 ter at their head, waiting to commence the gathering in 
 of the harvest. But on that farm the Lord of the 
 harvest must first be honored, ere any sickle be put in. 
 All heads were uncovered as the hymn was given out, 
 and we raised our united voices, emulative of the lark 
 who was caroling on high, in praise to Him wLo had 
 covered the valleys so thick with corn that they laughed 
 and sang. Prayer was then offered that God might 
 strengthen the hands of the reapers, and preserve them 
 from all evil, both of body and soul. On rising from 
 our knees the sickle was presented to me. I first put it 
 into the corn, and then in every direction they spread, 
 and busily bent to their pleasant task, going forth in the 
 name of the Lord. Thus the hallowing influence of that 
 good man extended to all that he undertook, and to all 
 over whom he had control. I have been assured by one 
 who worked for him for many years, that he never knew 
 an oath to have been sworn on that farm.” 
 
 Leonard Keyser, who was burned at Scherding, in 
 1527, as a Protestant, when he came near to the stake, 
 exclaimed, as he looked at the crowd, “ Behold the har- 
 vest ! Oh,- Master, send forth thy laborers !” 
 
 The Hindoos, when gathering in their harvest, before 
 it IS removed from the threshing-floor, always put aside 
 17 13 
 
194 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 a part for tlieir gods. Do they not shame many — would 
 not truth say, most? — living in a Christian country? 
 
 rL\STE. — Josh. viii. 19 ; Judges vii. 5. [Two marks 
 of good soldiers — ‘Miardy and hasty.” — Matthew Henry 
 1 Sam. xxi. 8 ; Ps. cxix. 59, GO; Prov. xiv. 29; xxix. 
 20; Eccl. V. 2; Dan. ii. 15; Matt. v. 25 ; xxviii. 8; 
 Luke xiv. 21 ; John xi. 29 ; xiii. 27. 
 
 Haste trips up its own heels.” 
 
 “ Haste makes waste, and waste makes want.” 
 
 A fool’s bolt is soon shot.” 
 
 Hurry is the mark of a weak mind ; despatch, of a 
 strong one.” — Conduct of Life. 
 
 Make a slow answer to a hasty question.” — Ihid. 
 Wesley’s maxim was a good one, — ‘‘Always be in 
 haste, but never in a hurry.” 
 
 Bacojj’, in his Essay on Despatch, says:- — “ Affected despatch 
 is one of the most dangerous things to business that can be. It 
 is like that which the physicians call predigestion, or hasty 
 digestion, which is sure to fill the body full of crudities, and 
 secret seeds of diseases ; therefore, measure not despatch by the 
 time of sitting, but by the advancement of the business: and 
 as, in races, it is not the large stride, nor the high lift that makes 
 the speed, so, in business, the keeping close to the matter, and 
 not taking of it too much at once, procureth despatch. It is 
 the care of some only to come off speedily for the time, or to 
 contrive some false periods of business, because they may seem 
 men of despatch : but it is one thing to abbreviate by contract- 
 ing, another by cutting otf ; and business, so handled at several 
 sittings, or meetings, goeth commonly backward and forward 
 in an unsteady manner. I knew a wise man that had it for a 
 - by- word, when he saw men hasten to a conclusion, ‘Stay a little, 
 that we may make an end the sooner.’ On the other side, true 
 despatch is a rich thing: for time is the measure of business, as 
 money is of wares ; and business is bought at a dear hand where 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 195 
 
 tliere is small despatcli. The Spartans and Spaniards have been 
 noted to be of small despatch. ‘ Ali venga la muerte de Spagna p 
 ‘ Let my death come from Spain,’ for then it will be sure to be 
 long in coming.’’ 
 
 The Broken Buckle.— ‘‘You have read in your own 
 history of that hero who, when an overwhelming force 
 was in full pursuit, and all his followers were urging him 
 to more rapid flight, coolly dismounted, in order to re- 
 pair a flaw in his horse’s harness. Whilst busied with 
 the broken buckle, the distant cloud swept down in nearer 
 thunder; but just as the prancing hoofs and eager spears 
 were ready to dash down upon him, the flaw was mended, 
 the clasp was fastened, the steed was mounted, and, like 
 a swooping falcon, he had vanished from their view. 
 The broken buckle would hav^e left him on the field a 
 dismounted and inglorious prisoner ; the timely delay 
 sent him in safety back to his bustlino; comrades. There 
 is in daily life the same luckless precipitancy, and the 
 same profitable delay. The man, who, from his prayer- 
 less awaking, bounces into the biisines^^ of the day, how- 
 ever good his talents and great his diligence, is only 
 galloping on a steed harnessed with a broken buckle, 
 and must not marvel if, in his hottest haste or most haz- 
 ardous leap, he be left inglorious in the dust; and though 
 it may occasion some little delay beforehand, his neigh- 
 bor is wiser who sets all in order before the march be- 
 gins.” — Rev. James Hamilton. 
 
 An overworked clergyman gives these rules, as the 
 result of well-bought experience, for those who have much 
 work to do : — 
 
 1. Rise early, and thus gain time to be alone with 
 God. Begin the day well. 
 
196 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 2. Form a strong resolution never to he hurried. 
 
 3. Aim at great punctuality in all matters of business. 
 It is said of one of our Prime Ministers, that he had the 
 constant manner and spirit of a man who, having lost an 
 hour in the beginning of the day, was striving all the 
 rest of the twelve to overtake it. 
 
 4. Never undertake ??zer6Jthan you can do. — Christian 
 Observer. 
 
 HEARING THE Word. — Isa. xxix. 13 ; Ezek. xxxiii. 
 30-33 ; Matt. vii. 24-27 ; xiii. 3-23 ; Mark iv. 9, 24 ; 
 xii. 37 ; Luke xvi. 29-31 ; xix. 48 ; John vi. 45 ; x. 3 ; 
 xii. 47, 48 ; Rom. x. 17 ; Eph. i. 13 ; 1 Thess. i. 5 ; ii. 
 13 ; 1 Tim. iv. 16 ; 2 Tim. i. 13 ; Heb. ii. 1 ; v. 11 ; 
 James i. 19-25; Rev. iii. 3 ; xxii. 17. 
 
 The majority of hearers are better judges of exam- 
 nles than of sermons.” 
 
 A fire in a picture may ajford amusement to the be- 
 holder, but it will not warm ; hearing sermons may amuse 
 the hearer, but cannot warm the heart, or do any good 
 to the soul, unless the Spirit of God attend it. This 
 shows the necessity of prayer before and after attending 
 the means of grace. 
 
 Assimilation. — Heb. iv. 2. . Faith has been well 
 
 said to be the gastric juice of the soul. The most whole- 
 some food is poison to the sickly stomach. Unless the 
 gastric juice be healthy, the best food cannot nourish. 
 That wonderful solvent, which God has provided, must 
 melt, separate, and dissolve the food, or else it ivill not 
 assimilate; it will not be dige^ited, — ‘carried through’ 
 the system, — repairing its w^astes, supplying fresh ele- 
 ments of combination for its various parts ; feeding the 
 
ILirSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 197 
 
 blood ; keeping that current of life full, and so by it 
 pouring into the furthest creeks of this -wonderful body 
 the tide of health. Faith is to the soul -what that -won- 
 derful solvent is to the body ; without faith, ‘ the Word 
 preached will not profit;’ unless mixed with ‘faith in 
 them that hear,’ it will be ‘the savor of death unto 
 death,’ killing instead of nourishing. Without faith there 
 is no assimilation of Divine truth; it never passes into 
 the system, never becomes part of the man, so as to 
 ‘ nourish him up by the words of sound doctrine.’ With- 
 out faith he is the sickly patient, starving in sight of 
 food, and lean and thin in the midst of plenty. Faith 
 turns truth into nourishment, — makes that which was but 
 a while since general and common, to become so entirely 
 a man’s own as to be part of himself, worked into his 
 very being, incorporated with his own soul, and so nour- 
 ishing him unto eternal life, and making him grow, by 
 ‘ the sincere milk of the W ord,’ from ‘ the new-born babe’ 
 into ‘ the young man,’ and from ‘ the young man into 
 ‘the father,’ — the man ‘ of full age,’ who can digest ‘the 
 strong meat,’ — the deep things of God’s Holy Word.” 
 — Champneys’ ‘•^Floating Lights.” 
 
 Philip Henry used to recommend to his family and 
 friends, the practice of writing down notes of the ser- 
 mons they heard, and often referring to them, for their 
 benefit. He began the practice himself, when about 
 twelve or thirteen years old, when he heard some of the 
 best divines of that day. Burroughs, Marshal, Case, 
 Usher, &c., and kept it up till almost the year before 
 his death, making copious indexes, and often referring 
 to them. 
 
 [Whilst recommending such a plan, two cautions may, 
 17 
 
198 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 perhaps, however be added. (1.) Let the notes be 
 written after hearing the sermon, not during the time of 
 its delivery, which too much distracts the attention, and 
 hinders devotion. (2.) Let the notes be really referred 
 to afterwards from time to time, and not, as is too gene- 
 rally the case, when written, be laid aside, and, if not 
 forgotten, remain unused.] 
 
 “ Pray for a soft heart and a retentive memory ; and 
 often speak together of the sermons you hear, and get 
 them harrowed into your hearts, that Satan may be 
 cheated, and your soul saved.” — M^CJieyne. 
 
 Punctuality. — A woman, who was remarkable for her 
 always being at church before the time, being asked her 
 reason for being always so early, replied, “ It is no part 
 of my religion to disturb the religion of others.” 
 
 “You and Me.” — “When attending the ministry of 
 a devoted servant of Grod,” said one, “ he once preached 
 upon the Diotrephesian spirit, in his usual faithful man- 
 ner ; and when he came to the application, brought the 
 subject home so closely, that I felt persuaded there was 
 some one who had been a peculiar trial to the Church. 
 Knowing the harmony there wms in that Church, how- 
 ever, I felt puzzled, and said to a neighbor who sat near 
 
 me, and was an elder, ‘ Mr. L , who does Mr. S. 
 
 mean?’ — ‘You and me,’ was the quick reply.” 
 
 “ There are four different kinds of hearers of- the 
 Word,” says Boston; “those like a sfonge, that suck up 
 good and bad together, and let both run out immediately, 
 — ‘having ears, and hearing not;’ those like: a. sand-glass, 
 that let what enters in at one car pass out at the other, 
 — hearing without thinking ; those like a strainer, letting 
 go the good, and retaining the bad ; and those like a 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 199 
 
 sieve, letting go the chaff, and retaining the good 
 
 grain.” ^ 
 
 “Oil! TO THINK THAT THEY can HEAR, AND U'Ont!” 
 
 A poor old TToman, vho was so deaf that she could not 
 
 hear a word, was remarkable, notwithstanding, for her 
 constant attendance at the house of God ; and very for- 
 cible was her frequent e.xclamation of pity and true soi- 
 row, when she saw the carelessness and indifference of 
 the ’<^reat mass of hearers,-” Oh ! to think that they can 
 
 O 
 
 hear, and tvont ! ’ 
 
 Always a Good Sermon.— Those who come away 
 from the house of God complaining (whether justly or not) 
 that they have heard a poor sermon, may remember that 
 they can always see a good one : — in the Cnurch around 
 them, — God’s house of prayer ; in the Bible before them, 
 —God’s Word of love ; and in their own hearts within 
 them,— God’s message to it, ^^Is thine heart right?" 
 
 Archbishop Leighton one day, returning from church, 
 saw a funeral coming. On reaching home, one who had 
 been confined to the house, inquired, “ W ell, have you 
 heard a good sermon ? ” I have met a good sermon,” 
 
 was the reply. 
 
 Said, not Done.— “Is the sermon done?” it was 
 asked of one who returned from church sooner than usual. 
 “No, not yet,” was the answer. “It is preached; but 
 it still remains to be done. James i. 22. 
 
 Rev. Ebenezer Erskine.— “ A lady who ivas present 
 at the commemoration of the Lord’s Supper, where the 
 Rev. E. Erskine was assisting, was much impressed by 
 his sermon. Having inquired the name of the preacher, 
 she went next Sabbath to his own place of worship to 
 hear him ; but there, to iier surprise, she felt none of 
 
200 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE UATJIERIXGS. 
 
 those strong impressions she experienced in hearing him 
 before. Wondering at this, she called on Mr. E., and, 
 stating the case, asked what, he thought, might be the 
 reason of such a difference in her feelings. He replied, 
 ‘ Madam, the reason is this : last Sunday you went to 
 hear Jesus Christ; to-day you have come to hear Me- 
 nczer Erskine, 
 
 HEART, THE.— Gen. vi. 5; Deut. v. 29; xx.x. 6; 1 
 Sam. X. 9 ; xvi. 7 ; 1 Kings iv. 29 ; viii. 61 ; 1 Chron. 
 xxix. 17; Ps. xii. 2; xxxiv. 18; li. 17; xc. 12; cxix. 32; 
 Prov. xiv. 10; xv. 13; xvi. 1, 5; xxi. 1; xxii. 15; 
 
 xxviii. 26; Isa. xliv. 20; Jer. iii. 10; xvii. 9, 10; Ezek. 
 
 xi. 19-21; xxxvi. 26; Hosea ii. 14 (niarg.); Matt. v. 
 8; XU. 34; xv. 8, 9, 19; xxii. 37 ; Acts xvi. 14; Rom. 
 
 X. 10; Eph. iv. 32; vi. 6; Col. iii. 23; Heb. iii. 12; 
 
 iv. 12. 
 
 Prov. iv. 24, “ Keep thy heart with all diligence ; for 
 out of it are the issues of life.’’ 
 
 “Above all keeping.” (Marg.) “Keep our hearts from do- 
 ing hurt, and getting hurt; from being defiled by sin, and dis- 
 turbed by trouble; keep them as our jewels, as our vineyard! 
 keep our conscience void of ofience; keep out bad thoughts, and 
 keep up good thoughts; keep the atfections upon right objects, 
 and within due Matthew Henry. 
 
 “ As the virtue of a strong spirituous liquor evaporates by 
 ^ degrees in a bottle which is not closely stopped, in like manner 
 the life and power of the Spirit insensibly vanishes away, if the 
 heart be not kept with all diligence.”— 
 
 Ps. li. 17, “ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; 
 a broken and a contrite heart, 0 God, thou wilt not de- 
 spise.” 
 
 It is tile crushed olive that 3'iclds the oil, — the pressed grape 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERIXUS. 
 
 201 
 
 that gives us wine. It was the smitten rock that gave the peo- 
 ple water. Thyme and the palm are said to grow the strongest 
 when pressed down. Sols it the broken, contrite heart that is 
 most rich in holiness, and fragrant in grace. 
 
 Prov. xxiii. 26, ‘‘My son, give me thine heart.’' 
 
 For two reasons : — Because, — 1. Unless the heart he given, 
 nothing is given ; Hos. vii. 14; Matt. xv. 8, 9. 2. If the heart 
 
 be given, all is given ; 2 Chron. xxx. 13-20. — Rev* Hugh Stowell. 
 
 The GREATEST DIFFICULTY in conversion is to win the 
 heart to God ; and the greatest dfficulty after conversion 
 is to keep the heart vrith God. Even a gracious heart is 
 like a musical instrument, which, though it be exactly 
 tuned, a small matter brings it out of tune ; yea, hang it 
 aside but a little, and it will need setting again before 
 you can play another lesson on it.” — Flavel. 
 
 Luther used to say, — am more afraid of my own 
 heart than of the Pope and all his cardinals. I have 
 within me the great pope, selfF 
 
 Rutherford. — “ Every man blameth the devil for his 
 sins ; but the great devil, the house-devil of every man 
 that eatetli and lieth in every man’s bosom, that idol that 
 killeth all, is himself. Oh, blessed are they that can 
 deny themselves, and put Christ in the room of them- 
 selves !” 
 
 An Ant’s Nest. — A corrupt heart is like an ant’s nest, 
 on which, while the stone lieth, none of them appear ; but 
 take off the stone, and stir them up but with the point of a 
 straw, you will see what a sw^arm is there, and how lively 
 they be. Just such a sight would thy heart afford thee, 
 did the Lord but withdraw the restraint he has laid upon 
 it, and suffer Satan to stir it up by temptation. 
 
 There is in every man’s heart, as in a desk, a se- 
 
202 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 cret drawer ; the only thing is to find the spring, and 
 open it.” 
 
 “ Kude WITHOUT, but Rich within.” — “ The heart 
 of many a poor neglected Christian, is as if we opened 
 some rude sea-chest, brought by a foreign ship from dis- 
 tant lands, which, though it have so rude an outside, is 
 full of pearls, and gems, and diamonds.” 
 
 The Pope’s Answer. — When a statute was made, in 
 the reign of Elizabeth, that all the people should attend 
 the church, the Papists sent to Rome to know the plea- 
 sure of his Holiness. He returned for answer, “Tell the 
 Catholics in England to give me their hearts, and the 
 Queen may take the rest.” We cannot but applaud this 
 shrewd reply of the Pope, which should teach us the im- 
 portant lesson that, without the heart, all profession is 
 vain and unstable. 
 
 The Dusty Parlor. — “ Then he took him by the 
 hand, and led him into a very large parlor that was full 
 of dust, because never swept ; the which, after he had 
 reviewed a little while, the Interpreter called for a man 
 to sweep. The dust began so abundantly to fly about, 
 that Christian had almost therewith been choked. Then 
 said the Interpreter to a danasel that stood by, ‘ Bring 
 hither water and sprinkle the room the which, when 
 she had done, it was swept and cleansed with pleasure. 
 
 “Then said Christian, ‘What means this?’ 
 
 “ The Interpreter answered, ‘ This parlor is the heart 
 of a man that was never sanctified by the sweet grace 
 of the gospel ; the dust is his original sin and inward 
 corruptions that have defiled the whole man. He that 
 began to sweep at first is the Law ; but she that brought 
 the water, and did sprinkle it, is the Gospel. Now, 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 203 
 
 "whereas thou sawest that so soon as the first began to 
 sweep, the dust did so fly about that the room by him 
 could not be cleansed, but that thou wast almost choked 
 therewith ; this is to show thee that the Law, instead of 
 cleansing the heart (by its working) from sin, doth re- 
 vive, put strength into, and increase it in the soul, even 
 as it doth discover and forbid it, for it doth not give 
 power to subdue it. Again, as thou sawest the damsel 
 sprinkle the room with water, upon which it was cleansed 
 with pleasure ; this is to show thee, that when the Gospel 
 comes in, with its sweet and precious influences thereof 
 to the heart, then I say, even as thou sawest the damsel 
 lay the dust, by sprinkling the floor with water, so is sin 
 vanquished and subdued, and the soul made clean, through 
 the faith of it, and, consequently, fit for the King of 
 Glory to inhabit.’ ” — Pilgrim s Progress. 
 
 Sir Walter Raleigh. — At his execution, the execu- 
 tioner asked him if his head lay right on the block ? 
 “It matters little, friend,” was Sir Walter’s answer, 
 ^‘how the head lay, if the heart be right.” 
 
 The Rev. W. B. Johnson, missionary at Sierra Leone, 
 went one day to see one of his converts, who was dying, 
 and asked him, — ‘‘How is your heart now ?” “ Master,” 
 said the dying Christian, “ my heart no live here now, — 
 my heart live there!'' pointing upwards. 
 
 The Best Present. — The three sons of an Eastern 
 lady were invited to furnish her with the proof of their 
 love, before she went a long journey from home. One 
 brought her a marble tablet, with the inscription of her 
 name; another brought a garland of sweet, fragrant 
 flowers ; while the third entered her presence, and said, 
 “Madam, I have brought neither marble nor flowers. — 
 
204 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 I have neither ; but I have a heart, and here your name 
 is engraved, — your memory is precious. This heart, full 
 of affeotion, will follow you wherever you travel, and re- 
 main with you wherever you go.” Need it be ashed 
 which present was most precious to the mother? As well 
 might we ask whether Orpah’s kiss and departure, or 
 Ruth’s cleaving, ‘‘Entreat me not to leave thee,” were 
 dearer to Naomi. 
 
 The ALPHABET of good and bad hearts — A good exer- 
 cise for a Sabbath-school, — find out from. Scripture, texts 
 and examples of good and bad hearts, answering to each 
 letter of the alphabet. 
 
 The Scoffer Changed. — When Whitfield was preach- 
 ing at Exeter, a man who was present had filled his 
 pockets with stones, intending to throw them at the 
 preacher. He heard the first prayer with patience, 
 meaning to wait till the sermon. No sooner was the 
 text announced, than he pulled out a stone ; but God sent 
 the sword into his heart. The stone soon fell to the 
 ground ; and, after the sermon, the man went up to 
 Whitfield, confessing his intention, and saying, “ Sir, I 
 came here, intending to give a broken head^ but God has 
 given me a broken heart,'' The man became afterwards 
 an eminent Christian. 
 
 The Child’s Garden. — “The poor little girl knew 
 not what to do next. The sun was high, the day was 
 getting hotter, and she was tired — tired. She almost 
 wished she had not pleaded so hard for leave to make a 
 garden in that waste corner of ground, where the grass 
 walk ended and the fir wood began. 
 
 “ It lay close by a pond for water-flowers, and a rock- 
 work for plants that did not require much earth. Among 
 
TLUTSTUATTVE rJATHEKIXGS. 
 
 205 
 
 the wild weeds that grcAv in it, there was one tall crimson 
 foxglove, and a lilac orchis as sweet as musk. These 
 would do Avell among the flowers, she had thought; and 
 then there were heath and ferns all the way back into 
 the wood. 
 
 “But it seemed now as if the hoe and rake were never 
 to make way. When she began, it looked only like a 
 few hours’ work, and yet this was the third morning of 
 her labor. Why? There was a great stone under the 
 soil, and the tools struck upon it. Cover it as she would 
 with spadefuls of red earth ; do her best to stick roots in 
 the softer places ; water it again and again, the bare, 
 ugly stone was alw^ays coming through; and the very 
 first shower showed her that all her w^ork was useless. 
 
 “ The gardener smiled when he was brought ; but when 
 he came again, with his iron pick, he set cruelly to work. 
 No advice would he take from the little worker,— no en- 
 treaty would he listen to. Down he struck, deep into 
 the soil. 
 
 “How the ground shook as the split rock gave way ! 
 How it heaved, as roots and shallow earth were cast into 
 the air, — her garden spoiled, for altogether now, she 
 thought ! 
 
 “Nor could she have believed, had she not stood by 
 and seen it, how well an old, kind hand works, and how 
 quickly. He let her help him to smooth all down again 
 into the flat bed, and plant the roots, too, where they 
 now could grow; and he promised to bring her more 
 plants, some all in flower, and to come and see how she 
 got on, as she tried to do what a child may — to watch 
 and weed a little plot, to dress and to keep it. 
 
 “ What does the Bible uican when it says, ‘I will take 
 18 
 
206 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 the stony heart out of your flesh?' It means that there 
 is in your heart something that makes it as hard for you 
 to be good, as that great stone in that little piece of 
 ground made it hard to turn it into a garden where 
 flowers would grow. Did your heart ever give you as 
 much trouble as that ?'’ — Ohildrens Missionary Record 
 of the Free Church. 
 
 HEATHEN. 
 
 Mr. Jay and John Neivton were one day conversing 
 about the conversion of the heathen, when the latter 
 pointedly observed, in answer to some remark, My 
 dear brother, I never doubted the possibility of the con- 
 version of the heathen since God converted me." 
 
 Another striking answer was made by a pious clergy- 
 man, in reply to a question about the heathen, — If 
 ever you get to heaven," said he, I am sure you will 
 either find many there, or you will find a good reason 
 why they are not there. ‘ Shall not the Judge of all the 
 earth do right?' " 
 
 HEAVEN. — Gen. xxviii. 17 ; 1 Kings viii. 27 ; Ps. 
 xi. 4; xvi. 11; Ixxiii. 25; Isa. Ixvi. 1; Jer. xxiii. 24 ; 
 Matt. vi. 9; vii. 21; xxv. 34; xxviii. 18; Luke xii. 37; 
 John xiv. 1; 1 Cor. ii. 9; vi. 9; xiii. 12; 1 Tim. vi. 15; 
 Heb. ix. 12, 24; 1 Pet. i. 21; Rev. vii. 15-17. 
 
 Figures of, — A garner, Matt. iii. 12; a kingdom, 
 Eph. V. 5 ; 2 Pet. i. 11; the better country (literally, a 
 fatherland)., Heb. xi. 16 ; a city, Heb. xi. 16 ; a temple, 
 Rev. iii. 12; vii. 15; an inheritance, 1 Pet. i. 8; a 
 father’s house, John xiv. 2; rest, Heb. iv. 9; Canaan, 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 207 
 
 Heb. iv. ; Jerusalem, Heb. xli. 22; the tabernacle, Heb. 
 viii. 2; ix. 24; Sabbath, Heb. ix. 9; (marg.) 
 
 ^‘Heaven’s gates are wide enough to admit of many 
 sinners, but too narrow to admit of any sin.’' — Howels. 
 
 ‘‘ Heaven’s gates are not so highly arched as princes’ 
 palaces ; they that enter them must enter them upon 
 their knees.” 
 
 ‘^Heaven is a day without a cloud to darken it, and 
 without a night to end it. ' In heaven there is the pre- 
 sence of all good, and the absence of all evil. As 
 heaven is kept for the saints by Christ, so they are kept 
 for heaven by the Spirit. If we live with God here be- 
 low, we shall live with Him above ; we must change our 
 place, but not our employment. In heaven all God’s 
 servants will be abundantly satisfied with His dealings 
 and dispensations ; and see how all conduced, like so 
 many winds, to bring them to their haven ; and how 
 even the roughest blast helped to bring them homeward. 
 In heaven God will never hide His face, and Satan never 
 show his. Grace and glory differ but as the bud and the 
 blossom; grace is glory begun, and glory is grace per- 
 fected. Wq may hope for a place in heaven, if our 
 hearts are made suitable to the state of heaven.”— J". 
 Mason, 
 
 If I were to choose whether I would go immediately 
 to heaven, or remain longer here, I believe I should 
 choose the former; but then I believe it would be rather 
 to avoid being thought a fool, and to be rid of the vexa- 
 tions I meet with here, than from love to Christ and a 
 desire of the company and delights of heaven .” — Adams 
 Private Thoughts, 
 
 ‘‘ God’s house is a hospital at one end, and a palace 
 
•208 
 
 lU.rSTUATlVK UATHERIXaS. 
 
 at the other. In the hospital end are Christ’s members 
 upon earth ; conlllcting ^vlth various diseases, and con- 
 fined to a strict regimen of His appointing. 'What sort 
 of a patient must he be, 'who would be sorry to know 
 that the hour is come for his dismission from the hos- 
 pital, and to see the doors thrown wdde open for his ad- 
 mission into the King’s presence !” — Ibid, 
 
 ‘‘ As A DEAD MAN oannot inherit an estate, no more 
 can a dead soul (and every soul is spiritually dead until 
 quickened and born again of the Holy Ghost) inherit the 
 kingdom of God. Yet sanctification and holiness of life 
 do not constitute any part of our title to tlie heavenly 
 inheritance, anv more than mere animal life entitles a 
 man of fortune to the estate he enjoys. He could not, 
 indeed, enjoy his estate if he did not live ; but his claim 
 to his estate arises from some other quarter. In like 
 manner, it is not our holiness that entitles us to heaven ; 
 thoucrh no man can enter into heaven without holiness. 
 God’s gratuitous donation, and Christ’s meritorious right- 
 eousness, constitute our right to future glory; w’hile the 
 Holy Ghost, by inspiring us with spiritual life (of which 
 spiritual life, good works are the evidences and the act- 
 ings), puts us into a real capability of fitness for that 
 inheritance of endless happiness, wdiich otherwise Ave 
 could never, in the A'ery nature of things, either possess 
 or enjoy.” — Salter, 
 
 “Our past lives Avill, when w^e attain the perfection 
 of our being, be present to us again. . . A traveler, 
 
 Avho sets out upon a line of road, sees, Ave Avill suj>pose, a 
 given object before him, as he adA^ances ; he comes up 
 Avith that object, and it is present ; he proceeds, and 
 passes it, and sees it no more. But let the traveler be 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 209 
 
 elevated into the air, or ascend a mountain, and the 
 whole line of progress which, as he journeyed, was 
 measured out in gradual succession, becomes all at once 
 present to him again. So with respect to the passenger 
 through time. While here below, he reached and passed 
 his several stages, one by one ; but, when ascended to 
 his eternal state, he may look down and see the whole 
 path of life before him.” — Woodward, 
 
 The Three Steps. — It’s a very simple way to 
 heaven,” said a poor, unlettered man, ‘Mf people would 
 but take it. There are only three steps ; out of self — 
 into Christ — into glory.” , 
 
 The Three Wonders. — There will be three things 
 which will surprise us, when we get to heaven ; one, to 
 find many there that ive did not expect to find there ; 
 another, to find some not there whom we had expected ; 
 a third, and, perhaps, the greatest wonder, will be to find 
 ourselves there. 
 
 Dr, Payson wrote: — ‘‘Once I had a dream of being 
 transported to heaven, and was surprised to find myself 
 so calm and tranquil in the midst of its happiness. I in- 
 quired the cause, and was answered, ‘ When you were on 
 earth, you were a bottle but partly filled with water ; now 
 are you like the same bottle filled to the brim, which 
 cannot be disturbed.’ ” 
 
 Robert Hall and Wilberforce. — “M v chief con- 
 
 4/ 
 
 ception of heaven,” said Robert Hall, “is perfect rest;” 
 “and my idea,” said Wilberforce, “is perfect love.” 
 Hall vras nearly always suffering from bodily pain ; Wil- 
 berforce enjoyed life, and was all amiability. May not 
 the two combined give us as perfect an idea of heaven 
 as we can well have here ? 
 
 18 ^ 
 
 14 
 
210 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 The Three Great Puritan Writers, in like manner, 
 have each given us their conceptions of the eternal state, 
 according to their own peculiar cast of mind and circum- 
 stance : — Owen’s last work was his Meditation ^‘On the 
 Glory of Christ;” and, in many parts of it, he seems 
 almost to echo the praises of the heavenly worshipers. 
 We may say of his work, as Bunyan says of his pilgrim, 
 ^‘ Drawing near to the city, he had yet a more perfect 
 view thereof.” Baxter’s great production was his 
 
 Saints’ Everlasting Rest and who can wonder that 
 his idea of heaven, like Robert Hall’s, was that of rest, 
 when almost his whole life was one prolonged disease ? 
 Howe’s conceptions of “ the blessedness of the right- 
 eous” w’ere, like himself, stately and majestic. 
 
 To these w^e mu*st add, — 
 
 Bunyan’s description of the Celestial City and Chris- 
 tian’s entrance into it : — 
 
 “ Now, while they were thus drawing towards the gate, 
 behold, a company of the heavenly host came out to meet 
 them, to whom it was said by the other two shining ones, 
 • These are the men that have loved our Lord, wLen they 
 were in the w^orld, and that have left all for His holy 
 name, and He hath sent us to fetch them ; and we have 
 brought them thus far on their desired journey, that they 
 may go in and look their Redeemer in the face with joy.’ 
 Then the heavenly host gave a great shout, saying, 
 ‘ Blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper 
 of the Lamb.’ There came out also at this time to meet 
 them several of the King’s trumpeters, clothed in white 
 and shining raiment, who, with melodious noises and loud, 
 made even the heavens to echo with their sound. These 
 trumpeters saluted Christian and his fellow with ten 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 211 
 
 thousand welcomes from the world ; and this they did 
 with shouting and sound of trumpet. 
 
 “ This done, they compassed them round on every 
 side. Some went before, some behind, and some on the 
 right hand, some on the left, as it were to guard them 
 through the upper region, continually sounding as they 
 went, with melodious noise, in notes on high, so that the 
 very sight was, to them that could behold it, as if heaven 
 itself was come down to meet them. Thus, therefore, 
 they walked on together, and as they walked, ever and 
 anon these trumpeters, even with joyful sound, would, 
 by mixing their music with looks and gestures, still sig- 
 nify to Christian and his brother how welcome they were 
 into their company, and with what gladness they came 
 to meet them. And now were these two men, as it were, 
 in heaven, before they came at it, being swallowed up 
 with the sight of angels, and with hearing their melodi- 
 ous notes. Here also they had the city itself in view, 
 and they thought they heard all the bells therein to ring, 
 to welcome them thereto. But, above all, the warm and 
 joyful thoughts that they had about their own dwelling 
 there wdth such company, and that for ever and ever, 
 oh ! by what tongue or pen can their glorious joy be 
 expressed! Thus they came up to the gate. Now, 
 when they were come up to the gate, there was written 
 over it, in ktters of gold, ‘ Blessed are they that do his 
 commandments, that they may have right to the tree of 
 life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.* ** 
 
 HEAVENLY-MINDEDNESS.— Ps. Ixxiii. 23-26; 
 Matt. vi. 10 ; Eph. i. 3 ; ii. 6 ; Phil. i. 21, 23 ; iii. 20 ; 
 
21-2 
 
 TLU’STRATm; « ATHKIUXOS. 
 
 Col. iii. 1-3: Ileb. 
 Jolm iii. 1-3. 
 
 xi. 10, 14-10; xii. 22-24, 28; 1 
 
 Itlanv persons wish to enjoy heaven at last, hut have 
 no wish to he made heavenly-minded yet. 
 
 “ Dust, hy its own nature, can rise only so far above 
 the road, and birds, which fly higher, never have it upon 
 their wings. So the heart that knows how to fly high 
 enough, escapes those little cares and A’cxations which 
 brood upon the earth, but cannot rise above it into that 
 
 purer air.” — Beecher. 
 
 “ Happy MOiiEXTS there are sometimes in the experience 
 of the spiritual Christian, when such are his views of the 
 desirableness of heaven, that he feels as if he should be 
 glad to break down the prison walls of his spirit, and let 
 her go forth into the liberty of her eternal felicity. The 
 celebrated John Howe once had such a view of heaven, 
 and such a desire to depart, that he said to his wife, 
 ‘ Though I think I love you as well as it is fit for one 
 creature to love another, yet if it were put to my choice, 
 whether to die this moment, or live through this night, 
 and livin'^ this night would secure the continuance of life 
 for seven vears longer, I would choose to die this mo- 
 
 ment.’ ” — J. -A. James. 
 
 “ Let thy hope of heaven moderate thy afifections to 
 earth. ^ Be sober and hope,' saith the Apostle. (1 Pet. 
 i. 13.) You that look for so much in another world may 
 very well be content with a little in this. Nothing more 
 unbecomes a heavenly hope than an earthly heart. You 
 would think it an unseemly tiling to see some rich man, 
 that hath a vast estate, among the poor gleaners in har- 
 vest time, as busy to pick up the e.ars of corn that are 
 left in the field, as the most miserable beggar in the 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 213 
 
 company. Oh, how all the World would cry shame of 
 such a sordid-spirited man! Well, Christian, be not 
 angry if I tell thee that thou dost a more shameful thing 
 thyself by far, if thou that pretendest to hope for heaven 
 beest as eager in the pm’suit of this world's trash as the 
 poor carnal wretch is, who expects no portion but what 
 God hath left him to pick up in the field of this world. 
 Certainly, thy hope is either false, or at best but very 
 little. . . It is Sculteiis's observation, that though 
 
 there are many blemishes by which the eminent saints 
 and servants of God, recorded in Scripture, are set forth, 
 as instances of human frailty, yet not one godly man in 
 all the Scripture is to be found whose story is blotted 
 with the charge of covetousness. If that hold true, 
 which, as yet, I am not able to disprove, we may wonder 
 how it comes about that it should now-a-days be called 
 the professor s sin^ and become a common charge laid by 
 the profane upon those that pretend to heaven more than 
 themselves. Oh, woe to those wretched men who, by 
 their scandalous practices in this kind, put the coal into 
 wicked men’s hands, with which thev now black the names 
 of all the godly, as if to be covetous were a necessary 
 consequence of profession .” — GrumalL 
 
 Air Balloon. — ‘‘I once,” said the Rev. C. Simeon, 
 “ saw the ascent of an air balloon ; it was bound to the 
 earth by eight cords. As the process went on of filling 
 with gas, it seemed struggling to get free, and striving 
 to break the bonds which kept it down. At length one 
 string was cut, and immediately the part at liberty was 
 lifted from the earth ; the second and third were loosened, 
 till, the last being snapped asunder, it rose majestically 
 towards heaven, shpwing thereby its high destination, 
 
214 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 and evincing the object for which it struggled to get free. 
 
 ‘ There, there,’ said Mr. Simeon, ‘is a picture of the mind 
 I would fain possess, — a mind whose affections are in 
 heaven, — a mind filled with the Spirit, — and, in propor- 
 tion as it is filled, demonstrating its character by its ar- 
 dent aspiring and earnest longings after its heavenly in- 
 heritance ; thus, as the cords are cut which hind the soul 
 to earth, it will rise in heart and affection to the region 
 where it fain would be.’ ” 
 
 “ The Heavenly Henry.” — So heavenly-minded and 
 spiritual was Philip Henry, that the vox populi fastened 
 upon him this name, and by it he was known all the 
 country over. He w'as remarkable especially, says his 
 biographer, for three things ; — 1. Great piety and devo- 
 tion, and a mighty savor of godliness in all his converse. 
 2. Great industry in the pursuit of useful knowledge. 
 He was particularly observed to be very inquisitive when 
 he was among the aged and intelligent, hearing them, 
 and asking them questions ; a good example to young 
 men, especially young ministers. 3. Great self-denial, 
 self-difiSdence, and self-abasement. This eminent humility 
 put a lustre upon all his other graces. 
 
 HEIRS, Christians!— Matt. xxv. 34; Acts xx. 32; 
 xxvi. 18 ; Rom. iv. 13 ; viii. 14-17 ; Gal. iii. 29 ; iv. 
 1-7 ; Eph. i. 14 ; iii. 6 ; Heb. i. 14 ; vi. 17 ; xi. 8-10 ; 
 James ii. 5 ; 1 Pet. i. 4 ; iii. 7. 
 
 “ Christ hath many heirs, but no successors. — Wat- 
 son. 
 
 “ A Christian is like a young nobleman who, in go- 
 ing to receive his estate, is at first enchanted with the 
 prospect ; — though, in course of time, much of this wears 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 215 
 
 off, yet a sense of the value of the estate grows daily.” — 
 Newton, 
 
 “ The heir of a great estate, while a child, thinks 
 more of a few shillings in his pocket than of his inheri- 
 tance ; so a Christian is often more elated by some frame 
 of heart than by his title to glory.” — Ihid. 
 
 ‘‘Not unto us.” — “When the famous King of Eng- 
 land demanded of his nobles by what title they held 
 their lands, — '‘What title?’ At the rash question, a 
 hundi’ed swords leaped from their sheaths, and the cry 
 arose, ‘By these we won, and by these we will keep 
 them!’ How different the scene which heaven presents! 
 All eyes are fixed on Jesus. Every look is love; grati 
 tude glows in every bosom, and swells in every song 
 Now, with golden harps, they sound the Saviour’s praise, 
 and now, descending from their thrones, to do Him hom- 
 age, they cast their crowns in one glittering heap at the 
 feet which were nailed on Calvary. Look there, and 
 learn in whose name to seek salvation, and through whose 
 merits to hope for it. For the faith of earth is jusf a 
 reflection of the fervors of heaven ; this is the language 
 of both, ‘Not unto us, 0 Lord, not unto us, but unto thy 
 name, give glory.’ ” — Dr, G-utlirie, 
 
 Believers must be fitted for their inheritance. Many 
 a laboring man has been proved by a cunning or skillful 
 lawyer, to be the heir to some large estate, and he has 
 taken possession ; hut his sudden riches have proved 
 sudden misery ; the man was out of his element. So 
 would the sinner be in heaven, were it given him as a 
 free gift, — were he not first made “meet to be partaker 
 of the inheritance of the saints in light.” 
 
 A King’s Daughter. — “ A poor, but pious woman 
 
216 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE OATIIERIXGS. 
 
 called upon two elegant young ladies, wbo, regardless o-f 
 her poverty, received her with Christian affection, and 
 sat down in the drawing-room to converse with her upon 
 religious subjects. While thus employed, a brerther, a 
 dashing youth, by chance entered, and appeared aston- 
 ished to see his sisters thus engaged. One of them in- 
 stantly started up, and exclaimed, ‘Brother^ don’t be 
 surprised ; this is a king’s daughter, though she has not 
 yet got her fine clothing*’ ” — -Cope, 
 
 HELL.-~Ps. ix. 17; Isa. xxx. 33; xxxiii. 14; Matt, 
 iii. 12; x. 28; xiii. 42; xxv. 41; Mark ix. 43-49; Luke 
 xvi. 23 ; 2 Pet. ii. 4 ; Jude 6 ; Rev. xiv. 10, 11 ; xx. 
 10, 15. 
 
 The place where all hate all.” 
 
 Truth seen too late.” — Cecil. 
 
 The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” 
 
 The region of eternal remorse. There needs no more. 
 
 Which way I turn is hell, — myself am hell.” 
 
 We read of no music in hell, nor of the spirits there 
 being clothed. There is no light, but the blackness of 
 darkness for ever. 
 
 Every sin here is an imitation of the devil, and cre- 
 ates a kind of hell in the heart.” — Harvey. 
 
 A CHILD had continued playing in the open air, till 
 his hands became livid with cold. At length, he rushed 
 into the house, and holding them to the fire, experienced 
 acute pain, which is the usual consequence of subjecting 
 benumbed limbs suddenly to the influence of heat. Gott- 
 hold pitied the little fellow, and then remarked, ‘ Many 
 and bitter are the pains which prey upon the human 
 body in this world. There are head-aches, tooth-aches, 
 
ILLUSTKATITE GATHERINGS 
 
 217 
 
 ear-aches,* and aches in every limb, more nimleroiis than 
 can be told. If, however, even in time, and for man’s 
 correction, a righteous God subjects him to sufferings so 
 great, what must be the case in hell, where He pours upon 
 the reprobate the full measure of His wrath ? In the 
 present instance, as we see, the pain proceeds from the 
 conflict of heat and cold ; even so it will be in hell. The 
 victims there will burn with everlasting flames, and at 
 the same time wail and chatter with their teeth. Nor 
 can there be any comparison between the brief anguish 
 of this child and the torments which shall endure for 
 ever. But so intent are children upon their play, that 
 they neither feel the present cold, nor fear the future 
 pain. And wrn, who are older, act a similar part. We 
 pursue the folly of the word, — permit ourselves to be 
 beguiled by its paltry pleasures, and all too easily forget 
 the penalties which follow sin, both in time and in eter- 
 nity. Ah! may God subject me to any amount of sufier- 
 ing in the present life that may exempt me from the pains 
 of hell hereafter.’ ” — GottholcTs Emhlems. 
 
 Antonio Gijevazi used to say, that heaven would be 
 filled with such as had done good works (through faith in 
 Christ), and hell would be filled with such as had intended 
 to do them. 
 
 ‘‘ ‘ May 15. — Day of visiting — rather a happy one — 
 in CaiTonshore. Large meeting in the evening. Felt 
 very happy after it, though mourning for hitter speaking 
 of the Gospel. Surely, it is a gentle message, and should 
 be spoken with angelic tenderness, especially by such a 
 needy sinner.’ 
 
 Of this bitterness in preaching, he had little indeed 
 
 in after-days ; yet, so sensible was he of its being quite 
 19 
 
218 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 natural to all of us, that oftentimes he made it the sub- 
 ject of conversation, and used to grieve over himself if he 
 had spoken with anything less than solemn compassion. 
 
 I remember on one occasion, when we met, he asked 
 what my last Sabbath’s subject had been. It had been, 
 
 ^ The wicked shall be turned into hell. On hearing this 
 awful text, he asked, ‘Were you able to preach it with 
 tcYidcvTicss Certain it is that the tone of reproaching 
 and upbraiding is widely different from the voice of 
 solemn warning. It is not saying hard things that pierces 
 the consciences of our people ; it is the voice of Divine 
 love, heard amid the thunder. * The sharpest point of the 
 two-edged sword is not deaths but life ; and, against self- 
 righteous souls, this latter ought to be more used than 
 the former. For such souls can hear us tell of the open 
 gates of hell, and the unquenchable fire, far more uncon- 
 cernedly than of the gates of heaven, wide open for their 
 immediate return. When we preach that the glad tidings 
 were intended to impart immediate assurance of life eter- 
 nal to every sinner that believes them^ we strike deeper 
 upon the proud enmity of the world to God, than when 
 we show the eternal curse and the second death.” 
 M'^Cheyne, 
 
 Colonel Charteris. — The guilty Colonel Charteris, 
 when dying, exclaimed, in great remorse, “ I would gladly 
 give £30,000 to have it proved to my satisfaction that 
 
 there is no such place as hell.” 
 
 Dr. Bellamy, in his last sickness, was much oppressed 
 with gloom, and was for a time in despair .of his own 
 salvation. “ Alas,” said he, ‘‘ that I, who have labored 
 for others, should be myself a castaivay !” ‘‘My dear 
 brother,” said a friend, “ if God should send you to hell. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 219 
 
 what would you do there ? What would you do among 
 the spirits of the lost?” “I would tell them,” was the 
 answer, after a moment’s thought, “I would tell them for 
 ever that Jesus is precious.” 
 
 HIDING OP GOD’S FACE.— Judges xvi. 20 ; Job 
 xxiii. 8, 9; xxxiv. 29; Ps. xiii.; xxii. ; xxx. 7; Ixxxix. 
 46 ; Cant. hi. 1-4 ; v. 6 ; Isa. i. 15 ; viii. 17 ; xl. 27- 
 31; xlv. 15; 1. 10, 11; Ezek. xxxix. 29; Micah vii. 7 
 -9 ; Mark vi. 48-51. ^ 
 
 Cf. -Joseph to his brethren, Gen. xlii. 7, 8. 
 
 David to Absalom, 2 Sam. xiv. 24, 28, 32. 
 
 “ A father’s frowns are but the graver countenance 
 of love.” — Cowper. 
 
 “ It seems to me that Mhile the ministers of the 
 Church, and elders, have committed to them the keys of 
 discipline for the correction of open and outward delin- 
 quencies, the Great Head of the Church himself admin- 
 isters, directly and immediately, discipline, in the way 
 of suspending from, not the outward use, but the inward 
 enjoyment of Gospel ordinances, and thus in awful reality 
 inflicting the sentence of excommunication for a season, 
 in the case of those who may have incurred the unseen 
 guilt of hardness of heart, stiffness of neck, murmuring, 
 and other inward spiritual offences.”— 
 
 Little Sins. — “ You need not break the glasses of a 
 telescope, or coat them over with paint, in order to pre- 
 vent you from seeing through them. Just breathe upon 
 them, and the dew of your breath will shut out all the 
 stars. So it does not require great crimes to hide the 
 light of God’s countenance. Little faults can do it just 
 as well. Take a shield, and cast a spear upon it, and it 
 
220 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE UATHERINUS. 
 
 ■will leave in it one great dent ; pick it all over ■with a 
 million little needle-shots, and they vdll take the polish 
 off it far more than the piercitig of the spear. So it is 
 not so much the great sins which take the freshness from 
 our consciences, as the numberless petty faults which we 
 are all the while committing.” — Beecher. 
 
 “ I BELIEVE that there is a great difference between a 
 believer’s not being able to see Jesus, because of tempo- 
 rary mists before his eyes,^ — JesUs all the while being 
 there, — and his not being able to see Him, because for a 
 season He has departed and gone. Temporary mists 
 generally become dispelled in a very short season, but 
 Christ’s withdrawals are more serious, and cause deeper 
 suffering to the soul. There is no bitterer work than 
 seeking for a departed Christ — a Christ that has gone 
 because He has been driven away.” — Poiver. 
 
 “ I KNOVT, as night and shadow are good for flowers, 
 and moonlight and dews are better than continual sun, 
 so is Christ’s absence of special use, and it hath some 
 nourishing virtue in it, and giveth sap to humility, and 
 putteth an edge on hunger, and furnish eth a fair occasion 
 for faith to put forth her hand, and lay hold on what she 
 seeth not.” — Rutherford. 
 
 “ By God’s withdra'wing from His people, He pre- 
 vents His people withdrawing from him ; and so by an 
 affliction, he prevents sin ; for God to withdraw from me 
 is but my affliction, but for me to withdraw from God, 
 that is my sin ; and, therefore, it were better for me that 
 God should withdraw a thousand times from me, than 
 that I should once withdraw from God. (Heb. x. 38, 
 39.) God, therefore, forsakes us that we may not for- 
 sake our God. God sometimes hides himself, that we 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 221 
 
 may cleave the closer to Him, and hang the faster upon 
 Him ; as the mother hides herself from the child for a 
 time, that the child may cleave the closer, and hang the 
 faster upon her all the day long. God sometimes hid 
 himself from David ; ‘ Thou didst hide thy face, and I 
 was troubled.’ (Ps. xxx. 7.) ‘I was all but dead.’ 
 Well, and is that all ? No; ‘ I cried to Thee, 0 Lord ; 
 unto the Lord I made my supplication.’ (Ver. 8.) Now, 
 he cries louder, and cleaves closer to God than ever.” — 
 Sroohs's Mute Christian.” 
 
 “ When a believer is in darkness, and endeavors to 
 reason against his unbelief, he will find all his reasoning 
 but lost labor. There is only one thing he can do to 
 purpose, and that is, simply to cast anchor on God's 
 naked promises.” — Madan. 
 
 “ God does not always frown, lest we should be cast 
 into despair. God does not always smile, lest we should 
 be careless, and presume.” — Owen. 
 
 Texts for comfort.— Gen. xxviii. 16. (God is some- 
 times nearer than his people think. Of. Gen. xxi. 16, 
 19; Luke xxiv. 16, 31.) Ps. xxxvii. 23, 24; cxii. 4; 
 Isa. xlix. 14-23; liv. 7-17; Jer. xxxi. 3, 20; Lam. iii. 
 31, 32 ; Hosea xi. 8 ; Micah vii, 9, 19 ; John x. 27-29 ; 
 xiii. 1 ; Rom. xi. 29 ; Heb. xiii. 5, 6, 
 
 HIDING-PLACE. Christ, a. — Ps. xxxii. 7; cxix. 
 114 ; Isa. xxxii. 2. 
 
 “It was once asked of a Mohammedan caliph, ‘If the 
 canopy of heaven were a bow, and the earth the cord 
 thereof, if calamities were the arrows, and mankind the 
 marks of them, and if the Almighty and Unerring God 
 
 were the Archer ; to whom should the sons of men fly 
 19 * 
 
222 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 for protection ?’ The caliph answered, ‘ The sons of 
 men must fly unto the Lord.’ ” 
 
 Isle of Wight. — “ Some parts of the coast abound 
 with caves. In one of these, a short time ago, was found 
 the body of a poor Frenchman. He had been a prisoner, 
 and had escaped from prison, and for a long time con- 
 cealed himself there, probably in the hope of escaping 
 by some vessel which might pass. Many a weary day 
 passed, however, and he still remained a prisoner ; till 
 at last, not venturing to leave his retreat, he perished 
 from want. So is it with those who seek .refuge in in- 
 sufficient hiding-places. ‘ They make lies their refuge, 
 and under falsehood hide themselves.’ (Isa. xxviii. 15.) 
 Alas, how often they find out their mistake when it is 
 too late !” 
 
 HOLINESS. — Ex. xix. 6 ; xx. 8 ; Lev. xix. 2 : xxi. 
 6 ; xxvii. 14 ; Deut. vii. 6 ; Ps. xxx. 4 ; xciii. 5 ; xcvi. 
 9 ; xcix. 3, 5, 9 ; cx. 3 ; cxlv. 17 ; Isa. vi. 3 ; xxxv. 8 ; 
 lii. 11 ; Iviii. 13 ; Ixii. 5, 12 ; Ixiv. 11 ; Jer. ii. 3 ; Obad. 
 17 ; Mark vi. 20 ; Luke i. 75 ; John xvii. 17 ; Eom. vi. 
 13, 19, 22 ; vii. 12 ; xii. 1 ; 1 Cor. iii. 17 ; 2 Cor. vi. 
 17, 18 ; vii. 1 ; Eph. iv. 22-24 ; v. 25-27 ; Col. i. 22 ; 
 1 Thess. iv. 7 ; 1 Tim. ii. 8 ; iv. 12 ; Titus ii. 3 ; Heb. 
 xii. 10, 14 ; 1 Pet. i. 14-16 ; ii. 5 ; 2 Pet. iii. 11 ; Kev. 
 iv. 8 ; XX. 6 ; xxii. 11. 
 
 "Ayco;, holy, from a, neg., and the earth, i. e., 
 separated from the earth, unearthly, or from %oc, a thing 
 sacred, tyip, holiness, from tynp, was hallowed, set apart, 
 consecrated. “ Holy,” AnglieS, comes from the Saxon, 
 halig, the same root as whole, all ; the sense being sound, 
 unimpaired, entire. Thus we may collect the true idea, 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 223 
 
 — that which is wholly and entirely set apart, and con- 
 secrated, — that which is no longer of this world. (Rom. 
 viii. 5 ; 1 Thess. v. 23.) 
 
 The Old Testament was full of types and shadows of 
 the nature and necessity of holiness, — 
 
 Of. All the sacrifices^ burnt-oflFerings, &c. 
 
 The divers washings of persons and things — water 
 of purification, &c. 
 
 The anointings. 
 
 Distinction of meats — clean and unclean. 
 
 The laws for cleansing from ceremonial defile- 
 ment. 
 
 Siooils taken in battle, to be purified. (Numb, 
 xxxi. 21-24.) 
 
 The leper s examination — confinement — and 
 cleansing. 
 
 Aarons mitre ^ — inscribed with, ‘^Holiness to the 
 Lord.” 
 
 The Nazarite. — As the leper was the living type 
 of sin and death, so the Nazarite was designed 
 to be, of holiness and life. The word means, 
 the separate one, and the vow he took was for 
 separation to the Lord. 1. There was entire 
 abstinence from wine and strong drink, i. e.y 
 from whatever would hinder his spiritual em- 
 ployments. 2. The hair was to be unshorn — 
 a type of entire subjection to the Law, — as 
 having no control over his own condition. 3. 
 He must have no contact with the dead — no 
 fellowship with whatever so visibly bears the 
 mark of wrath against sin. 4. When his con- 
 secration was finished, he must bring the whole 
 
224 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 round of offerings, to show that, after all, he 
 had nothing to boast of. (Isa. Ixiv. 6 ; Luke 
 xvii. 10.) 
 
 Also, most of the sudden deutJis and awful judg- 
 ments inflicted: — Nadab and Abihu. (Lev. x. 
 1-3.) Korah and his company. (Numb, xvi.) 
 Uzzah. (2 Sam. vi.) The constant and severe 
 punishments of idolatry, &c., &c. 
 
 The History of Holiness.— It is instructive to trace 
 it, in connection with man’s redemption. It may be 
 viewed as past, present, and future : 
 
 Past. — Eternal councils of the Trinity Election 
 Creation in God’s image — the promise of holiness re- 
 stored after the Fall— Jewish ordinances (see above)— 
 Christ’s incarnation. . . . 
 
 Present. — Spirit of holiness given to the Church — 
 Spiritual law— holiness the character of the Church. . . 
 
 Put.ure.—l&s.. Ixii. 5, 12; Zech. xiv. 20 ; Eev. vii. 13, 
 14 ; xix. 8. 
 
 Christianity and Heathenism. — While the heathen 
 had their gods of wisdom, gods of battle, gods of beauty, 
 &c., they had no god of holiness, nor are their sacred 
 
 laws holy laws. 
 
 The image of God, in the creature, is holiness. Power 
 is his hand and arm; Omniscience, his eye; Mercy, his 
 bowels ; Eternity, his habitation and resting-place , but 
 Holiness is his glorious beauty. This David desired to 
 see. (Ps. xxvii. 4 ; xc. 17.) His justice is part of his 
 holiness, whereby He reduces into order those things 
 which are out of order. It is the crown of all His at- 
 tributes, the life of all his decrees, the brightness of all 
 His actions.” — Salter. 
 
ILLrSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 225 
 
 ‘‘ Grace is of a stirring nature. It will show itself 
 in holiness and good works ; it wdll walk with you, and 
 talk with you, in all places and companies ; it wdll buy 
 with you, and sell with you, and have a hand in all your 
 actions. It is a sad thing when believers are off their 
 guard — when they profess to have been on the Mount, 
 as Moses really was, and yet, like him, they no sooner 
 come down, than they turn, and break the command- 
 ments.’’ 
 
 A Christian should let us see his graces w’alking 
 abroad in his daily conversation ; and if such guests are 
 in the house, they will often look out of the windows, 
 and be publicly seen abroad, in all duties and holy ac- 
 tions.” — Grurner. 
 
 ‘‘ Holiness — as I then wrote down some of my con- 
 templations on it — appeared to me to be of a sweet, 
 pleasant, charming, serene, calm nature, which brought 
 an inexpressible purity, brightness, peacefulness, and 
 ravishment, to the soul; — in other words, that it made 
 the soul like a field or garden of God, with all manner 
 of pleasant fiowers and fruits, — all pleasant, delightful, 
 and undisturbed, — enjoying a sweet calm, and the gentle, 
 vivifying beams of the sun. The soul of a true Chris- 
 tian (as I then wTote my meditations) appeared like such 
 a little, white flower as we see in the spring of the year, 
 — low and humble on the ground, — opening its bosom to 
 receive the pleasant beams of the sun’s glory ; rejoicing, 
 as it were, in a calm rapture, diffusing around a sweet 
 fragrance, standing peacefully and lovingly in the midst 
 of other flowers round about, all, in like manner, opening 
 their bosoms to drink in the light of the sun. There 
 was no part of creature holiness that I had so great a 
 
 15 
 
22G ILUISTRATTYK (iATIlEIUNGS, 
 
 sciiSG of the lovollncss of, os liuiiiiUty, brokGnnGSS of 
 heart, and poverty of spirit; and there was nothing that 
 I so earnestly longed for. My heart panted after this, 
 —to be before God, as in the dust ; that I might be as 
 nothing, and that God might be ALL; that I might be- 
 come a little child.” — J. Edwards. 
 
 “ To Lady Kenmure. — Madam, for your own case, I 
 love careful, and withal doing complaints of want of 
 practice ; because I observe many who think it holiness 
 enough to complain, and set themselves at nothing, as 
 if to say, ‘I am sick,’ would cure them ; they think com- 
 plaints a good charm for guiltiness. I hope you are 
 wrestling and struggling. I urge upon you. Madam, a 
 nearer communion with Christ, and a growing commu- 
 nion. There are depths of love in Christ beyond what 
 we have seen ; therefore, dig deep, and labor, and take 
 pains for Him ; and set by so much time in the day for 
 Him as you can. He will be won with labor.” — Ruth- 
 erford, 
 
 ‘‘We find persons acquainted with the fundamental 
 doctrines of religion, and we are glad. But a year after- 
 wards we converse with them again, and find them just 
 the same. Two years elapse, and we come into contact 
 with them again, but still no progress can be perceived, 
 till at length the sight of them reminds us of a piece of 
 woodwork in the form of a tree, rather than a living 
 production of nature, for there are no fresh shoots, nor 
 any new foliage to be seen; on the contrary, the very 
 same modes of speech, the very same views and senti- 
 ments upon every point, and the same limited sphere of 
 ' spiritual conception ; no eidarged expansion of the in- 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 227 
 
 ward horizon ; not a single addition to the treasury of 
 Christian knowledge.” — Salter, 
 
 When courtiers come down into the country, the 
 common home-bred people possibly think their habits 
 strange ; but they care not for that. ‘ It is the fashion 
 at Court.’ What need, then, have the godly to be so 
 tender-foreheaded, to be out of countenance because the 
 world looks on holiness as a singularity ? It is the only 
 fashion in the highest Court, — yea, of the King of kings 
 himself. ’ ’ — Salter, 
 
 ]\rCHEYNE. — Few servants of God have ever been 
 more eminent for the purity and constancy of a holy 
 character. His biographer says : — At Jedburgh, the 
 impression left was chiefly that there had been among 
 them a man of peculiar holiness. Some felt, not so 
 much his words, as his presence and holy solemnity, as 
 if one spoke to them who was standing in the presence 
 of God; and to others his prayers appeared like the 
 
 breathings of one already within the vail After 
 
 his death, a note was found, unopened, which had been 
 sent to him in the course of the following week, when he 
 lay in the fever. It ran thus : — ‘ I hope you will pardon 
 a stranger for addressing to you a few lines. I heard 
 you preach last Sabbath evening, and it pleased God to 
 bless that sermon to my soul. It was not so much what 
 you said, as your manner of speaking, that struck me. 
 I saiv in you a beauty in holiness that I never saw before. 
 A"ou also said something in your prayer that struck me 
 very much. It was, Thou knowest that we love Thee.” 
 Oh, Sir, what would I give that I could say to my blessed 
 Lord, ‘‘ Thou knowest that I love Thee !” ’ ” 
 
 “What is Holiness?” — At one of the Ragged 
 
228 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVK GATHERINGS. 
 
 schools in Ireland, a clergyman asked the question, 
 ‘^What is holiness?” After some pause, a poor Irish 
 convert, in dirty, tattered rags, jumped up, and said, 
 ‘‘Plaise, your Riverence, it’s to be clam inside'' 
 
 Judas. — Why was Judas chosen to be an apostle?” 
 Speaking reverently, was not one reason, that the choice 
 supplied a powerful and indirect evidence of the purity 
 and holiness of our Lord’s character ? When our Lord 
 was accused by the Jews, if anything could have been 
 proved against Him, Judas would have been the witness 
 to prove it. He had lived with Him, and seen His daily 
 life. The very fact that he never came forward to give 
 evidence against the Lord is a clear proof that he could 
 not. As Anselm says, — Judas is chosen, that the Lord 
 might have an enemy amongst His domestic attendants ; 
 for that man is perfect who has no cause to shrink from 
 the observation of a wicked man conversant with all his 
 ways.” 
 
 The Magnet. — You may shake the magnetic needle 
 from its position, but it retuims again, the moment you 
 leave it to itself. In like manner, believers may fall into 
 sin, and deviate from the line of duty, but no sooner 
 have they leisure for reflection than they endeavor to 
 amend, and resume a life of godliness.” — G-ottliold» 
 
 HOME. — Luke ix. 57-62. (Home hindrances.) 
 
 A modern writer has designated home as Heaven’s 
 fallen sister,” and a delightful truth lies shrouded in the 
 title. A Christian home should be a heaven begun on 
 earth ; the happy abode of warm and loving hearts, — 
 thinking, working, and sorrowing together ; all melted 
 down by grace, and uniting together in love. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 229 
 
 The three persons Tvhom 
 our Lord raised from 
 the dead, it has been 
 well observed, were, 
 an onlv son, an only 
 daughter, and an only 
 brother. Did not the 
 Saviour intend, in this, 
 to put a peculiar honor 
 upon the social rela- 
 tionships of life? 
 
 A Lamp,” writes M^Cheyne, ‘"is a very small thing, 
 and it burns calmly, and without noise, and it giveth 
 light to all who are within the house,” and so there is a 
 quiet influence, which, like the flame of a scented lamp, 
 fills manv a home with Imht and fragrance. Such anin- 
 fiaeuce has been beautifully compared to “ a carpet, soft 
 and deep, which, while it diffuses a look of ample com- 
 fort, deadens many a creaking sound. It is a curtain, 
 which, from many a beloved form wards off at once the 
 summer’s heat and the winter’s wind. It is the pillow 
 on which sickness lavs its head, and forgets its misery.” 
 Its influence falls as the refreshing dew, the invigorating 
 sunbeam, the fertilizing shower. It shines with the mild 
 lustre of moonlight, harmonizing, with its pale, soft 
 tints, many of the discordant hues which the stronger 
 li^ht of day reveals. 
 
 Our Duties are like the circle of a whirlpool, and 
 the innermost circle is home.” 
 
 The road to home happiness is over the stepping- 
 stones which lie above the brook of daily discomforts.” 
 
 ‘‘Two Christians met at a crossing on a ilonday 
 20 
 
 Luke vii. 12-15. 
 
 Luke viii. 41, 42, 49-56. ^ 
 John xi. 
 
230 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 morning. Both were parents. As was natural, the con- 
 versation turned upon the services of the preceding day. 
 The first speaker opened by saying, ‘ We had a sermon 
 from our minister last night on the religious instruction 
 of children. Why didn’t you come and hear it?’ ‘Be- 
 cause,’ said the other, ‘7 ivas at home doing itT '' — 
 Christiayi Treasury, 
 
 She alavays made Home Happy.” — Epitaph in a 
 churchyard, inscribed by a husband after sixty years of 
 wedded life. 
 
 Home Yearnings. — How natural ! “ I long to see 
 
 home,” says the sailor, from the mast-head, when the 
 ship rocks to and fro from the violence of the storm. 
 “I am going home,” thinks the shopman, when he bars 
 his heavy doors, and closes his heavy AvindoAvs at night, 
 tired with the labors of the day. “ I must hurry home,” 
 says the mother, whose heart is on her baby in the cradle. 
 “ Oh, how I long to get home !” says the schoolboy, dis- 
 consolate over the hopeless task. “Don’t stop me; 1 
 am going home,” says the bright-eyed girl, skipping 
 along the foot-path. And “ almost home,” says the dy- 
 ino; Christian. “ I shall soon be home, and then no more 
 sorrow nor sighing for e\"er.” “Almost home.” 
 
 Learning at School, and Unlearning at Home. — 
 “ It was a source of much trouble to some fish to see a 
 number of lobsters SAvimming backwards, instead of for- 
 wards. They, therefore, called a meeting, and it Avas 
 determined to open a class for their instruction, which 
 was done, and a number of young lobsters came ; for the 
 fish gravely argued that if they commenced with the 
 young ones, as they grew up they Avould learn to swim 
 aright. At first they did very Avell, but afterAvards, when 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATilERIXGS. 
 
 231 
 
 tliGV iGtiirncd lioino, find sa,w their fcithers 8.nd motheis 
 swiniuiLnp^ in the old ^vay, they soon forgot their lessons. 
 So, many a- child, yrell-t aught at school, is drifted back- 
 wards by a bad home influence, Bible Cla%s ^Iaga^:ine, 
 
 HOXESTY.— Gen. xliii. 12; Lev. xix. 13; Dent, 
 xxiv. 14, 15 ; Ps. XV. 4 ; Mai. iii. 5 ; Matt. ^ii. 12 , Roni. 
 xii. 17 ; xiii. 8 ; 2 Cor. viii. 21 ; 1 Tim. ii. 2 ; James ii. 
 
 Three miracles to commend 
 honesty. 
 
 2 Kings iv. 1-T. 
 
 2 Kings yi. 5-7. 
 
 Matt. xvii. 24-27. 
 
 ‘ Honesty is the best policy,’ but he who acts upon 
 this principle is not an honest man. Archbishop 
 Whately. 
 
 Honesty Rewarded. — A farmer called on the Earl 
 
 Fitzwilliam, to represent that his crop of wheat had been 
 seriously injured in a field adjoining a certain yood, 
 where his Lordship’s hounds had, during the winter, fre- 
 quently met to hunt. He stated that the young wheat 
 had been so cut up and destroyed that, in some parts, he 
 could not hope for any produce. ^‘TTell, my friend, 
 said his Lordship, ‘‘ I am aware that we have frequently 
 met in that field, and that we have done considerable 
 injury, and if you can procure an estimate of the loss you 
 have sustained, I will repay you.’ The farmer replied, 
 that, anticipating his Lordship s consideration and kind- 
 ness, he had requested a friend to assist him in estimating 
 the damage, and they thought that as the crop seemed 
 quite destroyed, ^50 would not more than repay him. 
 The Earl immediately gave him the money.* As the 
 harvest, however, approached, the wheat grew, and in 
 
232 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 those parts of the field which were most trampled, the 
 corn was strongest and most luxuriant. The farmer went 
 again to his Lordship, and, being introduced, said, “lam 
 come, my Lord, respecting the field of wheat adjoining 
 such a wood.’' His Lordship immediately recollected 
 the circumstance. “ Well, my friend, did not I allow 
 you sufficient to remunerate you for your loss ?” “Yes, 
 my Lord, I find that I have sustained no loss at all, for 
 f'here the horses had most cut up the land, the crop is 
 most promising, and I have, therefore, brought the £50 
 back again.” “Ah,” exclaimed the venerable Earl, 
 “ this is what I like. This is as it should be between man 
 and man.” He then entered into conversation with the 
 farmer, asking him some questions about his family, — • 
 how many children he had, &c. — Ilis Lordship then w^ent 
 into another room, and, returning, presented the farmer 
 with a cheque for £100, saying, “ Take care of this, and 
 when your eldest son is of age, present it to him, and tell 
 him the occasion that produced it.” We know not wffiich 
 to admire — the benevolence or the wisdom displayed by 
 this illustrious man, who, while doing a noble act of gen- 
 erosity, was handing down a lesson of integrity to an- 
 other generation. 
 
 HONOR. — 1 Sam. ii. 80; ix. 6 ; 1 Chron. iv. 9; 
 Ps. xlix. 12-20; cxlix. 9; Prov. iii. 16: xv. 33; Mai. 
 i. 6; John v. 44; 1 Cor. xii. 22-25; 2 Cor. vi. 8 ; 1 
 Tim. V. 3. 
 
 Temple of Honor. — “ The only entrance to, in Rome, 
 was through the Temple of Virtue.” 
 
 The Shadow. — Honor is like a shadow, because (1), 
 it flies from those who follow it; (2), it follows those who 
 
ILLCSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 233 
 
 flj from it (Mark vii. 24) ; (3), it varies in its position, — 
 sometimes it stalks before ns, sometimes it comes bv onr 
 side, sometimes it follows behind; so some obtain honor 
 before they have earned it, from their wealth, lineage, &c. 
 The shadow is larger than the body which follows it. 
 Others are the companions of their own honor, and en- 
 joy well-merited fame, but only at one side, because there 
 are always some who delight to pare the edges from the 
 best deserved reputation ; there are others who march 
 with unflinching hearts to the altar of virtue, and are 
 followed by the shadow of a reputation they have well 
 deserved, but the shadow only becomes visible when envy 
 
 V 
 
 expires with their life. 
 
 Diogexes was not in the wrong, who, when the great 
 Alexander, finding him in the charnel-house, asked him 
 what he Avas seeking for, answered, am seeking for 
 your father’s bones, and those of my slave, but I cannot 
 find them, because there is no difierence between their 
 dust.” 
 
 The Rev. H. Martyx, after gaining the highest posi- 
 tion the University could bestow, writes : — ‘‘ x obtained 
 my highest Avishes, but was surprised to find that I had 
 grasped a shadow.” 
 
 HOPE. 
 
 in life. — Ps. xxii. 9 ; xxxiii. 18 ; xxxix. 7 ; xlii. 
 
 5; cxix. 43, 49, 81, 116; cxxx. 7; cxlvi. 5; Prov. x. 
 28; Eccl. ix. 4; Jer. hi. 23; xA. 8; xvii. 5-8; Lam. 
 iii. 24-26; Hos. ii. 15; Zech. ix. 12; Rom. iv. 18 ; v. 
 4, 5; viii. 24, 25; xii. 12; xv. 4, 13; 1 Cor. 9, 10; 
 xiii. 7, 13; xv. 19; 2 Cor. i. 7; Gal. v. 5; Col. i. 5, 
 20 
 
234 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 27; 1 Thess. i. 3; ii. 19; Titus i. 2; ii. 18; Heb. iii. 
 6 ; vi. 11, 18-20 ; 1 Peter i. 3, 13 ; 1 John iii. 3. 
 
 in death. — Ps. xvi. 8-11 ; Prov. xiv. 32 ; Luke 
 
 ix. 51 (‘‘received up” Jesus, before death, was as one 
 “looking across the waters,” through the grave and 
 joyful gate of death, to resurrection and ascension, cf. 
 Heb. xii. 2j ; Acts xxiv. 15 ; 1 Thess. iv. 13-18. 
 
 of the wicked. — Job viii. 13 ; xi. 20 ; xxvii. 8 ; 
 
 Prov. x. 28 ; xi. 7 ; Isa. xxviii. 14-20 ; Zech. xi. 5-8 ; 
 cf. V. 12 ; Eph. ii. 12. 
 
 Emblems. — An anchor cast within the vail (Heb. vi. 
 19) — a helmet (1 Thess. v. 8) — the rainbow of promise 
 upon the dark cloud of sorrow — spring following winter’s 
 storms, and preceding summer’s sunshine and autumn’s 
 fruit. 
 
 “The night is mother of the day, 
 
 And winter of the spring ; 
 
 And ever upon old decay, 
 
 The greenest mosses cling. 
 
 Behind the cloud the starlight lurks; 
 
 Through showers the sunbeams fall; 
 
 Tor God, who lovM all His works. 
 
 Has left us hope with all.” 
 
 There is no condition so low but may have hope, and 
 none so high as to be out of the reach of fear. 
 
 Hope — “ The last thing that dies in man.” — Di- 
 ogenes, 
 
 Pandora’s Box. — “ The poet Hesiod tells us that the 
 miseries of all mankind were included in a great box, and 
 that Pandora’s husband took off the lid, by which means 
 all of them came abroad ; but hope remained still at 
 the bottom. Thus hope is the principal antidote which 
 keeps our heart from bursting under the pressure of evils, 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 235 
 
 and is that flattering mirror that gives us a prospect of 
 some great and alluring good. When all other things 
 fail, hope stands by us to the last. This, as it were, 
 gives freedom to the captive, health to the sick, victory 
 to the defeated, and wealth to the beggar.’' — Wanley, 
 Beecher. — There are few men, even among the 
 most worldly, who do not expect to be converted before 
 they die; but it is a selfish, mean, sordid conversion they 
 want — just to escape hell, and to secure heaven. Such 
 a man says, ‘ I have had my pleasures, and the flames 
 have gone out in the fireplaces of my heart. I have 
 taken all the good on one side ; now I must turn about, 
 if I would take all the good on the other.’ They desire 
 just experience enough to make a key to turn the lock 
 of the gate of the celestial city. They wish ‘ a hope,’ 
 just as men get a title to an estate. No matter whether 
 they improve the property or not, if they have the title 
 safe. A " hope’ is to them like a passport, which one 
 keeps quietly in his pocket till the time for the journey, 
 and then produces it ; or like life-preservers, which hang 
 useless around the vessel until the hour of danger comes, 
 when the captain calls on every passenger to save him- 
 self, and then they are taken down, and blown up, and 
 each man, with his hope under his arm, strikes out for 
 the land ; and so such men would keep their religious 
 hope hanging until death comes, and then take it down 
 and inflate it, that it may buoy them up, and float them 
 over the dark river to the heavenly shore ; or, as the in- 
 habitants of Block Island keep their boats hauled high 
 upon the beach, and only use them now and then, when 
 they would cross to the mainland ; so such men keep 
 their hopes high and dry upon the shore of life, only to 
 
236 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINUS. 
 
 be used when they have to cross the flood that divides 
 this island of time from the mainland of eternity.” 
 
 Rutherford. — Our hope is not hung upon such an 
 untwisted thread as, ‘I imagine so,’ or, ^It is likely 
 but the cable, the strong rope of our fastened anchor, is 
 the oath and promise of Him who is eternal verity ; our 
 salvation is fastened with God’s own hand, and Christ’s 
 own strength, to the strong stake of God’s unchangeable 
 nature.” 
 
 Rev. Thomas Scott. — ‘‘ Our (spiritual) safety consists 
 in a due proportion of hope and fear. When devoid of 
 hope, we resemble a ship without an anchor ; when un- 
 restrained by fear, we are like the same vessel under full 
 sail, without ballast. (1 Pet. i. 13-17.) Indiscriminate 
 censures of all fear as the result of unbelief, and un- 
 guarded commendations of strong confldence, without 
 respect to the spirit and conduct of professors, not only 
 lead to much self-deception, but also tend to make be- 
 lievers unstable, unwatchful, and even uncomfortable ; 
 for the humble often cannot attain to that confidence 
 that is represented almost as essential to faith ; and true 
 comfort is the effect of watchfulness, diligence, and cir- 
 cumspection.” Few lessons could possibly have been 
 selected of greater importance, or more worthy of the 
 Christian’s study, than those which Runyan has most 
 ingeniously and agreeably introduced in the emblems of 
 the Interpreter’s house. The principal subjects which 
 faithful ministers enforce publicly and in private, on all 
 who begin to profess the Gospel, and which every true 
 disciple of Christ daily seeks to have more clearly dis- 
 covered to his mind, and more deeply impressed upon 
 his heart, w^ere there presented before his mind ; and the 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 237 
 
 comment of Christian, when the Interpreter asked him, 
 ‘‘ Hast thou considered all these things ?” was, Yes ; 
 and they put me in hope and fear.’’ 
 
 SoBiESKi. — In the year 1683, Vienna, the capital 
 of Austria, was besieged ; a great army of Turks, who 
 were then making war with the nations of Europe, lay 
 before it. When it w^as known that they were near 
 Vienna, the Emperor of Austria fled from the city, and 
 the poor people in it were left in sad fear and distress. 
 The only person they thought likely to save them was 
 the King of Poland, John Sobieski, and they sent en- 
 treating him to come to their help. They knew that he 
 could only come to them over the northern mountains, 
 and day after day they rose early, and watched for the 
 first morning light, in the hope of seeing the Polish army 
 on the mountains. It was anxious waiting, but hope sus- 
 stained them. The siege began in July; on the 11th 
 of September some weary watchers were looking out from 
 the ramparts to the mountain of the Kalimburg, when — 
 oh, delightful sight ! — they saw something bright on the 
 mountain side, and discerned the lances and armor of the 
 brave Poles marching to the rescue. That very day 
 Sobieski fought a bloody battle, defeated the Turks, and 
 set Vienna free .” — Family Treasury, 
 
 Hopeful (who joined Christian, from beholding him 
 and Faithful in their brave behavior in Vanity Fair) 
 came with Christian to the Black River. Christian be- 
 gan to sink, and crying out to his good friend Hopeful, 
 he said, ‘‘ I sink in deep waters : the billows go over my 
 head. All his waves go over me.” 
 
 “ Then said the other, ^ Be of good cheer, my brother, 
 I feel the bottom, and it is good.’ Then said Christian, 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERIXGS. 
 
 288 
 
 ‘ All, my friend,^ the sorrows of death have compassed me 
 about. I shall not see the land that flows with milk and 
 honey.’ And with that a great darkness and horror fell 
 upon Christian, so that he could not see before him. . . 
 Hopeful, therefore, here had much ado to keep his bro- 
 ther’s head above water ; yea, sometimes he would be 
 quite gone do.wn, and then, ere a while, he would rise up 
 again half dead. 
 
 ‘^Hopeful also would endeavor to comfort him, saying, 
 ^ Brother, I see the gate, and men standing by to receive 
 us but Christian would answer, ^ It is you, it is you 
 they wait for. You have been hopeful ever since I knew 
 you.’ ^ And so have you,’ said he to Christian. ‘Ah, 
 brother,’ said he, ‘surely if I was right. He would now 
 arise to help me ; but for my sins He hath brought me 
 into the snare, and hath left me.’ Then said Hopeful, 
 ‘ My brother, you have quite forgot the text where it is 
 said of the wicked, “ There are no bands in their death, 
 but their strength is firm ; they are not troubled as other 
 men, neither are they plagued like other men.” (Ps. 
 Ixxiii. 4, 5.) These troubles and distresses that you go 
 through in these waters are no sign that God hath for- 
 saken you; but are sent to try you, whether you will 
 call to mind that which heretofore you have received of 
 His goodness, and live upon Him in your distresses.’ 
 
 “ Then I saw in my dream that Christian was in a 
 muse a while. To whom also Hopeful added these 
 words, — ‘Be of good cheer; Jesus Christ maketh thee 
 whole.’ And with that Christian broke out with a loud 
 voice, — ‘ Oh, I see Him again, and He tells me, “ When 
 thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee ; 
 and through the rivers, thev shall not overflow thee.” ’ 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE UATlIERUyaS. 
 
 239 
 
 Then they both took courage, and the enemy after that 
 was as still as a stone until they were gone over. Chris- 
 tian therefore presently found ground to stand upon, and 
 so it followed that the rest of the river was but shallow ; 
 but thus they got over 
 
 ^ -fa if if 
 
 i(^ if if if if 
 
 ‘‘Xow, while I was gazing upon all these things, I 
 turned rny head to look back, and saw Ignorance come 
 up to the river-side; but he soon got over, and that 
 without half the difficulty which the other two men met 
 with. For it happened that there was then in that place 
 one Vain-Hope, a ferryman, that with his boat helped 
 him over; so he, as the other I saw, did ascend the hill 
 to come up to the gate, only he came alone ; neither did 
 any man meet him with the least encouragement. When 
 he was come up to the gate, he looked up to the writing 
 that was above, and then began to knock, supposing that 
 entrance should have been quickly administered to him ; 
 but he was asked by the man that looked over the top 
 of the gate, ^ hence come you? And what would you 
 have ?’ He answered, ‘ I have ate and drank in the 
 presence of the king, and he has taught in our streets.’ 
 Then they asked him for his certificate, that they might 
 go in and show it to the king. So he fumbled in his 
 bosom for one, and found none. Then said they, ‘You 
 have none;’ but the man answered never a word. So 
 they told the king ; but he would not come down to see 
 him, but commanded the two shining ones, that conducted 
 Christian and Hopeful to the city, to go out and take 
 Ignorance, and bind him hand and foot, and have him 
 away. Then they took him up, and carried him through 
 
240 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 the air to the door that I saw in the side of the hill, and 
 put him in there. Then I saw that there was a way to 
 Hell, even from the gates of Heaven, as well as from the 
 City of Destruction. So I awoke, and behold it was a 
 dream. ’ ' — Pilgrim si Progress. 
 
 HOSPITALITY.— Gen. xiv. 18 ; xviii. 3-8; Judges 
 xiii. 15 ; 2 Sam. vi. 19 ; 2 Kings iv. 8-37 ; Neh. v. 17 ; 
 Matt. X. 42 ; Luke xiv. 12-14 ; Acts xvi. 15 ; xvii. 7 ; 
 xxviii. 2, 7 ; Rom. xii. 13, 20 ; xvi. 23 ; 1 Tim. iii. 2 ; 
 v. 10; Titus i. 8; Heb. xiii. 2; 1 Pet. iv. 9; 3 John 
 5, 6. 
 
 Christ’s Recompense — for Hospitality. He was 
 called” to the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee, and 
 turned the water into wine. 
 
 He went to the house of Zaccheus, and that day 
 
 did salvation come to that house. 
 
 He lodged with Martha and Mary in their calm 
 
 retreat at Bethany, and they received their brother from 
 the dead. 
 
 Dr. Payson once, when traveling, having occasion to 
 call on a lady, when she and some of her friends w^ere 
 sitting down to tea ; she would have him stay, and 
 treated him very hospitably. When he left, he said, 
 “ Madam, you have treated me with much kindness and 
 hospitality, for which I sincerely thank you. Allow me 
 to ask you one question before we part, — How do you 
 treat my Master?” The visit was much sanctified, and 
 led eventually to the conversion of the lady and her 
 household. 
 
 HOUSES.--Ps. xlviii. 11-14 ; lix. (title). 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATTIERINGS. 
 
 241 
 
 Ps. XXX. A psalm and song at the dedication of the 
 house of David.” See Dent. xx. 5, and Neh. xii. 27. 
 
 Philip Henry writes in his Diary, upon the remov- 
 ing of his closet from one room of the house to another : 
 “ This day my new closet, if I may so say, was conse- 
 crated with this prayer, — that all the prayers that should 
 ever be made in it according to the will of God, morning, 
 evening, and at noon-day, ordinary and extraordinary, 
 might be accepted of God, and obtain a gracious answer. 
 Amen and Amen.'' 
 
 There are in Great Britain about 3,000,000 houses, at 
 a rental of ^24,000,000, and value about ^240,000,000 ; 
 and in Ireland, 1,500,000, at a rental of about .£9,000,000, 
 and value about £90,000,000. If each gave a penny a 
 month to some charitable object, the result would be 
 £1,575,000. 
 
 What a lesson of the vicissitudes of life would the 
 history of many a house suggest ! As, e.g.^ 
 
 The Tower. — Traitor’s Gate — Bloody Tower. 
 
 Fonthill Abbey. — Beckford pulled down the house his 
 father built for £263,000 — built his own magnificent pile 
 — when it was building, even Boyalty was refused admit- 
 tance — yet when he had run through his princely for- 
 tune, an entrance was forced by the SheriflT’s officers, 
 and the house was pulled down by the next owner. 
 
 Gore House. — Wilberforce — Lady Blessington — Soyer 
 — School of Design. 
 
 Inscriptions on. — It was customary in former times 
 often to put inscriptions on the front of houses. On 
 a house still standing between Walsall and Tretsey, in 
 Cheshire, built in 1636, of thick oak framework filled 
 in with brick, was this inscription, over a window in the 
 
 21 lf> 
 
242 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 tap-room , — “ Heres si scires unura tua tempora mensem ; 
 ridis cum non scis si sit forsitan una dies.” (You would 
 weep if you knew that your life was limited to one month ; 
 yet you laugh while you know not hut that it may be re- 
 stricted to a day.) 
 
 Tamaiiana. — A New Zealand chief, so called, visited 
 (England) a few years ago, remarkable for the deep 
 spirituality of his mind, and his constant delight in the 
 Word of God. One day he was taken to see a beautiful 
 mansion, — one of the show places near London. The 
 gentleman who took him expected to find him greatly 
 astonished and much charmed with its magnificence and 
 splendor ; hut it seemed, to his surprise, to excite little 
 or no admiration in his mind. Wondering how this 
 could he, he began to point out to him its grandeur, the 
 beauty of the costly furniture— brought from all parts 
 of the world — the view from the windows, &c. Tamahana 
 heard all silently ; then, looking round upon the walls, 
 replied, “Ah! my Father’s house finer than this.” 
 “Your father’s house !” thought the gentleman, who 
 knew his father’s home was but a poor mud cottage. 
 But Tamahana went on,— “My Father’s house finer 
 than this and began to speak, in his own expressive, 
 touching strain, of the house above, — the house of 
 “ many mansions,”' the eternal home of the redeemed. 
 John xiv. 2. 
 
 HUMILITY.— Lev. xxvi. 41, 42; Deut. viii. 2; 2 
 Chron. vii. 14 ; Ps. x. 14-17 ; cxv. 1 ; cxxxviii. 6 ; Prov. 
 xi. 2 ; XV. 33 ; xvi. 18, 19 ; xxii. 4 ; xxv. 6, 7 ; Isa*. Ivii. 
 15 ; Jer. xlv. 5 ; Micah vi. 8 ; Matt. v. 3 ; xviii. 1-4 ; 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 243 
 
 XX. 20-28 ; Luke xiv. 7-14 : Rom. xii. 3, 16 ; Phil. ii. 
 3 ; Col. iii. 12 ; James iv. 6 ; 1 Pet. v. 3-6. 
 
 Luke X. 39, 
 
 John xi. 32, > Mary’s posture at Christ’s feet. 
 
 xii. 3, J 
 
 1 Cor. XV. 9, A. D. 59. ‘^Not meet to be called an 
 apostle.'' 
 
 Eph. iii, 8, A. D. 64. Less than the least of all 
 saints." 
 
 1 Tim. i. 15, A. D. 65. Sinners of whom I am 
 chief.” 
 
 The progress of St. Paul in humility has been thus 
 beautifully traced, by comparing the above expressions 
 with the dates of his epistles. 
 
 The same may be traced in St. Peter, comparing his 
 history in the Gospels, the Acts, and his two letters to 
 the Churches. 
 
 ‘‘ Thoughtle.^ of beauty, — humility is beauty’s self. 
 
 As the lark that soars the highest builds her nest 
 the lowest ; the nightingale that sings so sw^eetly, sings 
 in the shade when all things rest ; the branches that are 
 most laden with ripe fruit, bend lowest; the valleys are 
 fruitful in their lowliness ; and the ship most laden sinks 
 deepest in the water, — so the holiest Christians are the 
 humblest. 
 
 ‘‘ True humility consists not so much in thinking 
 meanly of ourselves, as in not thinking of ourselves 
 at all. 
 
 Humbleness of mind is gained more by believing in 
 Christ than by dwelling upon our sins. 
 
 Humility is knowing that we are not humble. 
 
244 ILLUSTRATIVE OATHERINvQS. 
 
 God would rather see His children humble for sin 
 than proud of grace. 
 
 ‘'Judge thyself with the judgment of sincerity, and 
 thou wilt judge others with the judgment of charity. 
 That is true humiliation which, like a harbinger, makes 
 way for Christ, and throws the soul at His feet.” — 
 Mason, 
 
 “ Humility does not consist in a plain and singular 
 dress, nor yet in speaking in mean terms of ourselves, or 
 in being free and friendly with poor persons, nor yet in 
 anything outward. These things are sometimes the 
 effects of true humility ; but they may be without it. 
 
 “ Real Christian humility is a grace of the spirit, and, 
 consequently, has its seat in the heart. In Scripture it is 
 called, in one place, humlleness of mind; in another, 
 lowliness of heart; and in another, poverty of spirit. 
 The original word signifies, having a low opinion or 
 esteem of ourselves in comparison with pthers. It will 
 show itself before Crod by self-abasement on account of 
 the deep depravity of human nature ; by an entire de- 
 pendence upon the mercy of God in Christ Jesus ; and 
 a close w^alk with God in the use of all the appointed 
 means. It will manifest itself amongst men by respect 
 and submission to our superiors, love and friendship to 
 our equals, and condescension to our inferiors ; together 
 with a readiness to forgive injuries, and to be candid and 
 moderate toward all. It will appear, as it respects our- 
 selves, not only in carefully avoiding everything which 
 has even the appearance of pride and haughtiness, but 
 in a modest and meek behavior ; a distrust of our own 
 strength or abilities, patience in suffering, and content- 
 ment in our situation of life.” — Dr. David Jennings. 
 
ILLUSTJlATIVi: GATHEtltNGS. 245 
 
 The NETTLE grows higb^ while the violet is low, and 
 almost obscured by leaves, and chiefly discovered by its 
 fragrance. The former is emblematical of a proud per- 
 son ; but the latter resembles one that is truly humble.’’ 
 — Dr, Manton. 
 
 Fable, — D aedalus and Icarus. — There is a good moral 
 in the ancient fable Daedalus made himself wings 
 with feathers and wax^ and carefully fitted them to his 
 body and that of his son Icarus. They took their flight 
 in the air from Crete ; but the heat of the sun melted 
 the wax on the wings of Icarus, who would fain fly high, 
 and he fell into that part of the ocean which from him 
 has been called the Icarian Sea. The father, w’hose 
 flight was more humble, escaped the danger, and arrived 
 safe at Cumm, where he built a temple to the honor of 
 Apollo.” 
 
 ‘‘St. Augustine, being asked, ^What is the first 
 thing in religion ?’ replied, ‘Humility;’ 'and what the 
 second?’ 'Humility;’ 'and what the third?’ 'Hu- 
 mility.’ ” 
 
 " He wdio has other graces without humility, is like 
 one who carries a box of precious powder without a cover 
 on a windy day.” 
 
 “A LADY applied to a celebrated philanthropist on be- 
 half of an orphan child. When he had bidden her draw 
 on him for any amount, she said, 'As soon as the child 
 is old enough I will teach him to thank you.’ ' Stop,’ 
 said the good man, 'you are mistaken. We do not 
 thank the clouds for rain : teach the child to look higher, 
 and to thank Him who gives both the clouds and the 
 rain.’ ” 
 
 Professor Scholefield. — " His character was, to be 
 21 * 
 
246 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 useful without parade, and to do things without record- 
 ing them .” — Preface to his Life. 
 
 M‘Cheyne- — I charge you, he clothed with humility, 
 or you will yet be a wandering star, for whom is reserved 
 the blackness of darkness for ever. Let Christ increase, 
 let man decrease. If you lead sinners to yourself and 
 not to Christ, Immanuel will cast the star out of His 
 right hand into utter darkness. Eememher what I said 
 of preaching out of the Scriptures. Honor the Word 
 both in matter and manner. Do not cease to pray for 
 
 Now, remember, ‘ Moses wist not that 
 
 the skin of his face shone.’ Looking at our own shin- 
 ing face is the bane of the spiritual life and of the min- 
 istry. Oh, for closest communion with God, till soul 
 and body, head and heart, shine with divine brilliancy ! 
 But, oh, for a holy ignorance of their shining ! Pray 
 for this, for you need it as well as 1.”— Letters to Bev. 
 W. 0. Burns. 
 
 Rev. Thos. Adam. — “ Could I bear to be the author 
 of a treatise which should be the means of enlightening 
 and converting thousands, and be without the credit of it, 
 or see it given to another ? It is cause enough for hu- 
 mility to know that we are not humble.” 
 
 “ The ANSWER of a devoted clergyman, when ques- 
 tioned as to his growth in grace, was, ‘ I trust I am 
 
 somewhat poorer than I was. 
 
 Ex. Abraham, Gen. xviii. 27 ; Jacob, been, xxxii. 10, 
 Moses, Exod. hi. 11; iv. 10; Joshua, Josh. vii. 6; 
 Gideon, Judges vi. 15; David, 2 Sam. vii. 18-20; 1 
 Chron. xxix. 14; Hezekiah, 2 Chron. xxxii. 26 ; Josiah, 
 2 Chron. xxxiv. 27 ; Job, Job xl. 4; xlii. 6; Isaiah, Isa. 
 vi. 5; Jeremiah, Jer. i. 6; John Baptist, Matt. hi. 14; 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 247 
 
 John iii. 30 ; Centurion, Matt. viii. 8 ; Woman of Canaan, 
 Matt. XV. 27 ; Elizabeth, Luke i. 43; Peter, Luke v. 8; 
 Paul, Acts XX. 19. (See above.) 
 
 HYPOCRISY.— 1 Sam. xvi. 7; Job viii. 13; xiii. 
 16; XV. 34; xx. 5; xxvii. 8; xxxvi. 13; Ps. xii. 2; 
 XXXV. 16; Prov. xi. 9; xxx. 12-14; Isa. x. 6; xxix. 
 14-16; xxx. 9, 10; xxxiii. 14; Ezek. xxxiii. 31-33; 
 Hosea xi. 12; Matt. vi. 1-8; vii. 5; xv. 8; xxiv. 51; 
 Luke xii. 1; xiii. 15; 1 Tim. iv. 2; James iii. 17 ; Rev. 
 ii. 9 ; iii. 1. 
 
 Emblems. — " TTzoxpcac^y from bTzoxpbofxai^ which seems 
 properly to denote, ‘‘ to represent another person by 
 acting, as the ancient players did, under a mask, to per- 
 sonate, — g.c?., to be thought somebody different from one- 
 self by being under a mask.’' — Parhhurst, 
 
 Leaven, Luke xii. 1. 
 
 Whited sepulchres ; beautiful without, but filthy 
 and unclean within. Matt, xxiii. 27. 
 
 Spider s web ; dexterously and closely woven, but 
 soon broken through or sivept away. Job viii. 
 14 ; Isa. lix. 5, 6. 
 
 Hidden graves. Luke xi. 44. 
 
 The guest without the ivedding garment. Matt, 
 xxii. 11. Then I saw that there was a way 
 to hell even from the gates of heaven.” — 
 Bunyan.) 
 
 Counterfeit diamonds ; glistening, but gaudy ; 
 bright, but false. 
 
 Cray flowers, but poisonous; bright weeds, but 
 deadly. 
 
248 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHEKINGg^ 
 
 Base money ; that may pass current for a long 
 time, but is at length detected and rejected. 
 Religion is the best armor, but the worst cloak.” 
 The hypocrite has not a living hope, but a lying 
 hope, and a dying hope.” — Leighton, 
 
 The true believer feels the grace he cannot always ex- 
 press ; the hypocrite expresses what he does not feel. 
 
 A HYPOCRITE is one who neither is what he seems^ 
 nor seems what he is, A hypocrite is the picture of a 
 saint ; but his paint shall be washed oif, and he shall 
 appear in his own colors. A hypocrite is hated of the 
 world for seeming, to be a Christian, and hated of God 
 for not being one.” — Mason, 
 
 It is very suspicious that that person is a hypocrite 
 that is ahuays in the same frame, let him pretend it to 
 be never so good.” — Traill, 
 
 As A MAN can have very small comfort to be thought 
 by the world to be rich, because he hath a shop full of 
 wares and driveth a good trade, when, in the meantime, 
 he knows, poor man ! that he is worse than nothing, and 
 oweth much more than he is worth; or because he makes 
 a counterfeit show of rich wares, when he has nothing 
 but empty boxes with false inscriptions. So is it with 
 all those that seem to be religious,- — that make a goodly 
 show of godliness, yet in the meantime are very bank- 
 rupts in grace ; and, like one of Solomon’s fools, that 
 boast themselves of great riches when they are indeed 
 exceeding poor. Why do they so? What get they by 
 it ? What comfort reap they by it ? None at all ; their 
 conscience bearing them witness that they are none such 
 as the world takes them to be.” — Salter. 
 
 A TRUE Christian and a hypocrite may both of 
 
249 
 
 TLLTl5;TKATrrK rMTJTKPJXrJS. 
 
 them come to a stand in their course, through temptation ; 
 but there is this difference: — the true Christian is like a 
 watch that was going right, but some dost clogs its 
 wheels; directly it is removed the watch will go right 
 again. The hypocrite is like a watch which is so badly 
 made that it stands, or goes wrong, from its very nature, 
 and the only cure is to give it a new inside.'’ — Salter, 
 
 Fredekick the Third. — “The Emperor Frederick 
 the Third, wFen one said unto him he would go and find 
 some place tvhere no hypocrites inhabited, told him, ‘ he 
 must travel then far enough bevond the Sauromatae, or 
 the Frozen Ocean ; for yet, when he came there, he 
 should find a hypocrite if he found himself there.’ And 
 it is true that every man is a hypocrite. Hypocrisy is a 
 lesson that every man readily takes in. It continues 
 with age, it appears with infancy: the wise and learned 
 practice it; the duller and more rude attain unto it. All 
 are not fit for the wars; learning must have the picked 
 and choicest wdts; arts must have leisure and pains; but 
 all sorts are apt enough, and thrive in the mystery of 
 dissimulation. The whole throng of mankind, the whole 
 world, is but a shop of counterfeit w^ares,— a theatre of 
 hypocritical disguises. Grace is the only antidote.” — 
 Spencer, 
 
 The Painter. — “A very capital painter, in London, 
 exhibited a piece representing a friar habited in his ca- 
 nonicals. View the painting at a distance, and you 
 would think the friar to be in a praying attitude. His 
 hands are clasped together, and held horizontally to his 
 breast; his eyes meekly demissed, like those of the pub- 
 lican in the gospel ; and the good man appears to be 
 quite absorbed in humble adoration and devout recollec- 
 
250 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 tion. But take a nearer survey, and the deception van- 
 ishes. The book -which seemed to be before him is dis- 
 covered to he a punch-bowl, into which the wretch is all 
 the while, in reality, only squeezing a lemon. How lively 
 a representation of a hypocrite ! 
 
 Hypocrisy Detected. — The Glance of Truth. — Saul. 
 “What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine 
 ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? (1 Sam. 
 XV. 14.) Gehazi. “Went not mine heart with thee 
 when the man turned again from his chariot to meet 
 thee?” (2 Kings V. 26.) Judas. “ Friend, wherefore 
 art thou come?” (Matt. xxvi. 60.) “Betrayest thou 
 the Son of Man with a kiss ?” (Luke xxii. 48.) Ana- 
 nias. “Why has Satan filled thine heart to lie to the 
 Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the 
 land?” (Acts v. 3.) Simon Magus. “Thy money 
 
 perish with thee Thou hast neither part nor lot 
 
 in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of 
 God.” (Acts viii. 20, 21.) 
 
 IDIOTS. 
 
 The Three Steps. — The Rev. Rowland Hill was 
 once talking to a poor, half-foolish man, when he re- 
 marked, “ Why, it’s a long way to heaven.” “ Oh dear 
 no. Sir, I hope not,” said the man,— “long! no; it’s 
 only three steps.” “And pray what are they ?” “Why 
 they’re very simple, if only folk would take them. Out 
 of self — into Christ — into glory.” 
 
 Light in Darkness. — “ In a village in Buckingham- 
 shire there lived a poor idiot, whose appearance was so 
 distressing, and almost disgusting, that some of the in- 
 habitants wished the clergyman to forbid him coming to 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 251 
 
 churct, as had been his regular custom. The clergyman 
 did not grant their request, for he thought it would be 
 very wrong to hinder any one from coming to God’s 
 house, however loathsome his appearance might be. One 
 Sunday the minister took this verse for a text , — ‘ And 
 an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be 
 called the w^ay of holiness ; the unclean shall not pass 
 over it ; but it shall be for those : the w^ayfaring men, 
 though fools, shall not err therein.’ (Isa. xxxv. 8.) On 
 hearing this, the poor idiot got up, and regardless of 
 those around him, clapped his hands, and cried out, 
 ^ Then 1 shall be saved ! then 1 shall be saved !’ ” — 
 Cope, 
 
 ^'Seeking and Finding.”— See a tract (Christian 
 Knowledge Society) wdth an interesting account of the 
 conversion of a poor idiot boy, in which there were three 
 steps. He was constantly observed wandering about the 
 fields, and looking up into the sky; and on being ques- 
 tioned, alw^ays replied, ‘'Mat looking for God.” A 
 minister went after a time one day to visit his grand- 
 father, with whom he lived, and read the parable. Matt, 
 xviii. 23-35, and with a view, if possible, to catch poor 
 Mat’s attention, dwelt on verse 25, " forasmuch as he 
 had not to pay.” The idea took hold of the boy; and 
 w^hen he heard of the man being cast into prison, he be- 
 gan to run about and cry bitterly for some days. In 
 this state a lady, who had taken notice of him, found 
 him, and succeeded in showing him that Jesus Christ had 
 paid the debt. This gave him peace; and, after a time, 
 he died in apparent understanding and real Christian 
 hope. 
 
252 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE (^ATIlERINdS. 
 
 IDLENESS.— Prov. vi. 6--11 ; x. 4, 26; xii. 24, 27; 
 xviii. 9; xix. 16, 24; xx. 4; xxi. 25; xxii. 13; xxiv. 
 30-34; xxxi. 27 ; Eccles. x. 18; Isa. Ivi. 10; Ezek. xvi. 
 49; Matt. xii. 36; xx. 3; Acts xvii. 21; Rom. xii. 11; 
 2 Thess. iii. 8-13; 1 Tim. v. 13; Heb. vi. 12. 
 
 Idleness is the very rust and canker of the soul ; the 
 devil’s cushion, pillow, chief reposal ; his very tide-time 
 of temptation, as it were, wherein he carries with much 
 care, and without contradiction, the current of our cor- 
 rupt affections to any cursed sin.”— jBoftori. 
 
 The burial of a living man.” 
 
 Satan’s seed-time. Ground left fallow, will soon 
 produce plenty of weeds.” 
 
 “King Clog doesn’t like King Jog.’* 
 
 “The idler is a watch that wants both hands, 
 
 As useless when it goes as when it stands.” 
 
 “Idleness is the mother of many wanton children. 
 They that do nothing are in the ready way to do worse 
 than nothing. It w^as not for nothing that we were called 
 out of nothing.” — Mason. 
 
 “Prefer diligence before idleness, unless you esteem 
 rust above brightness.” — Plato. 
 
 “ He is not only idle w^ho does nothing, but he is idle 
 who might be better employed.” — Socrates. 
 
 “ What a folly is it to dread the thought of throwing 
 away life at once, and yet have no regard to throwing it 
 away by parcels and piecemeal !” — Howe. 
 
 “ Idleness predominates in many lives where it is not 
 suspected; for, being a vice which is chiefly personal, it 
 is not W’atched like fraud ; it is a silent quality, which 
 does not raise envy by ostentation, nor hatred by oppo- 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 253 
 
 sition, and therefore often remains incurable.’’ — Dr, 
 Johnson, 
 
 The ruin of most men dates from some vacant hour. 
 Occupation is the armor of the soul. I remember a sa- 
 tirical poem, in which the devil is represented as fishing 
 for men, and fitting his baits to the taste and business of 
 his prej ; but the idler, he said, gave him no trouble, as 
 he bit the naked hook.” — Child's Paper, 
 
 “Not a Minute to Spare. —“An idle schoolgirl was once 
 seriously expostulated with about some duties which she had 
 neglected, and others which she had badly performed. ‘ I can- 
 not help it, I am sure I cannot; I can’t do any more than I do. 
 I never have “ a minute to spare I am always at work.’ This 
 girl thought she spoke the truth ; but she did not know the 
 true meaning of the word idle. 
 
 “For instance, if she sat at work for an hour, but only did 
 what she was well able to accomplish in half an hour, she would 
 have thought it very unjust and unkind had she been accused 
 of idleness. If she sat with her head resting on her hands, her 
 elbows on the table, or, what was as often the case, leaning over 
 the fire, with a book on her lap, looking at it, and lazily learn- 
 ing from it, and were reproved and counseled to more indus- 
 try, she would spurn both the reproof and the counsel, however 
 kindly given, and, perhaps, even hate the reprover. And at 
 the close of the day she would wonder how it was she had not 
 time for her duties, whilst her companions ‘got through theirs 
 with so much ease; but always ended by lulling her conscience 
 with the idea that their abilities were so much greater than 
 hers, and that too much was required of her. She could not or 
 would not see that it is quite possible to be doing something^ and 
 yet to be very idle. For her Bible she had ‘not a minute to 
 spare, no time to be neat, no time for her studies, no time for 
 her health, no time to do kind things for others. She was 
 hardly dealt with. Her Heavenly Father had heaped com- 
 mands upon her, and given her no time in which to obey them. 
 Parents and teachers were all unkind, or they would not have 
 been so unreasonable in their demands. ‘ I am sure I have not 
 
 22 
 
254 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 a minute to spare,’ was her unvarying reply to all who sought 
 to do her good .” — Not a Minute to Spare. 
 
 An Indian cured oe Idleness. — Seating myself 
 once upon a log, by the side of an Indian who was rest- 
 ing there, being at that time actively employed in fenc- 
 ing in his corn-field, I observed to him that he must be 
 fond of working, as I never saw him idling away his time, 
 as is so common with the Indians. The answer he re- 
 turned made so great an impression on my mind that I 
 have remembered it ever since, and I will try to relate 
 it. " My friend,’ said he, ‘the fishes in the water, and 
 the birds of the air, have taught me to work. By their 
 examples I have been convinced of the necessity of la- 
 bor and industry. • When I was a young man I loitered 
 about a good deal, doing nothing, just like the other In- 
 dians, who say that working is for the whites and ne- 
 groes ; the Indians have been ordained for other pur- 
 poses — to hunt the deer, and catch the beaver, otter, 
 racoon, and such other animals. But one day it so hap- 
 pened, that while hunting I came to the bank of the 
 Susquehanna, and, having set myself down near the 
 water’s edge to rest a little, and, casting my eyes on the 
 water, I was forcibly struck in observing with what in- 
 dustry the Mecehgallingus (sunfish) heaped small stones 
 together, to make secure places for their spawn, and all 
 this labor they did with their mouth and body, without 
 hands. 
 
 “ ‘ Astonished, as well as diverted, I lighted my pipe, 
 sat a while smoking and looking on, when presently a 
 little bird not far from me raised a song which enticed 
 me to look that way. While I was trying to distinguish 
 where the songster was. and catch it with my eyes, its 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 255 
 
 mate, with as much grass as it could hold in its bill, 
 passed close by me, flew into a bush, where 1 perceived 
 them together, busily employed in building their nest, 
 and singing as they worked. I entirely forgot myhunt- 
 ing, in the contemplation of the objects before me. I saw 
 the birds in the air, and the fishes in the water, work- 
 ing diligently and cheerfully, and all this without hands. 
 I thought it strange, and became lost in wonder. I looked 
 at myself, and saw two long arms provided with hands 
 and fingers, and with joints that might be opened and 
 shut at pleasure. I could, when I pleased, take up any- 
 thing with those hands, and hold it fast, or let it loose, 
 or carry it along with me. When I walked, I observed, 
 moreover, that I had a strong body, capable of bearing 
 fatigue, supported by two stout legs, with which I could 
 climb to the top of the highest mountain, and descend at 
 pleasure into the valleys. “ And is it possible,” said I, 
 
 ‘ that a being so wonderfully formed as I am, was created 
 to live in idleness, while the birds which have no hands, 
 and nothing but their little bills to help them, work with 
 cheerfulness, and without being told to do so ? Has, 
 then, the Creator of man, and of all living creatures, 
 given me all these limbs for no purpose ? It cannot be; 
 
 I will try to go to work.” I did so, and went away to a 
 spot of good land, where I built a cabin, enclosed ground, 
 sowed cwn, and raised cattle. Ever since that time I 
 have enjoyed a good appetite and sound sleep ; while the 
 others spend their nights in dancing, and are suffering 
 with hunger, I live in plenty. I keep horses, cows, and 
 fowls. I am happy. See, my friend, the birds and fishes 
 have brought me to reflection, and taught me to work !’ ” 
 
256 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 — Rev, J, Heclcsw elder s History of the Manners and 
 Customs of the Indians of Pennsylvania d' 
 
 ‘‘ He made me out a sinner for doing nothing f said a man 
 who had been convinced of sin from a sermon on the text, 
 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion.” (Amos vi. 1.) 
 Hamburg Workhouse. — An excellent punishment 
 for idleness has been put in practice in a workhouse at 
 Hamburg. Idlers in the morning are suspended above 
 the dinner-table in a basket, so that they may see and 
 smell the things provided for those who have been indus- 
 trious, but do not taste them.” — Encyc, Britt. 
 
 IDOLATRY. — Gen. xxxv. 1-5; Ex. xx. 2, 3; xxiii. 
 24 ; Lev. xxvi. 1 ; Deut. iv. 15-20 ; vii. 25 ; xvii. 2-7 ; 
 xxvii. 15 ; xxxi. 19-21 ; Josh, xxiii. 7 ; Judges viii. 27 
 —35 ; X. 6-9 ; 1 Kings xi. 9-11 ; 2 Kings xvii. 33-35 ; 
 Ps. xvi. 4 ; xliv. 20, 21 ; Ixxviii. 56-64 ; xcvii. 7 ; cxv. 
 4-8 ; cxxxv. 15-18 ; Isa. xxvii. 9 ; xl. 19-25 ; xli. 6, 
 7 ; xliv. 9-20 ; xlvi. 1-7 ; Jer. ii. 11-13 ; viii. 1-3 ; x. 
 1-18; Ezek. xiv. 1-12; xx. 6-9; xxxvi. 18, 19 ; Hosea 
 iv. 12-17 ; viii. 11 ; Jonah ii. 8 ; Zech. xiii. 1, 2 ; Rom. 
 i. 23-25 ; 1 Cor. viii. 4-6 ; x. 14 ; Eph. v. 5 ; Phil. iii. 
 19 ; Col. iii. 5 ; 1 John v. 21 ; Rev. xiv. 9, 10 ; xxi. 8 ; 
 xxii. 15. 
 
 Irony. — It is observable in Scripture that one of the 
 most common figures employed in denouncing idolatry is 
 that of strong and severe irony. Cf. Judges vi. 31; x. 
 14; 1 Kings xviii. 27 ; Ps. cxv. 4-8; Isa. xli. 6, 7 ; xliv. 
 9-20; Jer. x. 1-18; Hosea iv. 17. 
 
 “Ye have taken away my gods which I made, . . . 
 AND WHAT HAVE I MORE ?” (Judges xviii. 24.) A very 
 common remonstrance of idol-worshipers. Men make 
 
ILL U STRATIVE G ATI! ER TNT. ,S 
 
 257 
 
 themselves gods, and are ''mad upon their idols” (Jer. 1. 
 88); and when they lose their health, or wealth, or 
 friends, or fame, what have they more? They have sown 
 the wind, and what can they reap but the whirlwind ? 
 How true are Ps. xvi. 4, and Jonah ii. 8 ! 
 
 Dan. — In the sealing of the tribes, in Rev, vii., Dan 
 is left out. Many suppose the reason of this judgment 
 to be, that Dan was the first tribe openly .to introduce 
 idolatry in Israel. (Judges xviii.) 
 
 What is Idolatry?— ‘'Any opinion,^’ says Hallam, 
 which tends to keep out of sight the living and loving 
 God, whether it be to substitute for Him an idol, or an 
 occult agency, or a formal creed, — can be nothing better 
 than the portentous shadow projected from the slavish 
 darkness of an ignorant heart.” 
 
 The PLAGUES of Egypt are a striking manifestation 
 of the Divine way of punishing and rebuking idolatry. 
 Nearly all the ten plagues answer to some Egyptian idol 
 or superstition, and serve to show their utter helplessness 
 against Jehovah’s power. Thus, the Egyptians worshiped 
 serpents, and God made the rod of Aaron a serpent ; 
 and when the magicians " did in like manner with their 
 enchantments,” "Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.” 
 So in all the miracles : — 
 
 1. The water of the Nile turned 
 
 into blood. 
 
 2. Frogs polluting the Nile. 
 
 3. Lice. 
 
 The Egyptians — 
 
 1. Worshiped the Nile. 
 
 2. Held frogs as sacred. 
 
 3. Allowed no one to approach 
 
 their altars, upon whom 
 any insect of this kind was 
 found. Hence their priests 
 wore only linen. 
 
 22 ♦ 
 
 17 
 
258 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 The Egyptians — 
 
 4. Flies. ^ 4. Regarded Beelzebub, or, the 
 
 god-fly, as able to protect 
 them from the swarms of 
 flies which at certain times 
 were wont to trouble the 
 land. 
 
 5. Murrain among cattle. 5. Worshiped cattle. Cf. their 
 
 sacred bull, and ram, and 
 heifer, and goat, and other 
 brute animals. 
 
 6. Boils with blains. 6. Sacrificed human beings 
 
 (chiefly foreigners), in cer- 
 tain places, and then sprin- 
 kled their ashes into the air, 
 to avert calamity from the 
 place. Moses was directed 
 to take ashes from the fur- 
 nace, and sprinkle them, 
 in like manner ; so, the 
 bloody rites of Typhon 
 became a curse to the idol- 
 aters. 
 
 7. Hail. ' ’^•'1 Worshiped Isis and Osiris, 
 
 9. Darkness. 9. j as the representatives of the 
 
 sun and moon. 
 
 8. Locusts. 8. Worshiped Seraph, who was 
 
 supposed to protect the 
 country from locusts. 
 
 10. Firstborn slain. 40. Had cruelly slain the first- 
 
 born Hebrew children. 
 
 India. — In India there are, it is computed, 30,000,000 
 of idols. 
 
 British Idols. — British Christians ought to recol- 
 lect that their ancestors were once blind idolaters, serv- 
 ing them that by nature are no gods. Dr. Plaifere, in 
 a sermon preached before the University of Cambridge, 
 in 1573, remarks, ^ that before the preaching of the Gos- 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERLN'GS. 
 
 259 
 
 pel of Christ, no Church here existed, but the temple 
 of an idol ; no priesthood but that of paganism ; no God 
 but the sun, the moon, or some hideous image. To the 
 cruel rites of the Druidical worship, succeeded the abom- 
 inations of the Roman idolatry. In Scotland stood the 
 temple of Mars 5 in Cornwall, the temple of Mercury ^ 
 in Bangor, the temple of Minerva ; at Malden, the tem- 
 ple of A ictoria ; in Bath, the temple of Apollo : at Lei- 
 cester, the temple of Janus ; at York, where St. Peter’s 
 now stands, the temple of Bellona : in London, on the 
 site of St. Paul’s Cathedral, the temple of Diana ; and 
 at Westminster, where the Abbey rears its venerable 
 pile, a temple of Apollo.’ Through the mercv of God 
 England is now blessed with thousands of Christian 
 churches, and multitudes of Gospel ministers. The land 
 is full of Bibles, and British Christians, sensible of their 
 privileges, are engaged in diffusing the light of Divine 
 truth among the benighted nations.” 
 
 Dr. Patsox. — Every person has some object which 
 he loves supremely, and in every unrenewed man that 
 object is self. Suppose, for illustration, that you have 
 an image, which is, in reality, extremely ugly, but which 
 you think beautiful, and you spend all your time in pol- 
 ishing and adorning it. At length, however, you begin 
 to see something of its deformity, but endeavor to con- 
 ceal it from others, and, if possible, from yourself, bv 
 painting and dressing it. Notwithstanding all vour 
 efforts, it grows more and more ugly, till at last, in de- 
 spair of amending it yourself, you pray that God would 
 make it more lovely. It is evident, in this case, that 
 your prayers would not proceed from love to God, but 
 from love to your idol ; and therefore, there would be no 
 
260 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 goodness in them. Suppose that, during all this time, a 
 person was entreating you to look at a beautiful diamond 
 statue, which you refused to do, until, wearied with use- 
 less efforts to make your image appear more beautiful, 
 you turn and look at the statue. Immediately you see 
 your idol in all its native deformity ; you cast it aside, 
 and begin to admire and extol the statue. This idol re- 
 presents self, and every unrenewed person admires and 
 loves it supremely. When his conscience is awakened 
 to see something of his sinfulness, he first endeavors to 
 make himself better, and it is long before he finds that 
 he cannot change his own heart. When he finds that, 
 notwithstanding all his endeavors, his heart seems to 
 grow worse and worse, he prays to God for help. It is 
 not from love to God, or because God has commanded it, 
 that he prays ; but because he is unwilling to see himself 
 so sinful ; so that his prayers arise merely from pride 
 and selfishness. But if he will only turn and look to 
 Christ, he sees his sins in a new light, and no longer 
 loves himself supremely. All his affections are trans- 
 ferred to Christ. He then prays to be made better, — 
 not to gratify his pride, but because he sees something 
 of the beauty of holiness, and longs to resemble his 
 Divine Master.” 
 
 The best Use of an Idol. — Dr. Judson, the famous 
 missionary, was once a captive at Rangoon, the capital 
 of Burmah, and was most cruelly treated by the hard- 
 hearted Burmans. His heroic wife contrived to lengthen 
 his life, by getting food and drink to his cell, until the 
 English army took the city, and set the poor prisoners 
 free. Havelock was then a lieutenant in that English 
 
ILLITSTKATIVE GATHERINaS. 
 
 261 
 
 army, and a praying lieutenant, as he was afterwards a 
 praying general. 
 
 ‘‘No sooner was the city taken than he sought out a 
 fit place for a prayer-meeting. Where did he find one ? 
 There was a famous heathen temple in a retired grove, 
 devoted to the service of Boodh. lie secured one of the 
 chambers in it, a large room filled with images of idol 
 gods, sitting all around, with their legs crossed, and arms 
 folded on their laps. 
 
 “ One day an officer, strolling round the temple, thought 
 he heard the sound of English singing. He stopped and 
 hearkened. A strange sound here, he thought ; but it 
 certainly was the sound of psalm-singing, in good old 
 English style. What did it mean — how accounted for ? 
 He determined to follow the sound, and behold, it led him 
 to an upper chamber, where Havelock, with his Bible and 
 hymn-book before him, surrounded by more than a hun- 
 dred of his soldiers, was holding a prayer-meeting. The 
 room was dark, but every idol had a lamp in his lap, shed- 
 ding more light than any idols had ever done before. 
 I wonder if he read the 115th Psalm i”' — Child's Paper. 
 
 IGNORANCE. — Gen. xx. 5; (Lev. iv., offering for); 
 Job xxi. 14; Ps. Ixxix. 6; Isa. xliv. 19; Jer. ix. 3; 
 Hosea iv. 6 ; Matt. xxii. 29 ; Luke xii. 48 ; xix. 42 ; 
 xxiii. 34; John iv. 10; viii. 19; ix. 39-41; xv. 22; 
 xvii. 25 ; Acts xvii. 29, 30 ; Rom. i. 21, 28 ; x. 3 ; 1 Cor. 
 ii. 8 ; Eph. iv. 18 ; 2 Pet. hi. 5-10. 
 
 Rom. i. 13 
 
 1 Cor. X. 1 ; xii. 1 
 
 2 Cor. i. 8 
 
 1 Thcss. iv. 13 
 
 “We would not have you 
 ignorant, brethren.” 
 
262 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 One of St. Paul’s common formulas of expression ; not 
 without its strong significance. 
 
 Conviction of ignorance is the door-step to the Tem- 
 ple of Wisdom.” — Spurgeon, 
 
 Ignorance of things very near to us, and in which 
 we are nearly concerned, may be from two causes, — 
 
 1. From a want of light. Nothing can be perceived 
 in the dark. If you are in a dark room, though it is 
 richly adorned and furnished, all is lost to you. If you 
 stand in a dark night on the top of a hill that commands 
 a fine prospect, still you are able to see no more than if 
 you were in a valley. Though you were in a dangerous 
 place, with pitfalls, and precipices, and thieves, and 
 murderers all around you, still you might imagine your- 
 self in safety, if you had no light with you. 
 
 2. It may be from some hindrance or obstruction 
 between you and the object. Thus your dearest friend, 
 or greatest enemy, might be within a few yards of you, 
 and you know nothing of it, if there were a wall between 
 you. 
 
 These comparisons may in some measure represent 
 our case by nature. God is near ; ^ in Him we live, and 
 move, and have our being.’ Eternity is near; we stand 
 upon the brink of it. Death is near, advancing toward 
 us with hasty strides. The truths of God’s Word are 
 most certain in themselves, and of the utmost consequence 
 to us, but we perceive none of these things ; we are not 
 affected by them, because our understandings are dark, 
 and because thick walls of ignorance, prejudice, and un- 
 belief stand before the eyes of our minds, and keep them 
 from our view. Even those notions of truth which we 
 sometimes pick up by hearing and reading, are but like 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 263 
 
 windows in a dark room ; they are suited to afford an 
 entrance to the light when it comes, but can give no light 
 themselves. ’ ’ — Newton. 
 
 “ The Pestilence that walketh in Darkness.” — 
 
 Modern discoveries have shown that the seeds of 
 epidemic and miasmatic diseases are generated and exert 
 their activity during the night, and in places unvisited 
 by the sun’s beams, — a true picture of the cause of men- 
 tal and moral ignorance.” 
 
 Moles. — T he men of this world are like moles, 
 which can see well underground, but when brought un- 
 expectedly to the light, they are blind. So are the most 
 cunning and crafty men as regards the things of this 
 world, blind to those things which require spiritual dis- 
 cernment. (1 Cor. ii. 14.)” 
 
 ILLUMINATION. — Ps. xviii. 28 ; xix. 8 ; cxix. 105, 
 130; Micah vii. 8; Luke i. 79; John viii. 12; Acts 
 xxvi. 18 ; 1 Cor. ii. 14-16 ; 2 Cor. iv. 4 ; Eph. i. 18 ; 
 Phil. hi. 15 ; Heb. x. 32. 
 
 The sun can only be seen by his own light. 
 
 A man may see every figure upon the dial, but he can- 
 not tell how the day goes unless the sun shines. We 
 may read many truths in the Bible, but we cannot know 
 them savingly until God shine into our hearts. 
 
 How doth the Holy Spirit reveal unto us anything 
 spiritual, but especially the truth of the Scripture ? I 
 answer, — By removing those impediments that hinder, 
 and bestowing those graces that make us capable of 
 knowledge : — 
 
 There is in us a twofold impediment ; first, ignorance, 
 by wLich our eyes are closed that we cannot see the light. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE (lATHERI^rUS. 
 
 2CA 
 
 SecoDclIjT’, corruption, by which, though we see the light, 
 yet we cannot but naturally hate it and turn from it. 
 The Holy Spirit cures both by a double remedy ; first, 
 of illumination, restoring our understanding to some part 
 of its primitive perfection; secondly, of sanctification, 
 infusing into our desires and affections some degrees of 
 their primitive holiness and purity.’’ — Pemhle. 
 
 I CAN see nothing without the Spirit’s eyes, but as 
 it were in a mist. I am fully persuaded of the truth of 
 Scripture, and what it tells me of sin, myself, God, 
 Christ, and eternity ; but with little more effect and true 
 feeling than what I know and believe of some remote 
 country in which I have no manner of concern).” — 
 Adam s Private Thoughts, 
 
 ‘‘ Scripture can only be savingly understood by the 
 illumination of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel is a picture 
 of God’s free grace to sinners. Now, were we in a room 
 hung with the finest paintings, and adorned with the most 
 exquisite statues, we could not see one of them if all light 
 were excluded ; the Spirit’s light is the same to the mind 
 that outward light is to the bodily eyes. The most correct 
 and lively description of the sun cannot convey either 
 the light, the warmth, the cheerfulness, or the fruitful- 
 ness which the actual shining of that luminary conveys ; 
 neither can the most labored and accurate dissertation 
 on grace and spiritual things impart a true idea of them, 
 without an experience of the work of the Spirit upon the 
 heart. The Holy Spirit must shine upon your graces, 
 or you will not be able to see them ; and your works 
 must shine upon your faith, or your neighbors will not 
 be able to see it,” — Toflady, 
 
 ‘‘ The things which the Holy Ghost discovers to us 
 
ILLUSTR,-mVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 2G5 
 
 are no other for substance than those very things which 
 are contained in the written Word, only he affoi ds re- 
 generate persons clearer light to discern them by than 
 they had before conversion. Turn a learned man to the 
 same author which he perused when a young student : he 
 will find the same author, but see a great deal further 
 into it, because he hath now got further light and know- 
 ledge. ’ ’ — Arrowsmith. 
 
 The Turnip in the Cellar. — “Having occasion to 
 go to the cellar, Gotthold found a turnip, which had been 
 left by accident, and had vegetated, and sent forth long 
 and slender shoots. These, however, were unnaturally 
 of a pale, sickly color, and therefore unfit for use. 
 Here, thought he, ‘ I have a type of the human under- 
 standing, from which God withholds his blessing, and 
 which must, therefore, necessarily miscarry. This plant 
 wants sunshine and pure air, without which it cannot 
 thrive, and so it grows in weakness for a time, and then 
 withers and dies. It is the same with all our acts which 
 are not irradiated with the grace of God, and fostered 
 by His blessing, according to the words of our Saviour, 
 “Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not 
 
 planted, shall be rooted up.” Matt. xv. 13.’ ” Gott- 
 
 hold's '''' Hmhlems'' 
 
 The Cabinet.— Matt. xi. 25. (“Hidden from the 
 
 wise and prudent, and revealed unto babes.”) “ Suffer 
 
 me to offer a familiar illustration of the Lord’s wisdom 
 
 and justice in this procedure. Let me suppose a person 
 
 to have a curious cabinet, which is opened at his pleasure, 
 
 and not exposed to common view. He invites all to come 
 
 to see it, and offers to show it to any one who asks him. 
 
 It is hid, because he keeps the key ; but none can com- 
 23 
 
266 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 plain, because he is ready to open it whenever he is de- 
 sired. Some, perhaps, disdain the olher, and say, "Why 
 is it locked at all V Some think it not worth seeing, or 
 amuse themselves with guessing at the contents. But 
 those who are simply desirous for themselves, leave others 
 disputing, go according to appointment, and are gi atified. 
 These have reason to be thankful for the favor, and the 
 others have no just cause to find fault. Thus the riches 
 of Divine grace may be compared to a richly-furnished 
 cabinet, to which Christ is the door. The Word of God 
 likewise is a cabinet, generally locked up, but the key of 
 prayer will open it. The Lord invites all, but he keeps 
 the dispensation in his own hand. They cannot see these 
 things, except He shows them 5 but then He refuses none 
 that sincerely ask Him. The wise men of the ivorld can 
 go no further than the outside of this cabinet ; they may 
 amuse themselves and surprise others with their ingenious 
 guesses at what is within \ but a child that has seen it 
 opened can give us more satisfaction, without studying 
 or guessing at all. If men will presume to aim at the 
 knowledge of God, without the knowledge of Christ, who 
 is the Way, and the Door ; if they have such a high 
 opinion of their own wisdom and penetration as to suppose 
 they can understand the Scriptures without the assistance 
 of His Spirit ; or if their worldly wisdom teaches them 
 that those things are not worth their inquiry, what won- 
 der is it that they should continue to be hid from their 
 eyes ? They will one day be stripped of all their false 
 pleas, and condemned out of their own mouths.”— 
 Newton. 
 
 The Interpreter’s House, in the “ Pilgrim’s Pro- 
 gress.” Cf. the sights shown Christian there; the 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 267 
 
 deep insight given him into some of the chief mysteries 
 of grace. 
 
 IMAGE OF GOD. 
 
 Christ.— 2 Cor. iv. 4 ; Col. i. 15 ; Heh. i. 8. 
 
 Believers. — Gen. i. 26 ; Ps. xvii. 15 ; Bom. viii. 29 ; 
 1 Cor. xi. 7 ; xv. 49 ; 2 Cor. iii. 18 ; Eph. iv. 24 ; Phil, 
 iii. 21 ; Col. iii. 10 ; 1 John iii. 2. 
 
 By the Pali — defaced, yet not effaced. 
 
 “ The Heathen had a notion that the gods would not 
 like the service and sacrifice of any but such as were like 
 themselves. And therefore to the sacrifice of Hercules 
 none were to be admitted that were dwarfs ; to the sacri- 
 fice of Bacchus, a merry god, none that were sad and 
 pensive, as not suiting their genius. An excellent truth 
 may be drawn from their folly;— he that would like to 
 please God must be like God.”— Salter. 
 
 The Image Sculptured.— “ At present, the believer 
 is like the marble in the hands of the sculptor; but 
 though day by day he may give fresh touches, and 
 work the marble into greater emulation of the original, 
 the resemblance will be far from complete until death. 
 Each fresh degree of likeness is a fresh advance toward 
 perfection. It must then be that when every feature is 
 moulded into similitude, — when all traces of feebleness 
 and depravity are swept away for ever, the statue breathes, 
 and the picture burns with Deity,— it must be that then 
 we shall be filled. We shall look on the descending 
 Mediator, and, as though the ardent gaze drew down 
 celestial fire, we shall seem instantly to pass through the 
 refiner’s furnace, and leaving behind all the dishonour 
 of the grave, and all the dross of corruptible humanity. 
 
268 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERTNaS. 
 
 spring upward, an ethereal, rapid, glowing thing,— 
 Christ’s image, extracted by Christ’s lustre.” — MdvilL 
 
 ‘‘Whose is this Image and Superscription?” — 
 
 “ When Tamerlane was in his wars, one of his captains 
 dug up a great pot of gold, and brought it to him. 
 Tamerlane asked whether it had his father’s stamp upon 
 it ; but when he saw it had the Roman stamp, and not his 
 father’s, he would not own it. So God at last Avill own no 
 knowledge, but that which leaves the stamp of Christ, 
 the image of Christ, upon the heart.” — Brooks. 
 
 IMAGE WORSHIP.— Ex. xx. 4; Deut. xvi. 22. 
 
 An Irish boy, when the master of the school was one 
 day teaching his scholars how we are forbidden to wor- 
 ship any image, interrupted him by saying, “Please, Sir, 
 there is one image we ought to worship.” “ Indeed !” 
 said the master ; “ pray what is that ?” The boy replied, 
 
 “ Why, Sir, we are told to worship Christ, who is ‘ the 
 image of the invisible God.’ ” (Col. i. 15.) 
 
 IMMUTABILITY, Divine. — Numbers xxiii. 19; 1 
 Sam. XV. 29; Job xxiii. 13; Ps. Ixxiii, 26; Ixxxix. ; xc. 
 1, 2; cii. 24-27; Isa. xlvi. 10; liv. 10; Jer. xxxi. 3; 
 Ezek. xxiv. 14 ; Mai. iii. 6 ; Rom. xi. 29 ; Eph. i. 11 • 
 
 2 Tim. ii. 13, 19; Titus i. 2 ; Heb. xiii. 5-8 ; James i. 17. 
 
 Gen. xlviii. 21. — “And Israel said unto Joseph, Be- 
 hold, I die ; but God shall be with you.” 
 
 What a contrast between the mutability of the creature and 
 the immutability of the unchanging Creator ! 
 
 Numb, xxiii. 19. — “ God is not a man that He should 
 lie, neither the son of man, that He should repent. Hath ' 
 
lU.UoTKATIVE <JATHEKIXGS. 
 
 269 
 
 He said, and shall He not do it ? or hath He spoken, and 
 shall He not make it good?” 
 
 “ R<?peritance is attributed to God fig^urativel j ; as Nucobers 
 xxiii. 19; Gen. vi. 6, There may be a change in God’s work, 
 but not in His will ; God may will a change, but not change 
 His will. ‘ God may change His sentence, but not His decree.* 
 A_s suppose a king shall cause a sentence to be passed upon a 
 malefactor whom he intends to save, notwithstanding this sen- 
 tence, the king doth not alter Lis decree; as Gc»d threatened 
 destruction to Nineveh (Jonah iii. 4j, but, the people of Nineveh 
 repenting, God spared them. Here God changed His sentence, 
 but not His decree. It was what had lain in the womb of His 
 purpose from eternity.” — WaUQu. 
 
 In commercial criscSj manhood is at a greater dis- 
 count than funds are. Suppose a man had said to me, 
 kst spring, ‘ If there comes a pinch in your affairs, draw 
 on me for ten thousand dollars,' — the man said so last 
 spring, but I should not dare to draw on him this fall. 
 I should say, ‘ Times have changed ; he would not abide 
 by it.’ But God’s promises are ^from everlasting to ev- 
 erlasting,’ and He alv/ays stands up to them. There 
 never was a run on Heaven that was not promptly met. 
 No creature in all the world, or in lying, audacious hell, 
 shall ever say that he drew a draft upon heaven, and 
 that God dishonored it.” — Beecher. 
 
 IMPUTATION. 
 
 of sin to others. Adam — Ptom. v. 12-21 ; 
 
 Achan — Josh. vii. 2o ; David — 2 Sam. xxiv. 2—15 : 
 Ahab— 1 Kings xxi. 29; Jonah i. 12; fathers’ upon 
 children— Ex. xx. 5 ; Lev. xx. 5 ; xxvi. 39 ; Numb. xiv. 
 33; Ps. Ixxix. 8 (margin); Isa. xiv. 20. 
 
 of holiness. — Touching the altar, Ex. xxix. 37 ; 
 
 23 * 
 
270 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 — the sacrifices, the scapegoat. Lev. xvi. 21. Cf. Abra- 
 ham’s faith, Rom. iv. 11, 12. 
 
 of Christ. Our sins to Him, and His righteous- 
 ness to us. — Ps. Ixix. 4; Isa. liii. 6-12; Jer. xxiii. 6 ; 
 Daniel ix. 26 ; Rom. v. 19 ; 2 Cor. v. 21 ; Gal. iii. 13 ; 
 Heb. ix. 28; 1 Peter ii. 24; iii. 18; 1 John ii. 1, 2. 
 
 “ We read in the New Testament that ‘ the Church 
 (that is, the people of God,) is Christ’s Bride.’ We all 
 know that, according to the law, the wife may have many 
 debts ; but no sooner is she married than her debts cease 
 to be hers, and become her husband’s at once. So that 
 if a woman be overwhelmed with debt, that she is in 
 daily fear of the prison, let her but once stand up and 
 give her hand to a man, and become his wife, and there 
 is none in the world can touch her ; the husband is liable 
 for all, and she says to her creditor, ‘ Sir, I owe you no- 
 thing. My husband did not owe you anything. I in- 
 curred the debt ; but, inasmuch as I have become his 
 wife, my debts are taken off from me, and become his.’ 
 It is even so with the sinner and Christ. Christ marrieth 
 the sinner, and putteth forth His hand, and taketh the 
 Church to be His. She is in debt to God’s justice im- 
 measurably ; she owes to God’s vengeance an intolerable 
 weight of wrath and punishment. Christ says, ‘ Thou 
 art my wife ; I have chosen thee, and I will pay thy 
 debts.’ And He has paid them, and got His full dis- 
 charge. Now, whosoever believeth in Christ Jesus hath 
 peace with God, because ‘ He hath made Him to be sin 
 for us who knew no sin ; that we might be made the 
 righteousness of God in Him.’ ’ — Spurgeon. 
 
 INABILITY, Man’s, to help himself.— Job xiv. 4; 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 271 
 
 Ps. xlix. 7, 8; Jer. xiii. 23; xvii. 9; Hosea xiii. 9; 
 John V. 44; vi. 44, 63—65; viii. 43; Rom. vii. 15-25; 
 viii. 7, 8 ; 1 Cor. ii. 14 ; xii. 3. 
 
 Matt. xii. 34, inability to speak aright. 
 
 John XV. 5, act 
 
 2 Cor. hi. 5, ‘‘ think 
 
 Yet means enjoined to be used. Isa. Iv. 6, 7 ; Phil, 
 ii. 12, 13. (Cf. Acts xxvii. 23-31.) 
 
 A humbling hut wholesome doctrine , — Here is a man 
 walking along the streets, who is dwelling with great 
 complacency upon the thought that he is worth a million 
 of dollars. One steps up to him, and says, ^ I under- 
 stand that you owe Mr. A. B. a thousand dollars, and 
 he purposes to exact payment. I am very sorry for you, 
 Sir, and am willing to pay the amount.’ AVhat do you 
 mean. Sir V replies the millionaire. ‘ Suppose I owe a 
 thousand dollars, I can pay my own debts. Reserve 
 your benevolence for those who need it.’ But now, sup- 
 pose this rich man were a poor man, and suppose, utterly 
 unable to pay his debts, he were pressed by the sheriff 
 for a claim of a thousand dollars, and the amount he 
 must pay, or be imprisoned. Now if, in these circum- 
 stances, one who was able and willing to relieve him, 
 should kindly offer to pay the amount. ‘Oh, Sir,’ me- 
 thinks he would say, ‘how could I expect such a favor?’ 
 And, when assured that it was done with great cheerful- 
 ness, how thankfully would he accept the kind offer, and 
 say. This is kindness indeed ! Oh, Sir, I owe you a 
 thousand thanks ! I want words to_ express my sense 
 of the great obligations I am under to you !’ The ap- 
 plication you understand. 
 
 “But some one may say, ‘The doctrine of the sinner’s 
 
272 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 helplessness, as stated, destroys all human responsibility.’ 
 Not so. We insist upon it, if he perishes, it is his own 
 fault. I will explain myself : — You are a master ; you 
 WTite a letter, and, handing it to your servant, you direct 
 him to take it to a person on the other side of the river, 
 and bring you back an answer. After a while he re- 
 turns, and you ask him, ‘ Did you take the letter over 
 the river, as I directed you ? ^No, Sir.’ ‘And why V 
 ‘Master, I could not.’ ‘And why could you not?’ 
 
 ‘ Why, master, I went to the river. It was deep and 
 rapid, and there was no bridge, and I could not swim ; 
 so I did not go over.’ ‘ Did you call for the ferryman ?’ 
 ‘No, Sir.’ ‘Then go immediately back, and take the 
 letter over, as I commanded you.’ Now this, I think, is 
 a correct illustration. There is something about the 
 passing of that river, which the servant cannot do, any 
 more than he can roll a mountain, or heave an ocean, 
 and yet you do not excuse him. Even so in this matter. 
 The sinner is utterly unable to come to Christ, or change 
 his own heart, of himself. There is (so to speak) a broad 
 and deep river between him and heaven, and the sinner 
 cannot swim ; but, thank God ! there is — if I may so 
 express myself — a Heavenly Ferryman on the other side. 
 Let him call upon that Ferryman, as it is written, ‘ Seek 
 ye the Lord, while He may be found; call ye upon Him, 
 while He is near.’ And this reminds me of a remarka- 
 ble passage in Scripture, ‘ Let him take hold of my 
 strength, that he may make peace with Me, and he shall 
 make peace with Me.’ (Isa. xxvii. 5.)” — Dr, Baker, 
 
 INCARNATION OF CHRIST.— Gen. iii. 15 ; Isa. 
 vii. 14 ; ix. 6 ; Matt. i. 16, 21 ; John i. 14 ; Acts iii. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERiyGS. 
 
 273 
 
 26 ; xiii. 23 ; Rom. i. 3 ; ix. o ; Gal. iv. 4 ; Phil. ii. 7, 
 8 ; 1 Tim. iii. 16 ; Heb. ii. 11, 14-17 ; x. 5, 20. 
 
 Matt, i, 23.— “And they shall call his name Im- 
 manuel, which, being interpreted, is, God with us.” 
 
 “ By the light of nature we see God as a God above us; by 
 the light of the Law we see Him as a God against us ; but by 
 the light of the Gospel we see Him as ‘ Immanuel, God with 
 US,’ in our nature, and, what is more, in our interest.’* — Matthew 
 Henry. 
 
 Ends answered by : — 1. To bring the attributes of the 
 Godhead down to our finite comprehension ; 2. To allure 
 our afi-ections by .so great a display of Infinite Love ; .3. 
 To exhibit a perfect model of human excellence. 
 
 A flaming globe of fire may indeed be magnificent, but 
 itLs dazzling, too dazzling for our naied eye's; but, when 
 seen through a pellucid vase of crystal, while this softens 
 the intensity of its rays, it diminishes in nowise from its 
 beauty : nay, it enables us to behold it without injury, 
 which otherwise we could not do. So God, as Divine, is 
 like the fiery flame— the sun in his full meridian strength; 
 but God in Christ, “God manifest in the flesh,” is, like 
 the mild rays of the morning sun in spring, — mild, 
 though mighty — human, yet Divine. 
 
 “ Christ did not gain one perfection more by becom- 
 ing man, nor could He lose anything of what He 
 possessed as God. The almightiness of God now moved 
 in a human arm; the infinite love of God now beat in a 
 human heart ; the unbounded compassion of God to sin- 
 ners now glistened in a human eye ; God was love before ; 
 
 but Christ was now love, covered over with flesh.” 
 
 j^rCheyne, 
 
 18 
 
274 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 INCONSISTENCY, CHRISTIAN.— Eccl. x. 1; 
 Zech. xiii. 6 ; Rom. xiv. 16 ; 1 Tim. v. 14 ; Titus ii. 5-8 ; 
 
 2 Peter ii. 2. (Cf. Cant. iv. 7 ; Eph. v. 27 ; Phil. ii. 15 ; 
 iv. 8 ; 1 Thess. iv. 11, 12 ; Ileb. xiii. 18.) 
 
 Jude 12. — “ These are spots in your feasts of charity. 
 
 The Greek word seems rather to refer to rocks by the sea, 
 against which vessels may be wrecked, or to rocks hidden in the 
 the sea, on which they may be stranded. (See Barnes.) How 
 many inc[uiring, “almost” Christians, have been thus ship- 
 wrecked, by something they have heard or seen in a member 
 of the Church ! 
 
 - is not like the error of a pocket Avatch, Avhich 
 
 misleads one person only ; but like the error of a town 
 clock, which misleads a multitude. 
 
 It is one of Satan’s devices, to blind the eyes of 
 worldly men, by dust from the soiled garments of Chris- 
 tians. 
 
 , no argument against religion . — Shall we never 
 
 use money, because some have counterfeited it ; or opi- 
 ates, because some have poisoned themselves? If the 
 sun be eclipsed one day, it attracts more attention than 
 by its clear shining for many years. 
 
 The Christian is the only Bible very frequently the 
 world will read. How sad that the copy should be so 
 defaced ! 
 
 He is a good man, perhaps, but he is a very hard 
 man !” A common, but a sad remark ! 
 
 Lord Byron writes I date my first impressions 
 against religion, from having witnessed how little its vo- 
 taries were actuated by true Christian charity.” 
 
 Brainerd informs us that when amongst the Amer- 
 ican Indians, he stopped at a place where he offered to 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 275 
 
 instruct them in Christianity ; he was met by the retort, 
 
 Why should you desire the Indians to become Chris- 
 tians, seeing that the Christians are so much worse than 
 the Indians ? The Christians lie, steal, and drink, worse 
 than the Indians. They first taught the Indians to be 
 drunk. They steal to so great a degree that their rulers 
 are obliged to hang them for it ; and even that is not 
 enough to deter others from the practice. We will not 
 consent, therefore, to become Christians, lest we should 
 be as bad as they. We will live as our fathers lived, and 
 go where our fathers are, when we die.'’ Notwithstand- 
 ing all Mr. B. did to explain to them that these were 
 not Christians in heart, he could not alter their resolu- 
 tion, but left them, humbled at the thought that the 
 wickedness of some professing Christians should produce 
 such prejudices. 
 
 An Atheist’s Eeply.— An atheist being asked by a 
 Christian professor, ''how he could quiet his conscience 
 in so desperate a state ?” replied, " Just as you do yours. 
 Did I believe what you profess, I should think no dili- 
 gence, no care, no zeal enough.” 
 
 Dr. Gordon, of Hull, who was for a long time ad- 
 dicted to Infidel principles, when asked, after his conver- 
 sion, " What was your chief hindrance in embracing the 
 truth ?” replied, " The inconsistencies of professing 
 Christians.” 
 
 Dr. Mason Good, when arguing with a young Infidel 
 scoffei, well put the old objection of making the faults of 
 professors the fault of their profession : — "Did you ever 
 know an uproar made because an Infidel had gone astray 
 from the paths of morality?” The young man admitted 
 he had not. " Then you allow Christianity to be a holy re- 
 
276 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINaS. 
 
 ligion, by expecting its professors to be lioly ; and thus, 
 by your very scoffing, you pay it the highest compliment 
 in your power/' 
 
 INDUSTRY.— Gen. ii. 15 : Ex. xx. 9 ; Neh. hi. ; iv. 
 6 ; Prov. x. 4 ; xii. 24-27 ; xiii. 4 ; xiv. 23 ; xxi. 5 ; 
 xxii. 29; xxxi. 27 ; Eccl. v. 12; ix. 10; xi. 6; Rom. 
 xii. 11 ; Eph. iv. 28 ; 1 Thess. iv. 11 ; 2 Thess. hi. 12 ; 
 1 Tim. V. 10. 
 
 Neh. hi. 
 
 One of the most cheering chapters in a difficult book. The 
 notice God takes, and the record God keeps, of all the work we 
 do. Observe especially the contrast (ver. 3), “The nobles put 
 not their neck to the work of iheir Lord and (ver. 12), “Shal- 
 lum, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daugh- 
 ters,'' 
 
 It was rough work for women, to help to repair the walls ; 
 but no work is ignoble, done in a noble cause, and with a noble 
 heart. 
 
 , the law of God’s universe, — Paradise — earth 
 
 fallen — heaven. (Rev. iv. 8.) 
 
 “No pains, no gains.” 
 
 “ God reacheth us good things by our own hands ; 
 diligence is the mother of what the world calls good 
 luck.” 
 
 “ Work gives a feeling of strength, and in this our 
 highest pleasure consists.” — Muller. 
 
 Calvin. — “ He read every week of the year three di- 
 vinity lectures ; every other week, over and above, he 
 preached every day ; so that (as Erasmus said of Chry- 
 sostom) I know not whether more to admire his constancy 
 or theirs that heard him. Some have reckoned his yearly 
 lectures to be 186, and his yearly sermons 286. Every 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 277 
 
 Thursday he sat in the Presbytery ; every Friday, when 
 the ministers met to consult on difficult texts, he made 
 as good as a lecture. Besides all this, there was scarce 
 a day that exercised him not in answering, either by word 
 of mouth or writing, the doubts and questions of the dif- 
 ferent churches and pastors ; yea, sometimes more at 
 once; so that he might say with Paul, ‘ The care of all 
 the Churches lietli upon me.’ Scarcely a year wherein, 
 over and above all these former employments, some 
 great volume in folio or other came not forth.” — Biogra- 
 phic a Ev angelica^ by Dr, Hoyle. 
 
 Wesley, when he was asked the great secret of the 
 efficiency of his followers, replied, that ‘‘ they were all at 
 it, and always at it; each new adherent was not only set 
 to work, but kept at work.” 
 
 ys esley himself was a pattern of labor and industry. 
 He traveled about 5,000 miles every year ; preached 
 three times a day ; rose at five in the morning ; and his 
 published works number nearly two hundred volumes. 
 
 Poole s Synopsis.” — In compiling this immense 
 
 wmrk Poole spent sixteen years, during which time he 
 rose every morning at five, and never dined out once. 
 Having at length finished the work, he went out to enjoy 
 a little rest with a friend, when his wife, in a fit of bad 
 temper, destroyed the MSS. On his return, grieved as 
 he was, he simply said, My dear, thou hast done very 
 wrong ;” and next morning rose at four to re-commence 
 his labor, and never relaxed it till the task was finished 
 the second time. 
 
 The Rev. Thos. Scott composed and transcribed the 
 whole of his large and valuable Commentary in five 
 years. 
 
278 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS* 
 
 The Black Broth. — Dionysius the tyrant being at 
 an entertainment given to him by the Lacedaemonians, 
 expressed some disgust at their black broth. No won- 
 der,” said one of them, for it wants seasoning.” 
 
 What seasoning ?” asked the tyrant. Labour,” re- 
 plied the citizen, ^^joined wdth hunger and thirst.” — 
 Oheevers Anecdotes. 
 
 Too Active to Freeze. — looked to Nature. It 
 was a clear, cold, bright winter’s day. The crisp, un- 
 trodden snow which covered the landscape sparkled in 
 the sunlight as if with millions of gems. The little 
 stream, that in summer was always dancing and singing 
 by the wayside, was now completely frozen over, silent 
 and still under its icy covering ; but as we approached 
 the mill, where a little fall was visible in its channel, 
 there it was leaping and sparkling as merrily as in the 
 midst of a summer’s day. Cold as it was on every side, 
 and frost-bound as the stream was above and below, here 
 it was too active and busy to freeze ! 
 
 From Nature I turned to History. It is sunset on 
 the Alps. A traveler is descending from the summit, 
 when a storm arises, and the winds blow, and the snow, 
 filling the air, rapidly buries all traces of his path. He 
 struggles on till his way is lost, and night sets in with 
 its horrors, when, bewildered, discouraged, exhausted, he 
 sinks down to die. The last thought has been given to 
 home and kindred and friends, and his soul commended 
 to his Redeemer ; and the numbness is already stealing 
 on his senses and limbs, when a sound of distress is borne 
 on the tempest to his ears. It is an appeal to his hu- 
 manity, that rouses him even from the stupor of death 
 itself. With an effort he rises, and follows the sound as 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 279 
 
 it is repeated, and soon finds a fellow-traveler like him- 
 self, benighted and exhausted, and lying down to be 
 wrapped in the winding* sheet spread by the tempest. 
 Earnest for his brother s safety, he puts forth every ef- 
 fort to rouse, and animate, and aid him, and his exer- 
 tions are crowned with success. His activity has kept 
 himself from freezing^ and saved a fellow-being from 
 death ! 
 
 From Nature and History I turn to the Church, A 
 disciple who has every motive to faithfulness, is getting 
 cold, indifferent, unspiritual. He has entered the back- 
 slider’s path, and is making rapid progress in it, when, 
 by the providence of God, and a word from his pastor, 
 he is led to become a tract distributor, and a teacher in 
 the Sabbath-school. Before, he was in danger of freez- 
 ing — of becoming cold himself, and, like a mass of ice, 
 diffusing a chilling influence around him. But now he 
 is too busy to freeze. Activity is giving him a glow. 
 Motion is developing heat ; and already others are gath- 
 ering warmth from his example, and led by it to effort in 
 the cause of Christ and for the souls of men. 
 
 The water, the traveler, the disciple — each has a 
 voice for us. We must be diligent, devoted, earnest in 
 our Master’s service, if we would be kept from being 
 cold, and lifeless, and useless. We should aim to be too 
 active to stagnate, too busy to freeze. We should en- 
 deavor to be like Cromwell, ‘who not only struck while 
 the iron was hot^ but made it hot by striking^' — like the 
 missionary who said, ‘ If there be happiness on earthy it 
 is in laboring in the service of Christ^' — like the blessed 
 Redeemer, ‘ whose meat and drink it was to do the tvill 
 of Crod,' The vineyard must be cultivated; and the 
 
280 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 command is, that we enter it and work. There is work 
 enough to be done, and the injunction is, that ^ve do with 
 our might what our hands find to do. To be healthful, 
 we must be active ; to be happy, we must be useful ; to 
 receive the promise, we must have done the will of God. 
 We must be diligent, active, earnest, if we would make 
 our calling and election sure, and have at last an open, 
 an abundant entrance into the kingdom of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ. ‘Be thou faithful unto death, 
 and I will give thee a crown of life.’ — Christian 
 Treasury. 
 
 “ She avas always busy, and always quiet.” — “ It 
 was a beautiful tribute to a most lovely and excellent 
 character, — husy and quiet. These are both excellent 
 traits, but rarely combine in the same person. We say 
 excellent traits ; they were so regarded by the great 
 apostle, and he exhorted the Christians of Thessalonica 
 to cultivate them. This was his language, — ‘ We beseech 
 you that ye increase more and more; that ye study to 
 be quiet, and do your own business.’ He would not only 
 have them do these things, but study to do them. Busy 
 and quiet. Some are busy, very busy, always busy ; but 
 they are not quiet. There is a clattering noise, a kind 
 of blustering effort in all they do, which attracts the at- 
 tention, and which they desire to have attract the atten- 
 tion of others. They want others to know that they are 
 busy, and they tvill know it^ if anywhere in the house or 
 neighborhood. We have seen some who were busy, al- 
 ways busy, — their hands, their tongues, their thoughts 
 seemed never to be idle ; but they w^ere very far indeed 
 from being quiet. 
 
 “ So, on the other hand, some are very quiet, but not 
 
ILLtJSTRATiVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 281 
 
 busy. They make no noise, no disturbance. They 
 sleep, and eat, and sit, and also move about to some 
 extent; but it all is done so quietly that 3^011 would 
 hardly know that they were in the land of the living, 
 had you onl}^ the sense of hearing. Such still, quiet 
 bodies, and idle, inactive wdthal, you see often in fam- 
 ilies and circles of j^our acquaintances. Thus some 
 are huny hut not quiet^ and some are quiet hut not 
 busy ; and one of these would answer ’well for their 
 epitaph. 
 
 ‘‘But to be busy and quiet, always busy and always 
 quiet, like that excellent w’oman whose character was 
 thus described, is something rare, and worthy of admi- 
 ration. We hardly know' of anything more commendable. 
 And w'e cannot help sajn'ng that persons of this class are 
 the persons who are most efficient and active in all our 
 churches. That office-bearer who does so much to help 
 his pastor, administer comfort and joy to all around him, 
 and induce others to go to the sarictuarjq is noted for 
 these tw'o things, — he is busy and quiet. That sister 
 Avhom w'e so tenderly love, wffio accomplishes so much, 
 and you hardly know^ how; who attracts, wins others; 
 w'ho attends to her affairs so w ell at home ; who visits so 
 much among the afflicted and poor, has these as the 
 prominent traits of her character. She is alw-ays busy 
 and always quiet. She reminds one of a perfect machine, 
 whose parts are so nicely adjusted that it w'orks day and 
 night without friction and without noise. Would that 
 we had more of this class in our churches and in the 
 community. The exigencies of the age demand Chris- 
 tians of this stamp, — persons that combine in their 
 21 * 
 
282 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVK GATHERINGS. 
 
 characters activity and quietness .” — Christiari Treas- 
 ury. 
 
 INFANTS. 
 
 A child was once watching the rain-drops being dried 
 up by the sun, when soon a rainbow was seen in tlie 
 clouds. His father said, ‘ See, there are the rain-drops 
 over which thou didst grieve ; they now shine in splen- 
 dor in heaven, and no foot can crush them there ; and 
 remember, my child, if thou dost vanish so soon from 
 earth, it will be so to shine in heaven.’ ” — Richter. 
 
 “ God whll take care of Baby.” — A beautiful in- 
 fant had been taught to say, — anil it could say little else, 
 — ‘God will take care of baby.’ It was seized with a 
 sickness at a time when both parents were just recover- 
 ing from a dangerous illness. Every day it grew worse, 
 and at last was given up to die. Almost agonized, the 
 mother begged to be carried into the room of her darling 
 to give it one last embrace. Both parents succeeded in 
 reaching the apartment just as it was thought the baby 
 had breathed its last. The mother wept aloud ; when 
 once more the little creature opened its eyes, looking 
 lovingly up in her face, smiled, moved its lips, and in a 
 faint voice said, ‘ God will take care of baby !’ Sweet, 
 consoling words ! They hardly ceased when the infant 
 spirit was in heaven .” — Ohristiayi Treasury. 
 
 “A butterfly basked on a baby’s grave, 
 
 "Where a lily had chanced to grow ; 
 
 ‘AYhy art thou here, with a gaudy die, 
 
 While she of the bright and sparkling eye 
 Must sleep in the churchyard low ?’ 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 283 
 
 “Then it lightly soared through the sunny air, 
 
 And spoke from its shining track, — 
 
 ‘ 1 was a worm till I won my wings, 
 
 And she, whom thou mourn’st, like a seraph sings; 
 Wouldst thou call the loved one back?’ ” 
 
 INFIDELITY. 
 
 here it arises in one case from men’s believing 
 Christianity to be false, arises in ten cases from their 
 wishmg it to be so.” 
 
 '‘The nurse of infidelity is sensuality.”— Cfea7. 
 
 " Infidels have been always the most superstitious of 
 men.” — Dr, Qamming, 
 
 Dr. Nelson, in his work on Infidelity, says, that for 
 many years he had tried to persuade every infidel to read 
 some work on the evidences of Christianity, and he never 
 knew but two instances fail of conviction, and in these 
 he did not know the result from want of opportunity. 
 
 "Men are greatly relieved when they have at length 
 
 rid themselves of belief in some unwelcome doctrine, 
 
 as if facts could be destroyed as easily as opinions. 
 
 God sees that you are naked and poor, and comes to 
 you with a Royal wardrobe and all supplies. Suppose 
 you succeed in proving that there is no food or raiment, 
 you are still poor and naked. What would you think if 
 there were to be an insurrection in an hospital, and sick 
 man should conspire with sick man, and on a certain day 
 they should rise up and reject the doctors and nurses? 
 There they would be, — sickness and disease within, and 
 all the help without ! Y"et what is an hospital compared 
 to this fever-ridden world, which goes swinging in pain 
 and anguish through the centuries, where men say, ‘We 
 have got rid of the atonement, and we are rid of the 
 
284 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 Bible ?’ Yes, and you have rid yourselves of salvation.’^ 
 — Beecher, 
 
 Infidel Publications. — There are now annually 
 issued, — 
 
 Of Infidel publications, , . 12,200,200 
 
 Of Atheistic ditto, , . . 624,000 
 
 Of Popish ditto, .... 520,000 
 
 13,344,200 
 
 Besides which, there are of papers and periodicals 
 openly vicious and immoral, — 
 
 • Ten stamped papers, . . . 11,702,000 
 
 Six unstamped papers, . . 6,240,000 
 
 Sixty pernicious periodicals, 10,400,000 
 Worst class, 520,000 
 
 28,862,000 
 
 And this in Christian England ! 
 
 Whereas, adding together the annual issues of Bibles, 
 Testaments, and religious periodicals of every kind, we 
 find a total of 24,418,620, leaving a balance on the side 
 of evil of 4,443,380 !’’ — Booh and its Story, 
 
 Missions and Infidelity. — ‘^The earth is now tra- 
 versed by self-denying missionaries, who encounter every 
 hardship to carry Christianity to remote regions. But 
 where is the infidel who has exiled himself from his coun- 
 try to civilize savage tribes? ISTot one is to be found. 
 They sit at home nursing their pride, and deriding the 
 virtue which they cannot equal.”— Treasury, 
 WiLMOT. — ‘‘Mr. Wilrnot, an infidel, when dying, laid 
 his trembling, emaciated hand upon the Sacred Volume, ^ 
 and exclaimed solemnly, and with unwonted energy, 
 
i 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATfTERIXGS. 285 
 
 ^The only objection against this book is. — a bad life.’ ” 
 — Cope, 
 
 CoLLixs. — “Lord Barrington once asked Collins, the 
 infidel writer, how it was that, though he seemed to have 
 very little religion himself, he took so much care that his 
 servants should attend regularly at church ? He replied, 
 ‘To prevent their robbing or murdering me.’ To such 
 a character, how applicable are these words,— ‘ Out of 
 thine own mouth will I judge thee.’ ” — Ibid, 
 
 VoLXEY, a noted infidel, was once overtaken by a vio- 
 lent storm at sea, when he began to be in the greatest 
 distress, and ran about crying, “ 0 my God ! 0 my God ! 
 what shall I do?” Afterward the storm abated, and 
 the infidel who before had been ridiculino^ and scoflBncr 
 
 o o 
 
 at Christianitv, was so humbled and ashamed that he 
 
 durst not show himself for days. 
 
 •/ 
 
 Paine, in his low and ribald language, once said, “• I 
 have gone up and down through the Christian Garden of 
 Eden, and with my simple axe I have cut down one after 
 another of its trees, till I have scarce left a single sap- 
 ling standing.” Yet the proud boaster exclaimed, in 
 the most genuine remorse and terror before he died, “ I 
 would give worlds, if I had them, that the ‘ Age of Piea- 
 son’ had never been published.” 
 
 Hobbes. — See “ Last Words.” 
 
 Gibbon, Voltaire, and Hujie. — “ Gibbon, in his 
 celebrated ‘History of the Decline and Fall of the PiO- 
 man Empire,’ has left an imperishable memorial of his 
 enmity to the Gospel. He resided many years in Switz- 
 erland, where, with the profits of his works, he purchased 
 a considerable estate. This property has descended to a 
 gentleman who, out of its rents, expends a large sum 
 
« 
 
 286 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 annually in the promulgation of that very Gospel which 
 his predecessor insidiously endeavored to undermine, not 
 having had courage openly to assail it. Voltaire boasted 
 that with one hand he would overthrow the edifice of 
 Christianity, which required the hands of twelve apostles 
 to build up. At this day, the press which he employed 
 at Fernay to print his blasphemies, is actually employed 
 at Geneva in printing the Holy Scriptures. Thus the 
 self-same engine which he set to work to destroy the 
 credit of the Bible, is engaged in disseminating its truths. 
 It is a remarkable circumstance, also, that the first pro- 
 visional meeting for the re-formation of the Auxiliary 
 Bible Society at Edinburgh was held in the very room 
 in which Hume died.” 
 
 West on the Eesurrection. i 
 Lord Lvttleton on St. Paul. | 
 
 Lord Lyttleton, both men of acknowledged talents, had 
 imbibed the principles of Infidelity from a superficial 
 view of the Scriptures. Fully persuaded that the Bible 
 was an imposture, they were determined to expose the 
 cheat. Mr. West chose the resurrection of Christ, and 
 Lord Lyttleton the conversion of St. Paul, for the 
 subject of hostile criticism. Both set down to their re- 
 spective tasks, full of prejudice and a contempt for Chris- 
 tianity. The result of their separate attempts was truly 
 extraordinary. They were both converted by their en- 
 deavors to overthrow the truth of Christianity. They 
 came together, not, as they expected, to exult over an 
 imposture exposed to ridicule, but to lament their own 
 folly, and to congratulate each other on their joint con- 
 viction that the Bible was the Word of God. Their able 
 inquiries have furnished two most valuable treatises in 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERIXGS. 
 
 28T 
 
 favor of revelation ; one entitled, Observations on the 
 Conversion of St. Paul/^ and the other, Observations 
 on the Kesurrection of Christ.’’ 
 
 INFIRMITIES. — Ps. Ixxiii. 26; Prov. xviii. 14; Isa. 
 xlii. 2, 3; Matt. viii. li ; xxvi. 40—43; Luke v. lo; vii. 
 21; viii. 2, 3; xiii. 11-13; John v. 5-9; Rorn. vi. 19; 
 2 Cor. iv. 16-18; xi. 30; xii. 5, 10; Gal. iv. 13; 1 
 Tim. V. 23 ; Ileb. iv. 15 ; v. 2 ; vii. 28. 
 
 Lev. xiii. 1-0. Every bright spot was not the leprosy, but 
 it was to be shown to the priest and roost carefully examined. 
 All apparent blemishes aud infirmities are not sins; but they 
 should be looked to, lest there should be sin. 
 
 Ps. Ixxvii. 10. “And I said, This is rny infirmity : 
 but I will remember the years of the right hand of the 
 most High.” 
 
 The constant contrast in the Scriptures,— human w'eakness— 
 Divine strength. •• I am poor and needy ; yet the Lord think- 
 eth upon me.” (Ps. xl. 17.) I am weakness itself^ — “ Mv 
 fiesh and my heart faileth ; but God is the strength of my heart 
 and my portion for ever.” (Ps. Ixxiii. 20.) 
 
 Ps. Ixxxviii. A song or psalm for the sons of Ko- 
 rah, to the chief musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, 
 Maschil of Ileraan the Ezrahite.” 
 
 In this title, the w^ord “ Alahalath” signifies misery, or in- 
 firmity ; and “ Leannoth” to answ'er. Whatever infirmity or 
 weakness the writer was suffering from w'hen he w^ote it, we 
 may ob.serve one thing. There is in the whole psalm only one word 
 
 of comfort; but then, consider what that is, — salvation, “O 
 
 Lord God of rny salvation, I have cried day and night before 
 thee.” (ver. 1.) 
 
 Matt. viii. 1<. ‘‘Himself took our infirmities and 
 bare our sickness. 
 
288 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 Tliere are two sorts of infirmities ; such as are sinful without 
 pain, and such as are painful without sin. The first of these 
 infirmities Christ did not take upon Him. Sinful infirmities, 
 
 - —to be covetous or ambitious, — Christ never took them upon 
 Him* But Christ took upon Him painful infirmities, as hun- 
 ger, Matt. xxi. 28; weariness, John iv. 6; sorrow. Matt. xxvi. 
 38 ; fear, Heb. v. 7. 
 
 Rom. xv^ 1. then that are strong ought to 
 
 bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please our- 
 selves.” 
 
 ‘‘Weak Christians have infirmities, but infirmity supposes 
 life; and we must not despise them, — Kom. xiv. 8; Zech. iv. 
 10, — not in heart, word, or carriage. We must rather deny 
 ourselves than offend them. Kom. xiv. 21; xv. 1, 2; 1 Cor. 
 viii. 9, 13. We must support them, — hear them as pillars, — ■ 
 bear the house as the shoulders a burden ; as the wall the vine ; 
 as parents their children ; as the oak the ivy. And this because 
 they are brethren. Are they not of the same body? Shall the 
 hand cut off the little finger because it is not as large as the 
 thumb ? Do men throw away their corn because it comes into 
 th^ir barns with chaff ? They are weak. Bear with them out 
 of pity. In a himily, if one of the little ones be sick, all the 
 larger children are ready to attend it, which they need not do 
 if it were well. It should be done, likewise, because Jesus 
 Christ does so. ‘ Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil 
 the law of Christ,’ — the law of His command, and the law of 
 His example. He takes special care of His lambs, will not 
 quench the smoking flax, and is touched with the feeling of our 
 inflrmities. Heb. iv. 15 .” — Philip Henry. 
 
 Rom. viii. 26. Likewise also the Spirit helpeth our 
 infirmities.” 
 
 As the gardener, as he walks round his beds, sees what trees 
 are weak, and gives his vines and other trees the support ^hey 
 need; or as the Persian father, in teaching his children the use 
 of the bow, puts his strong hand upon the child’s weak hand, 
 jso shall the Holy Spirit assist our weakness. He takes hold of 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 289 
 
 the burden with us, which we are unable to lift, much less to 
 carry of ourselves, and makes his strength manifest in our 
 weakness. 
 
 Temper— judgment — passions — mind — and physical ' 
 weakness. 
 
 “ If I cannot take pleasure in infirmities, I can some- 
 times feel the profit of them. I can conceive a king to 
 pardon a rebel and take him into his family, and then 
 say, ‘ I appoint you for a season to wear a fetter. At a 
 certain season I will send a messenger to knock it off. 
 In the meantime, this fetter will serve to remind you of 
 your state ; it may humble you, and restrain you from 
 rambling.’ ” — Newton. 
 
 The Pipe which conveys water to a thirsty man may 
 have some flaw in it, so that a few drops may ooze out ; 
 but would he for this reject it, if he had no better means 
 of getting water from the fountain ? 
 
 “ Should a master hid his servant give him a cup of 
 wine, and he should willingly throw both glass and wine 
 on the ground, he might expect his master’s just dis- 
 pleasure ; hut if through some unsteadiness he should, 
 notwithstanding all his care, spill some of it in the 
 bringing, an ingenuous master Avill rather pity him for 
 his disease than be angry for the wine that is lost ; and 
 did God ever give His servants occasion to think Him a 
 hard Master ? Hath He not promised ‘ that He will 
 spare us, as a Father his child that serves him ?’ From 
 whence come all the apologies that He makes for His 
 people’s failings, if not from His merciful heart, interpret- 
 ing candidly that they proceed rather from their want 
 of skill, than will, power, or desire ? ‘ The flesh is weak, 
 but the spirit is willing’ (Matt. xxvi. 41), was His favor- 
 
290 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 able gloss for His disciples’ drowsiness in prayer.”— 
 Salter. 
 
 INJUKIES, Forgiveness of. — Gen. xlv. 5-11; Ps. 
 vii. 4 ; Prov. xix. 11 ; Matt. vi. 12, 14, 15 ; xviii. 25-35 ; 
 Mark xi. 25, 26 ; Luke vi. 31-38 ; xvii. 3, 4 ; xxiii. 
 34; Rom. xii. 17—21; Eph. iv. 32; Col. iii. 13; James 
 ii. 13. 
 
 He that refuses to forgive an injury, breaks the 
 bridge he will one day want to cross himself. (Mark 
 xi. 25.) 
 
 He that overcomes evil with good, gains three victo- 
 ries at once; he overcomes Satan, his enemy, and him- 
 self. 
 
 To have the courage to take no notice of an injury, is 
 to be even with our enemy ; to forgive it, is to be above 
 him. 
 
 The way to join two bars of iron together, is to melt 
 them : so are hearts joined, sometimes almost as hard. 
 
 A little boy being asked what forgiveness is, gave the 
 beautiful answer, ‘‘It is the odor that flowers breathe 
 when they are trampled upon.” 
 
 “The sandal-tree perfumes, when riven, 
 
 The axe that laid it low ; 
 
 Let him who hopes to he forgiven, 
 
 Forgive and bless his foe.” 
 
 “ He who has not forgiven an enemy, has never yet 
 tasted one of the most sublime enjoyments of life.” — 
 JLavater. 
 
 “ We should endeavor to forget injuries, and hury them 
 in love.'" — Dr. Watts. 
 
 Philip the Goon. — When some of his courtiers would 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 291 
 
 have persuaded him to punish a prelate who had used 
 liim ill, he declined, saying, “ It is a fine thing to have 
 revenge in one s power ; but it is a finer thing not to 
 use it.’’ 
 
 Cranmer. — It used to be said of him. If you would 
 have Cranmer do you a good turn, do him an ill one ; so 
 sure was he to return evil with good. 
 
 Burkitt beautifully observes in his journal, that some 
 persons would never have had a share in his prayers but 
 for the injuries they had done him. 
 
 Simeon. — “ A man strikes me with a sword, and in- 
 flicts a wound. Suppose, instead of binding up the 
 wound, I am showing it to every body, and after it has 
 been bound up, I am taking off the bandage constantly 
 and examining the depth of the wound, and making it 
 fester, is there a person in the world who would not call 
 me a fool ? However, such a fool is he who, by dwell- 
 ing upon little injuries or insults, causes them to agitate 
 and influence his mind. How much better were it, to 
 put a bandage on the wound and never look to it again !” 
 Cherokee Indians.— “A few poor Cherokee w°omen, 
 who had been converted to Christianity, formed them- 
 selves into a society for the propagation of the Gospel, 
 which was now become so dear to them. The produce 
 of the first year was about ten dollars, and the question 
 was, to what object this should be applied. At length, a 
 poor woman proposed that it should be given for the 
 benefit of the Osage nation; ‘for,’ said she, ‘the Bible 
 tells us to do good to our enemies (Matt. v. 44) ; and I 
 believe the Osages are the greatest enemies the Cherokees 
 have.’ ” — Christian Treasury. 
 
292 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATIIERINaS. 
 
 Rap at the Right Door. — “ ‘He has insulted me be- 
 yond all endurance, and I will rap him for it. 
 
 “Now, my friend, just consider. I suppose you 
 would not kill him outright, which you might do were 
 you to give him a rap of violence. And it is plain, from 
 your present state of mind, that you would not give him 
 a good-humored blow ; for that, like patting a dog, would 
 make him good natured perhaps. Now, on your own 
 showing, the man has some canine qualities. His abuse 
 of you is your testimony of this. You are oifended and 
 injured, you say, by the display already made of these 
 qualities. But you will bring more of them to view by 
 the course you propose. Rap that surly dog. You 
 will get an angry growl, perhaps more, for your pains. 
 You may get something of the kind if you rap that 
 man. 
 
 ‘“But I wish to call his attention to his abuse of 
 me.’ 
 
 “ And so you think a wound in his flesh is the best 
 mode of appealing to his moral sensibilities. I think if 
 you rap him he will think more of his skin than he will 
 of his sin. You will draw his attention to his fleshly 
 susceptibilities, and away from his guilt. And you will 
 interest him in some way of repaying in kind your inva- 
 sion of his flesh. Just think, too, you have seen already 
 that that man has a very bad heart. It is a very fur- 
 nace of evil principles. You have been burnt already 
 by a spark. In pity to yourself, then, I pray you let 
 the volcano sleep if it will. Your revenge will only 
 awaken it to fresh fury. A burnt-out vinedresser, on 
 the side of Etna, is poorly employed in opening a new 
 avenue to the fire. 
 
I 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 293 
 
 “‘But I have no design of striking him. What I 
 mean by giving him a rap is just to tell him what a mean 
 and contemptible character he possesses.’ 
 
 “ Well, this is better than to smite him ; as it may be 
 said, it is better a man should he bitten by an adder, 
 than stung by a scorpion. But I think still you rap at 
 the wrong door. The right one is conscience. I will tell 
 you how to knock at that door, and then how much you 
 will accomplish by it. 
 
 “ 1. Take no notice of the man’s abuse. Show him a 
 placid countenance; a serene, quiet, peaceful, uncom- 
 plaining spirit. You will smite him by so doing. He 
 will feel it. The peacefulness of your spirit, as seen in 
 the contrast with the tumultuous passions of his own 
 bosom, will pierce him. There is keen and cutting 
 rebuke to the injuries in the quiet patience of the in- 
 jured. 
 
 “ 2. But you can knock still louder. Bet benevolent 
 pity for your reviler prompt you to every act of kindness 
 in your power. Do him good, even at the expense of 
 self-denial. Show him an exact contrast of his treat- 
 ment of you. Compel him to see there is a palpable 
 difference of character, and in whose favor the differ- 
 ence is. He cannot long stand this. J do not believe 
 there is a heart this side of perdition which can long- 
 
 abide such an appeal unmoved ‘If thine enemy 
 
 hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give him drink ; for in so 
 doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.’ How, 
 if you are hot for vengeance, just think of these ‘burn- 
 ing coals ! And if you can be satisfied only with a 
 plentiful recompense, you can heap them; and if you 
 
 25 * 
 
21)4 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 must reach a vital part, you can heap them on his head." 
 — Cottage Magazine. 
 
 Ex. Joseph, Gen. 1. 20, 21; David, 1 Sam. xxiv. 7, 
 
 2 Sam. xviii. 5, xlx. 23; Solomon, 1 Kings i. 53; Ste- 
 phen, Acts vii. 60 ; Paul, 2 Tim. iv. 16 ; Christ, Luke 
 xxiii. 34. 
 
 INTENTIONS.— Judges xvii. 3; Matt. xxi. 28-31; 
 Luke ix. 54-62 ; xviii. 18-30. 
 
 “ Many good purposes lie in the churchyard. Philip 
 
 Henry- 
 
 “ If religion might be judged of, according to men’s 
 intentions, there would scarcely be any idolatry in the 
 "world.” — £isJiop Hcdl- 
 
 Blossoms in Spring.— “ What an illustration have 
 we of too many good intentions in the blossoms of 
 spring ! The trees in our gardens bear far more blossom 
 than they can ever ripen into fruit. This shows in them 
 an inward and natural disposition to pay liberally for the 
 ground they occupy ; but afterward they are more or 
 less hindered by outward circumstances from carrying it 
 into effect. Thus it is with good men. Scarcely a tithe 
 of the blossom comes to fruit ; but as men take pleasure 
 in beholding it upon the tree, so God takes delight in a 
 heart overflowing with fervor and holy resolutions, and 
 in the fruits and works of righteousness, though these 
 are not first, and may be comparatively few.”— Gott- 
 hold. 
 
 Dr. Chalmers, when he was preparing the plan of 
 building schools for St. John’s parish, Glasgow, a site 
 was selected, which belonged to the College of which Dr. 
 Taylor was head. Dr. C. called on him, and expressed 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 295 
 
 his hope that it tnight be obtained reasonably. Dr. 
 Taylor replied, ‘‘The project is not a new one. We have 
 talked of building schools in Glasgow twenty years.” 
 “Yes, Sir,” said the Doctor, “ and how long would you 
 go on talking ? We want to be doing .'” 
 
 INTERCESSION of Christ.— Isa. liii. 12; Jer. xxx. 
 21 ; Luke xxii. 31, 32 ; xxiii. 34 ; John xvi. 23, 24 ; 
 xvii. 9-24; Rom. viii. 34; Heb. iv. 14, 15; vii. 25; ix. 
 24 ; 1 John ii. 1, 2 ; Rev. viii. 3, 4. 
 
 typified by the High Priest entering within the 
 
 vail, with the censer of burning coals from off the altar, 
 and sweet incense to present before the Lord ; and hav- 
 ing the names of the twelve tribes upon the breastplate. 
 Lev. xvi. 12-14 ; Ex. xxviii. 29. 
 
 Cf. Num. xvi. 4T. 
 
 is free — feeling — eflScacious. 
 
 consists, — 1. In presenting himself before the 
 
 Father in our name and upon our account, Heb. ix. 24, 
 pleading His merits and atonement. Heb. xii. 24. 2. 
 
 Presenting the prayers of the Church perfumed with the 
 merits. Rev. viii. 3, 4. 
 
 “We need not climb up into the firmament to see if 
 the sun be there, we may see the beauty of it upon the 
 earth; so we need not go up into heaven to see if Christ 
 be there interceding for us; let us look into our own 
 hearts, if they are quickened and inflamed in prayers, 
 and can cry Abba, Father. By the interceding of the 
 Spirit within us, we may know Christ is interceding 
 above for us.” — Watson, 
 
 Amintas and H^chylus. — “A rare illustration of the 
 efficacious intercession of Christ in heaven we have in 
 
296 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 that famous story of Amintas, who appeared as an advo- 
 cate for his brother iEchylus, who was strongly accused, 
 and very likely to be condemned to die. Now Amintas 
 having performed great services, and merited highly of 
 the Commonwealth, in whose service one of his hands 
 was cut off ill the field ; he comes into the Court, in his 
 brother’s behalf, and said nothing, but only lifted up his 
 arm and showed them an arm without a hand, which so 
 moved them, that without a word speaking, they freed 
 his brother immediately. And thus if you look into 
 Rev. V. 6, you shall see in what posture Christ is repre- 
 sented, visionally there, as standing between God and 
 us : ‘ And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne 
 and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, 
 stood a Lamb as it had been slain;’ that is, bearing in 
 His glorified body the marks of death and sacrifice. 
 Those wounds He received for our sins on earth are, as 
 it were, still fresh bleeding in heaven ; a moving and 
 prevailing argument it is with the Father to give us the 
 mercies He pleads for.” — Flavel. 
 
 Suppose a king’s son should get out of a besieged 
 prison and leave his wife and children behind, whom he 
 loves as his own soul; would the prince, when arrived at 
 his father’s palace, please and delight himself with the 
 splendor of the court, and forget his family in distress? 
 No; but having their cries and groans always in his ears, 
 he should come post to his father, and entreat him, as 
 ever he loved him, that "he would send all the forces of 
 his kingdom and raise the siege, and save his dear rela- 
 tions from perishing; nor will Christ, though gone up 
 from the world and ascended into His glory, forget His 
 
ILLUgTKATIVE GATHERINGS. 297 
 
 children for a moment that are left behind Him.”— 
 G urnalL 
 
 “ I OUGHT to study Christ as an intercessor. He 
 prayed most for Peter, who was most to be tempted. I 
 am on His breastplate.” — M‘CJieyne, 
 
 Intercession of Saints.— 1 Sam. xii. 19, 23 ; Ps. 
 cii. 16, 17; cxxii. 6; cxxvi. 5, 6; Isa. Ixii. 1, 6, 7 ; 
 Ixiv. 7 ; Jer. xxix. 7 ; Ezek. ix. 4; Matt. v. 44; xviii. 
 19; Rom. xv. 30 ; 2 Cor. i. 11; Eph. i. 16; vi. 18; 
 Phil. i. 19; Col. iv. 3 ; 1 Thess. v. 25; 2 Thess. iii. 1; 
 1 Tim. ii. 1 ; Phile. 22 ; Heb. xiii. 18 ; Jas. y. 14—16 ; 
 1 John V. 16. 
 
 ‘‘ Carrying our neighbor’s pitcher, as well as our own, 
 to the great well.” 
 
 The fuller the concert, the sweeter the harmony ; 
 the more cord, the easier draught; if twenty pull at the 
 rope, there is more force than if there be two : so is it 
 with the power of united interceding prayer. 
 
 Believers must be emptying the measure of Divine 
 judgment with their prayers, which others are filling with 
 their sins. 
 
 Our prayers are often heard and granted, though we 
 may not be permitted to see it. A father sends out his 
 ship, and dies before the ship returns home ; but his son 
 is still living, and he receives the benefit. 
 
 Somebody IS Praying for Me. — Yes, anxious -Pastor, 
 you may be assured of that. You may think you are 
 forgotten, but it is not so really. The whirl of business, 
 or the love of pleasure, may have swept your work from 
 the minds of many of your hearers; but, cheer up. 
 That poor widow — that obscure saint — that young be- 
 liever — that sick and bed-ridden invalid,— these, and 
 
298 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 many more, are all holding up your hands. And still 
 more, yea, infinitely more, if every earthly friend forget 
 you, there is One above who would still be pleading on, 
 ‘^who ever liveth to make intercession’' ‘^for the saints 
 according to the will of God;” and the Father of mer- 
 cies cannot and will not reject His prayers. 
 
 Harlan Page. — Ahn at individuals, — The great 
 secret of his success was, that he always aimed at the 
 conversion of some individual, — wrestling in prayer with 
 God, and in affectionate entreaty with the sinner, till he 
 saw his wishes realized. By following this plan, though 
 he was in humble life, active work, and often in deep 
 poverty, he lived to see more than a hundred brought to 
 God as the fruit of his zeal and intercessions. 
 
 Ex. Abraham, Gen. xviii. 23-32 ; xx. 7, 17 ; Abra- 
 ham’s servant, Gen. xxiv. 12-14 ; Moses, Exod. viii. 
 12 ; xxxii. 11-13 ; Numb. xi. 2 ; xii. 11-13 ; xiv. 13 ; 
 Deut. ix. 20 ; Samuel, 1 Sam. vii. 5, xii. 23 ; David, 2 
 Sam. xxiv. 17 ; Solomon, 1 Kings viii. 30-36 ; Elisha, 
 2 Kings iv. 33 ; Hezekiah, 2 Chron. xxx. 18 ; Isaiah, 
 2 Chron. xxxii. 20; Nehemiah, Neh. i. 4-11 ; Job, Job 
 xlii. 8-10 ; Ezekiel, Ezek. ix. 8 ; Daniel, Dan. ix. 
 3-19 ; Stephen, Acts vii. 60 ; Peter and John, Acts 
 viii. 15 ; Church at Jerusalem, Acts xii. 5; Paul, Col. i. 
 9-12, 2 Thess. i. 11; Epaphras, Col. iv. 12; Philemon, 
 Phile. 12. 
 
 JOY. — Deut. xxvi. 31; Job xv. 11; 1 Chron. xi. 38 
 -40 ; Esther viii. 15-17 ; Ps. ii. 11 ; iv. 7 ; v. 11 ; xvi. 
 11 ; xix. 8 ; xxxiii. 1, 21 ; xxxvii. 4 ; xl. 16 ; xlii. 4 ; 
 xliii. 4; Ixviii. 3; Ixxxv. 6; xcii. 4; xciv. 19; cxviii. 
 15, 24 ; cxix. 14 ; cxxii. 1 ; cxxvi. 5 ; cxxxviii. 5 ; 
 
ILLUSTRATIA’E GATHERINGS. 
 
 299 
 
 Prov. XV. 13 ; xvii. 22 ; Eccl. ix. 7-9 ; Cant. i. 4 ; Isa. 
 ix. 3 ; xii. 3 ; xxix. 19, 20 ; xxxv. 1 ; li. 11 ; Ivi. 7 ; 
 Ixv. 14; Jer. xv. 16 ; Hab. iii. 17, 18; Matt. v. 11, 12; 
 Luke x. 20; John xv. 11; xvi. 20; xvii. 13; Acts xi. 
 23 ; Rom. v. 2, 11 ; xii. 12 ; xiv. 17 ; xv. 13 ; 2 Cor. 
 vi. 10 ; Gal. v. 22 ; Phil. iii. 1 ; iv. 4 ; 1 Thess. v. 16 ; 
 Jas. i. 2 ; 1 Pet. i. 6—8 ; Heb. xii. 2. 
 
 Neh. viii. 10. — “ The joy of the Lord is your strength.” 
 
 The definition and utility of holy]oj. “ The joy of the Lord^ 
 1. From Him. (Gal. v. 22.) True joy is one of the sweet “ com- 
 forts” of “the Comforter.” (Ps. xciv. 19.) 2. In Him. (Pvom. 
 
 V. 11; Phil. iii. 1.) 3. In living for Him. Por what joy so 
 
 pure as the life for God. (Ps. xxi. 1 ; 1 Thess. ii. 19, 20 ; iii. 9.) 
 
 Ps. xcvii. 11. — Light is 8own for the righteous, and 
 gladness for the upright in heart.” 
 
 Light-seed is sown in the vale of fogs ; though often hidden, 
 seed-like, for a time under the dark clouds of sorrow, it is only 
 taking root in the chastened heart ; soon it will appear, and 
 bring forth the fragrant flower and mellow fruit, and bloom 
 and grow sweetly and usefully in the garden of God. 
 
 Matt. XXV. 21. “ Well done, thou good and faithful 
 
 servant : enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” 
 
 Heaven is the region of calm, consummate, and unruflled 
 joy; the joy of rest, of communion, of reward. Here, indeed, 
 we have “strong consolation” (Heb. vi. 14); but the sun often 
 goes down before noon ; the joys of heaven are as perfect as 
 eternal, as satisfying as they are certain. 
 
 1 John i. 4. — ‘‘These things write I unto you, that 
 your joy may be full.” 
 
 2 John 12. — “I trust to come unto you, and speak 
 face to face, that our joy may be full.” 
 
 3 John 4. — “I have no greater joy than to hear that 
 my children walk in truth.” 
 
300 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 The discipline of love dwelt much in joy. There is a close 
 connection between the two. As peace is love refreshing, love 
 on the green pasture, and beside the still waters ; joy is love ex- 
 ulting,— love on the mountain of spices, climbing to higher and 
 still higher regions of holy delight. 
 
 True joy is a serious thing.’’ — Bonar. 
 
 sometimes the forerunner of sorrow and trial. 
 
 (Matt. iii. 16, 17 ; iv. 1.) 
 
 have had such a season of unusual joy lately,” 
 was the remark of an experienced minister, ‘^that I am 
 expecting some unusual trial soon, for which God is now 
 preparing me.” 
 
 Mrs. Fletcher writes in her journal: — 
 
 ‘Certainly I have now scarce any cross. Thou hast made 
 my cup to run over ; yea, thou hast made me to forget all my 
 sorrows. There is not a comfort I can wish for which I have 
 
 not ; but, Lord, I want more grace.’ The next entry begins, 
 
 ‘When I wrote last, I was arrived at the summit of earthly fe- 
 licity. But, oh ! how shall I write it ! On the 14th of August 
 the dreadful moment came. The sun of my earthly joys for 
 ever set, and the cloud arose which cast the sable on all my fu- 
 ture life. At half-past ten that Sabbath night, I closed the 
 eyes of my beloved.’ But from another passage it appears that 
 just before the attack which ended his earthly course, Mr. 
 Fletcher and herself had been led to a very express devoting 
 of themselves to God; and the consequence was, that her star- 
 tled spirit soon found its quiet rest again .” — Emblems of Eden. 
 
 sometimes succeeds the believer’s trials. What 
 
 is spring but winter melted ? what is the sap which now 
 gushes vital in these branches but the snow which lately 
 covered them with its frosty load ? and what is vigorous 
 piety but temptation vanquished? What is experience 
 but tribulation that worketh patience ? And what is 
 heaven itself but ' light affliction’ transformed to exceed- 
 ing glory ?” — Ibid. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 301 
 
 should not be judged of always by the outward 
 
 expression — man Avill laugh more at a jest than he 
 would at the news of a pardon .’' — Philip Henry, 
 
 Lightning and Light represent aptly the natures of 
 carnal joy and spiritual. Carnal joy, like lightning, is 
 short, lurid, transient, and scorching. Sunlight is last- 
 ing, healthful, and healing. 
 
 “Carnal joy is, a flash and away; leaves the mind in more 
 extreme and deeper darkness ; blasts the heart and affec- 
 tions with all spiritual deadness and desolations, with many 
 boiling distempers, much raging wildfire, and unquenchable 
 thirst after sensuality and earthlincss; and, first or last, it is 
 ever certainly followed with renting of the spirit, spiritual ter- 
 rors, thunders, darkness, and damnation. But godly joy is like 
 the light of the sun, which, though it may for a time be over- 
 cast with clouds of temptations, mists of troubles, persecutions, 
 and darkness of melancholy, yet it ordinarily breaks out again 
 with more sweetness and splendor when the storm is over ; but 
 howsoever, it hath* ever the Sun of Righteousness and fountain 
 of all comfort, so resident and rooted in the heart, that not all 
 the darkness and gates of hell shall ever be able to displant or 
 distain it, no more than a mortal man can pull the sun out of 
 his sphere, or put out his glorious eye.” — Bolton. 
 
 ^ Sunshine. — It suggests some pleasing thoughts of the 
 believer’s joys — the different kinds of sunshine we ex- 
 perience. There is the clear sharp sunshine of the crisp 
 March morning ; such is the sunny day when some nar- 
 row-hearted Christian is for a moment thawed, and his 
 heart and hand are open to receive and cast abroad true 
 joy and gladness. Then there is the hot summer sun- 
 shine of July, beaming with its vertical heat, when the 
 most grateful retreat is shade. This may remind us of 
 uninterrupted prosperity, and the need we have of the 
 
 shade and harbor of retirement and even trial ; and there 
 
 26 
 
802 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 is the grave and sombre sunshine of October, which 
 speaks of the decline of life, and its falling leaves. What 
 lessons do they suggest of departed pleasure, and of 
 coming storms and pinching cold ! But hope whispers 
 as they rustle beneath our feet upon the path. The tree 
 may cast off its leaves for winter, but they shall appear 
 again in spring ; so shall the man, whose heart is fixed 
 on God, find joy as they depart, depart only to rise again 
 in beauty. The creatures around us remind us of a 
 changing world, but the Creator above remains the same. 
 
 Lights at Sea. — Christians ! It is your duty not 
 only to be good, but to shine ; and of all the lights which 
 you kindle on the face, joy will reach furthest out to sea, 
 where troubled mariners are seeking the shore. Even in 
 your deepest griefs, rejoice in God. As waves phospho- 
 resce, let joys flash from the swing of the sorrows of your 
 souls. ’ ’ — Beecher. 
 
 The Harp. — It is not so much by the symmetry of 
 what we attain in this life that we are to be made happy, 
 as by the enlivening hope of what we shall reach in the 
 world to come. While a man is stringing a harp, he 
 tries the strings, not for music, but for construction. 
 When it is finished it shall be played for melodies. God 
 is fashioning the human heart for future joy. He only 
 sounds a string here and there to see how far His work 
 has progressed.” — Ibid. 
 
 ‘‘ There are joys which long to be ours. God sends 
 ten thousand truths, which come about us like birds seek- 
 ing inlet ; but we are shut up to them, and so they bring 
 us nothing, but sit and sing a while upon the roof, and 
 then fly away.” — Ibid. 
 
 The Rev. J. H. Stewart. — I begin to see that re- 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS, 
 
 803 
 
 ligion consists not so much in joyful feelings as in a con- 
 stant exercise of devotedness to God, and in laying our- 
 ourselves out for the good of others.” 
 
 Ex. Hannah — 1 Sam. ii. 1. David — 1 Chron. xxix. 
 9. Wise men — Matt. ii. 10. Virgin Mary — Luke i. 
 49. Zaccheus — Luke xix. 6; Converts — Acts ii. 46: 
 xiii. 52. Peter — Acts xv. 41. Samaritan — Acts viii. 
 8. Jailer — Acts xvi. 32. » 
 
 JOURNEYS. — Gen. xxiv. 21 ; Numb. ix. 10 ; x. 20 ; 
 Judges iv. 9; 2 Sam. xvii. 27-29; 1 Kings xix. 7; 
 Matt. X. 7-16 ; Luke xv. 13 ; Rom. i. 10 ; 2 Cor. xi. 26. 
 
 Gen. xlvi. 1. — And Israel took his journey, with all 
 that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices 
 unto the God of his father Isaac.” 
 
 Like Abraham, who, wherever he pitched his tent, there 
 built an altar ; the first thing Israel did after his journey was 
 to acknowledge God’s goodness in it. 
 
 Ps. cxxi.,‘ commonly called ‘'the Travelers Psalm.” 
 
 “ Just then his brother arrived ; and during the delay which 
 followed before the train started, we read the 121st Psalm in 
 the waiting-room. I remember the deep well of quiet confi- 
 dence in his eye, as the words were repeated to him, ‘ The Lord 
 is thy Leeper.’ There was something in the tone of his voice 
 that day, which struck like a distant knell upon our hearts. It 
 was a foreboding tone. However strongly hope may have 
 sprung up afterwards, we felt at that moment that it was our 
 last parting .” — Life of Hedley Vicars. 
 
 Matt. x. 7. — “And as ye go, preach.” 
 
 Christ’s charge to Christian travelers. 
 
 Luke X. 31. — And by chance there came a certain 
 priest that way, . . . and likewise a T^evite. . . . But 
 
304 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was, 
 and when he saw him, he had compassion on him.” 
 
 Here are many thoughts for travelers. 1. The different char- 
 acters of the passengers on the same road. Such a road is life, 
 and so varied are those who are traveling in its broad highway. 
 2. Things are often said to happen “by chance.” The scrip- 
 tural idea of chance is unerring Providence. (Ruth ii. 3.) How 
 instructive is it for Christian travelers to mark their journeying 
 providences! 3. Traveling shows character. “ Three days of 
 uninterrupted traveling in a vehicle will make you better ac- 
 quainted with a man than oue hour’s conversation with him 
 every day for many years.” — [Lavater.) Our journeys, there- 
 fore, suggest subjects for self-examination, — temper — unselfish- 
 ness — Christian zeal, judgment. 4. How much good a benevo- 
 lent heart may find and do unexpectedly I The Good Samaritan 
 had no expectation at starting of finding an object of compas- 
 sion ; yet, when he came to it, his heart opened immediately, 
 and filled with pity, and his name stands engraven on the Sa- 
 cred Page as an example of one whose heart prompted his hand, 
 and who rose above the petty prejudices of “Jew and Samari- 
 tan.” 
 
 Litany. — That it may please thee to preserve all 
 that travel by land or by water.” 
 
 The fool wanders ; the wise man travels.” 
 
 The NUMBER of travelers by railway in England 
 in 1849 was 33,271,000. Besides these, there are, it is 
 reckoned, about 50,000 persons generally traveling upon 
 the wide ocean ; and a vast number in steamboats, 
 coaches, and other conveyances. Is it not a mournful 
 proof of the depravity of the human heart that so little 
 gratitude is felt, so little praise offered, for that Provi- 
 dence which watches over the traveler, and directs the 
 course and events of his journey ! 
 
 Not prepared for his Journey. — Gotthold and 
 some friends were in the act^ of starting on a journey, 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 305 
 
 which was to occupy several days. All was ready, and 
 the carriage at the door, but one of the party did not 
 make his appearance, and, on being sent for, it was found 
 that he had not packed up his clothes, or made the other 
 necessary preparations. He arrived at last, however, 
 and they drove off, when aotthold began : ‘ We must not 
 allow you to escape with impunity for having now delayed 
 and detained us a whole hour ; and your punishment shall 
 be to listen to a good and salutary admonition, and bear 
 it about constantly in your mind. Do you know, then, 
 whom you have this day been imitating ? The children 
 of the world. For these find, or make for themselves, 
 so much to do with the world’s vanities that they never 
 are in a state of readiness for departing out of it. They 
 do not think of death, and so postpone to the last hour 
 the collecting of their traveling-gear, by which I mean, 
 exercising repentance, faith, confession, prayer, and holy 
 living. Never till then do they set their house in order, 
 make their will, or attempt to disengage themselves from 
 the world, which has often, however, taken so strong a 
 hold of them that they quit it only with reluctance and 
 secret or open mourning. There are not many (says a 
 wise Dutchman) who finish their lives before they die. 
 
 eiy few go, most are dragged, to the grave; and in- 
 stead of leaving the world, they are hunted out of it. 
 Preparation for death seems to me of vast moment, and 
 
 the neglect or postponing of it good for neither living 
 nor dying.’ ” 
 
 Archbishop Leighton is said to have often expressed 
 in his lifetime this singular wish as to the place of his 
 death : “ If I had the power to choose a place to die 
 
 in. It should be an inn. Do any ask me why ? Because 
 
306 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 this looks like a pilgrim’s going home, to whom the whole 
 world is but like a large and noisy inn, and he, a way- 
 farer, tarrying in it as short a time as possible, and then 
 hastening onwards to his Father’s house.” The desire 
 of the good old man was granted. He died at the Bell 
 Inn, in Warwick-lane, London, in true Christian peace 
 and hope ; and now no longer a pilgrim in the earthly 
 wilderness, he is resting in the holy land, where angels 
 carried him, and there are many mansions prepared for 
 the elect of God. 
 
 Colonel Gardiner, 'j It is recorded of these 
 
 Rev. Spencer Thornton, > and many other holy 
 
 General Havelock, J Christian men, 
 
 that they would never let their hours of morning devotion 
 be abridged by any circumstances it was in their power 
 to prevent. Of Spencer Thornton it is stated, in his 
 ^^Life,” that when in Switzerland, having one morning 
 to start upon a journey at four, he rose for devotion at 
 two. 
 
 Robert Haldane. — It would probably be hard to find 
 the record of any journey more eminently blessed for 
 good than that taken by Robert Haldane to Geneva. 
 When he left home in 1816, he had no definite plan of 
 action, and when asked how long he should be absent, 
 replied, ‘‘Possibly six weeks.’ His way, however, 
 turned from France to Geneva and Montauban, quite 
 unexpectedly, and there he pitched his tent ; and to his 
 stay there may be traced, directly or indirectly, the conver- 
 sion of that noble band of devoted Christians, M. Galland, 
 Felix Neff, Henri Pyt, M. Gaussen, Charles Rieu, Caesar 
 Malan, Merle d’Aubign^, and many others. Besides 
 which, must be added, the well-known works which have 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 307 
 
 been given to the Church ; as Mr. Haldane’s own Ex- 
 position of the Eomans,” and D’Aubign^’s History of 
 the Reformation.” 
 
 James Haldane, the excellent brother of the above, 
 was similarly blessed in a visit spent in the same year, 
 at Gilsland, in Cumberland, where he went in the hope 
 of recruiting his wife’s health. The account is fully re- 
 lated in The lives of the Haldanes,” of his meeting 
 there Dr. Everard, a well-known Roman Catholic Arch- 
 bishop of Cashel. By degrees the two became ac- 
 quainted, and the acquaintance was one of deep interest 
 on both sides. 
 
 A few days before he left Gilsland, Dr. Everard con- 
 fined himself to his room, and did not appear in public. 
 He afterwards sought a parting interview with his Pro- 
 testant friend ; it was at once solemn and aflFecting. The 
 Archbishop told Mr. J. Haldane that the conversations 
 he had enjoyed with him, and particularly his appeals to 
 the Bible, had shaken him more than anything he had 
 ever before heard, and that it had made him very uneasy, 
 
 that he had, therefore, determined, with fasting and 
 prayer, once more to seek counsel of God, in order that 
 his error, if he were in error, might be shown him. . . . 
 They parted with mutual expressions of regard, and Dr. 
 Everard died a few years afterward at Cashel, where 
 there were whispers in the neighborhood which intimated 
 that his dying room was carefully watched to prevent the 
 intrusion of those whose presence was not desired, and 
 that the mystery which was kept up as to his illness arose 
 from suspicions that he did not continue steadfast in the 
 Romish Faith.” 
 
 Providence evidenced in journeys. — Abraham’s servant 
 
308 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 going for a Avife for Isaac, Gen. xxiv. The pillar of 
 cloud and fire, Exod. xl. 36, 37. SauVs journey di- 
 rected by God, 1 Sam. xv. 18. Christ’s meeting with 
 the Samaritan woman by the well, John iv. The Ethi- 
 opian eunuch, met by Philip on his journey, Acts viii. 
 Saul, as he journeyed,” met by Christ, Acts ix. 
 (The worst journey he ever planned, but the best he 
 ever took.) 
 
 JUDGMENT, A Sound. — 1 Chron. xii. 32 ; Ps. cxii. 
 5 ; cxix. 66, 80 ; Prov. ii. 7 ; xiv. 8, 18 ; xvi. 21-23 ; 
 Eccl. viii. 5 ; X. 2 ; Isa. xi. 13 ; lii. 13 ; Matt. x. 16 ; 
 Luke xii. 56; Kom. xvi. 19; 1 Cor. xiv. 20; Phil. i. 9; 
 Col. iv. 4, 5 ; 2 Tim. i. 7. 
 
 Mettle is dangerous in a blind horse.” 
 
 Depends chiefly upon the discerning of right 
 
 proportions and analogies. 
 
 Gotthold. — While reading a newly-bound book, 
 Gotthold, in passing from one page to another, found 
 that the connection of the sense was broken, and, on 
 closer examination, discovered that the binder had by 
 negligent folding misplaced some of the leaves. ^ Well,’ 
 said he, ‘ all is correct and beautiful both upon this page 
 and that ; but as they do not follow in proper order, an 
 incongruity arises which offends the mind.’ The same 
 may frequently be observed in the suggestions and re- 
 marks of many a man with whom we converse. In them- 
 selves they may be just and true ; but as the speaker 
 does not understand how to introduce them at the proper 
 time, they are distasteful to hear, as this book is to read.” 
 -^Crotthold' s ‘‘Emblems.'' 
 
 Ex. Jacob, Gen. xxxii. 3-23. Joseph, Gen. xii. 38—40. 
 Jethro, Exod. xviii. 17-26. Gideon, Judges viii. 1-3. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 309 
 
 David, 1 Sam. xvi. 18. Aged counselors of Rehoboam, 
 
 1 Kings xii. 7. Solomon, 2 Ghron. ii. 12; 1 Kings Hi. 
 5-28. Sergius Paulus^ Acts xiii. 7. Paul, Acts xxiii. 
 6 ; 1 Cor. ix. 19-23 ; x. 23 ; Gal. ii. 2, &c. 
 
 JUDGMENTS, DIVINE.— Deut. xxxii. 35-43 ; 1 
 Kings viii. 31-53; Ps. ix. 16 ; xxxvi. 6; Iviii. 11; Ixxvii. 
 19 ; xcvii. 1, 2 ; cxliii. 2 ; Eccles. viii. 11 ; xi. 9 ; Isa. 
 xxvi. 8-11, 20, 21; Jer. v. 4, 29; viii. 7; Ezek. xxix. 
 21, 22;. Joel ii. ; Amos Hi. 6; iv. 6-12; Micah vi. 9; 
 Hab. i. 12 ; Luke xviii. 2-8; Acts xxiv. 25; Rom. in 2; 
 
 2 Pet. ii. 3; Rev. vi. 9, 10; xi. 16-18; xv. 3, 4; xvi. 
 5, 10, 11 ; xix. 1, 2. 
 
 Emblems. — A plumb-line, Isa. xxviii. 17 ; Amos vii. 7, 
 8 : Great deep, Ps. xxxvi. 6 ; Smoldering like smoking 
 fire, and couching like a beast cf prey, ready to spring 
 upon its victim, Deut. xxix. 20 ; (Heb.) Burden, Isa. 
 xiii. 1. A cup of intoxicating wine, Ps. xi. 6 ; Ixxv. 8 ; 
 Jer. XXV. 17 ; Ezek. xxiii. 32-34; Rev. xiv. 9, 10. 
 
 The Plagues of Egypt furnish a striking example of Divine 
 judgments. 1. They were not sent without previous warning. 
 2. They were gradually increased in severity. 3. They were 
 such as to rebuke the idolatry of the land (see Idolatry). 4. 
 In several of them, things the most contemptible and loath- 
 some were the instruments employed. 5. There was a distinc- 
 tion made between the Lord’s people and the Egyptians. 6. 
 They show how little judgments alone can soften the sinner’s 
 heart. After each plague Pharaoh's heart became harder, till 
 at last the measure of his iniquity was full. 
 
 The TWO Rabbis. — A little while after the city of Je- 
 rusalem was destroyed, two Jewish Rabbis were walking 
 over the ruins. Both seemed affected at the mournful 
 sight; but one wept, the other smiled. The one who 
 
310 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 wept was naturally surprised to see his companion smile, 
 and asked him, How can you smile now, when you see 
 our holy city laid low in ruins?” ^‘Nay,” said the 
 Kabbi, ‘^let me rather ask you. Why do you weep?” 
 weep,” answered the first, because I behold around 
 me the fearful judgments of the Almighty. Our beauti- 
 ful city is no more — our holy temple is laid waste — our 
 brethren, where are they now?” All that,” said the 
 other, is the reason why I smile. I see, like you, how 
 sure God’s judgments are; but I can learn how true 
 must be His promises. God hath said, ‘ I will destroy 
 Jerusalem.’ I see He has. But He has also said, 
 ‘ I will rebuild Jerusalem.’ Shall I not believe His 
 word ?” 
 
 The Roman Magistrates.— It is observable that 
 the Roman magistrates, when they gave sentence upon 
 any one to be scourged, had a bundle of rods, tied 
 hard with many knots, laid before them. The reason 
 was this, — that, whilst the beadle or flagellizer was un- 
 tying the knots, which he was to do by order, and not 
 in any other hasty or sudden way, the magistrate might 
 see the deportment and carriage of the delinquent, 
 whether he was sorry for his fault, and showed any hope 
 of amendment, that then he might recall his sentence, 
 or mitigate his punishment ; otherwise he was corrected 
 so much the more severely. Thus God, in the punish- 
 ment of sinners, how patient is He ! how loath to strike ! 
 how slow to anger ! If there be but any hopes of re- 
 covery, how many knots doth He untie ! how many rubs 
 doth He make in His way to justice ! He doth not try 
 us by martial law, but pleads the case with us, — ‘ Why 
 will ye die, 0 house of Israel ?’ and all this to see 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 311 
 
 whether the poor sinner will throw himself down at His 
 feet ; whether He will come in and make his composition 
 and be saved.’' — Spencer. 
 
 JUSTICE, DIVINE.— Gen. xviii. 21, 25; Deut. 
 xxxii. 4 ; Neh. ix. 33 ; Job viii. 3 ; xxxiv. 23 ; xxxvii. 
 23 ; Ps. li. 4 ; Ixxxix. 14 ; xcii. 15 ; xcvii. 2 ; cxlv. 17 ; 
 Isa. xxviii. 17 ; xlv. 21 ; Dan. ix. 7 ; Rom. iii. 3-6, 19, 
 26 ; ix. 14-16 ; Heb. vi. 10 ; Rev. xv. 3. 
 
 1 John i. 9. ‘‘If we confess our sins. He is faithful 
 and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all 
 unrighteousness. ’ ’ 
 
 “ Not only merciful but just. Why just? Because He hath 
 promised to forgive such. Prov. xxviii. 13. If thy heart hath 
 been broken for and from sin, thou mayest not only plead God’s 
 mercy, but His justice for the pardoning of thy sin. Show 
 Him His hand and seal. He cannot deny Himself.” — Watson. 
 
 “ Take a straight stick and put it into the water, then 
 it will seem crooked. Why ? Because we look at it 
 through two mediums, air and water. There lies the 
 deception ; thence it is that we cannot discern aright. 
 Thus the proceedings of God in His justice, which in 
 themselves are straight without the least obliquity, seem 
 unto us crooked : that wicked men should prosper, and 
 good men be afflicted ; that the Israelites should make 
 the bricks, and the Egyptians dwell in the houses ; that 
 servants should ride on horseback, and princes go on 
 foot. These are things that make the best Christians 
 stagger in their judgment ; and why but because they 
 look upon God’s proceedings through a double medium 
 of flesh and spirit, that so all things seem to go cross, 
 though, indeed, they go right enough ; and hence it is 
 
312 
 
 ILLITSTRATIVE GATMERlNaS. 
 
 that God^s proceedings in His justice are not sa well dis- 
 cerned, the eyes of man alone not being competent judges 
 thereof. ’ ’ — Spencer. 
 
 JUSTIFICATION.— Isa. xlv. 8 ; 1. 8, 9; liii. 6,11; 
 Ixi. 10 ; Jer. xxiii. 6; xxxiii. 16 ; Hab. ii. 4; Zech. hi. 
 3-5; Luke xviii. 13, 14; Acts xiii. 39 ; Rom. i. 17; 
 lii. 20-26 ; iv. ; v. ; viii. 30, 33, 34 ; x. 3-13 ; 1 Cor. 
 i. 30; vi. 11 ; 2 Cor. v. 21; Gal. ii. 16-21; hi. 5-14; 
 V. 4 ; Phil, iii. 9, 10. 
 
 ^‘The article of a standing or falling Church.” — 
 Luther. 
 
 See Art. xi., xiii, xiii* 
 
 Homily on Salvation. 
 
 Self-justification is the attempt of one overtaken by 
 a storm to run for shelter into an old house without a 
 roof.” 
 
 is, — 1. Originally from the grace of God. 2. 
 
 Meritoriously from the person and work of Christ. 3. 
 Instrumentally by faith. 4. Evidentially by works. 
 
 “ Q. What is justification ?” 
 
 ‘‘A, It is an act of God’s free grace, whereby He 
 pardoneth all our sins, and accepts us as righteous in His 
 sight, only for the righteousness of Christ, imputed to 
 us, and received by faith.” — Watson. 
 
 As Christ was made sin for us by imputation, and 
 not by infusion of sin in Him, so we are made righteous 
 in God’s sight by the imputation of Christ’s righteous- 
 ness. There are two things in justification : remission 
 of sin from Christ’s passive obedienee, and imputation 
 of righteousness from His active obedience. Faith itself, 
 as a grace, justifies not, because a man is not justified 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 813 
 
 for faith but by it as an instrument only, and it is said 
 to justify, because of all graces it is principally used for 
 that purpose. Justification finds us ungodly, but does 
 not leave us so; true faith cannot be witliout good works, 
 for these may be said to justify faith as that does (instru- 
 mentally) the believer ; though we distinguish between 
 justification and sanctification, yet we do not separate 
 and divide them, as they always go together in the same 
 person, like unto light and heat in the sun .^’ — Grew on 
 J ustijication, 
 
 ‘‘Works can have no share in our justification, be- 
 cause they are done from improper motives, or done in 
 an imperfect manner, and therefore cannot recommend 
 themselves, much less the sinful doers of them to infinite 
 purity ; nay, if God should enter into strict justice, I 
 fear our very best works would deserve punishment; and 
 to think that those works which deserve punishment can 
 merit either in v/hole or in part is surely a great mis- 
 take ; it seems to be as safe as to fancy that the addition 
 of some dross will enhance the value or increase the 
 lustre of gold. Were I possessed of all the righteous 
 acts that have made saints and martyrs famous in all 
 generations, I would renounce them all in point of justi- 
 fication before God, and would depend alone upon the 
 atonement and righteousness of Christ, and ascribe all 
 my salvation to his free unmerited grace.” — Hervey. 
 
 Before God enlightened me into the righteousness of 
 Christ and justification by it, I used to wonder how it 
 was, that seeing Christ lived upwards of thirty-three 
 years upon earth, only His death, or at most the last 
 week of His life, should be of any avail for the salvation 
 
 of sinners ; but, blessed be God, I have long seen that 
 27 
 
314 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 Christ was all that time working out a perfect obedience 
 for my acceptance with the Father. ^ By the obedience 
 of one shall many be made righteous/ is a text that am- 
 ply accounts for His having spent thirty-three years 
 below, previous to His crucifixion, and this obedience, 
 together with His sufferings received by faith, completely 
 justify a penitent sinner. — Romaine. 
 
 Christ’s righteousness, imputed to us by faith 
 justifies us, and this is the believer’s title to heaven ; 
 from sanctification arises our meetness for it. A king’s 
 son is heir apparent to his father’s crown ; now we will 
 suppose the young prince to be educated with all the 
 advantages, and to be possessor of all the attainments 
 that are necessary to constitute a complete monarch, his 
 accomplishments however do not entitle him to the king- 
 dom, they only qualify him for it ; so the holiness and 
 obedience of the saints are no part of that right on 
 which their claim to heaven is founded, but only a part 
 of that spiritual education whereby they are made meet 
 to inherit the kingdom of heaven ; thus we may see 
 plainly the diiference between justification and sanctifi- 
 cation. ’ ’ — Madan. 
 
 Some harbors have bars of sand which lie across 
 the entrance and prohibit the access of ships at low 
 water. There is a bar, not of sand, but of adamantine 
 rock, the bar of Divine justice, which lies between a 
 sinner and heaven. Christ’s righteousness is the high 
 water that carries a believing sinner over this bar, and 
 transmits him safe to the land of eternal rest. Our own 
 righteousness is the low water which will fail us in our 
 greatest need, and will ever leave us short of the heavenly 
 Canaan. ” — Salter, 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE aAT^ERI^'GrS. 815 
 
 “And I SAW in my dream that just as Christian came 
 up with the Cross, his burden loosened from off his 
 shoulders, and fell from olF his back, and began to tum- 
 ble, and so continued to do, till it came to the mouth of 
 the sepulchre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more. 
 
 “ Then was Christian glad and lightsome, and said with 
 a merry heart, ^ He has given me rest by sorrow, and 
 life by His death.’ Then he stood awhile to look and 
 wonder ; for it was very surprising to him that the sight 
 of the cross should thus ease him of his burden. He 
 looked, therefore, and looked again, even till the springs 
 that were in his head sent the water down his cheeks. 
 Now as he stood looking and weeping, behold three 
 shining ones came to him, and saluted him with ‘ Peace 
 be to thee so the first said to him, ‘ Thy sins be for- 
 given thee;’ the second stripped him of his rags, and 
 clothed him with change of raiment ; the third also set 
 a mark on his forehead, and gave him a roll with a seal 
 on it, which he bid him look on as he ran, and that he 
 should give it in at the celestial gate ; so they went their 
 way .” — Pilgrim s Progress. 
 
 JUSTIFICATION AND SANCTIFICATION.— 
 Prov. xvi. 6 ; 1 Cor. i. 30 ; vi. 11. 
 
 Cf. The work of Christ and of the Spirit as set forth 
 in — 
 
 1. The tabernacle — first the altar, then the laver. 
 
 2. Waters of separation. Numb. xix. 7. 
 
 3. Ordinance of the leper ; first sprinkled with blood, 
 then anointed with oil. 
 
 “ It is a nice distinction to allow that a man is saved 
 not by good works, and yet to deny that works contri- 
 
316 
 
 ILLUSTKATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 bute to his justification; yet it is scriptural. Man’s 
 condition, as without the satisfaction of Christ, may be 
 illustrated by the case of Peter in the prison. When he 
 was sleeping between two soldiers, well guarded, an an- 
 gel came and raised him ; broke off his chains and set 
 him free. In all this Peter had no part ; he did nothing. 
 Just as it is with Hhe Lord our righteousness,’ who 
 awakens us from the sleep of sin, and breaks off our 
 chains. But when Peter was awakened, he gave proof 
 of the liberty he had received by^hastening to the house 
 of Mary, and joining himself to the disciples. So man, 
 being delivered from the condemnation and bondage of 
 sin, is sealed by the Spirit, and walks before God in 
 righteousness and holiness.” — Dr, Sumner^ A^rcJihisliop 
 of Canterbury, 
 
 “ Justification regards something done^hr us ; sanc- 
 tification, something done in us. The one is a change in 
 our state, the other in our nature. The one is perfect, 
 the other gradual. The one is derived from the obedi- 
 ence of the Saviour, the other from His Spirit. The 
 one gives us a title to heaven, the other a meetness for 
 it. Suppose you had a son ; you forbade him to enter a 
 place of contagion on pain of losing all you could leave 
 him. He goes, and is seized with the infection. He is 
 guilty, for he has transgressed your command, but he is 
 also diseased. Do you not perceive that your forgiving 
 him does not heal him? He wants not only the father’s 
 pardon, but the physician’s aid. In vain is he freed from 
 the forfeiture of his estate, if he be left under the force 
 of the disorder.” — Jay, 
 
 ‘‘Inherent righteousness “Imputed righteousness 
 
 1. Sanctifies. 1. Justifies. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 317 
 
 2. Makes us shine before 
 
 men. 
 
 3. Pleases God. 
 
 4. Discharges from hypo- 
 
 crisy. 
 
 5. Makes us pray. 
 
 6. Is our sincerity. 
 
 7. Respects the law. 
 
 8. Is the evidence of our 
 
 salvation. 
 
 9. Is our joy. 
 
 10. Is to be loved. 
 
 11. Is imperfect. 
 
 12. Is our qualification for 
 
 heaven.” 
 
 2. Makes us shine before 
 
 God. 
 
 3. Appeases him. 
 
 4. Discharges from guilt. 
 
 5. Makes our prayers pre- 
 
 vail. 
 
 6. Is our perfection. 
 
 7. Answers the law. 
 
 8. Is the foundation of it. 
 
 9. Is our glory, Isa. xlv. 
 
 25. 
 
 10. Is to be trusted. 
 
 11. Is perfect. 
 
 12. Is our title to it.” 
 
 Mason. 
 
 KINDNESS. — Gen. 1. 21; Lev. xix. 18; Ruth ii. ; 
 iii.; Job xxix. 25; Prov. xvii. 17; xviii. 24; xix. 22; 
 xxxi. 26 ; Mark ii. 3 ; Rom. xii. 10 ; xv. 1-3 ; 1 Cor. 
 xiii. 4 ; 2 Cor. vi. 6 ; x. 1 ; Eph. iv. 32 ; Col. iii. 12 ; 
 1 Pet. iii. 8 ; 2 Pet. i. 7. 
 
 OF God. — 2 Sam. ii. 6; Neh. ix. 17 ; Ps. xviii. 
 
 35; xxxvi. 7, 10; xlii. 8; xlviii. 9; Ixiii. 3; Ixxxix. 
 33,49; xcii. 2; ciii. 4; cvii. 43 ; cxix. 88; cxliii. 8; 
 Isa. liv. 8-10 ; Ixiii. 7 ; Jer. xxxi. 3 ; Hos. ii. 19 ; Joel 
 ii. 13; Luke vi. 35; Tit. iii. 4. 
 
 The very word kindness comes from the cognate word 
 kinned, L ^., one of the same kin or race ; acknowledg- 
 ing and reminding us of the fact that all men are brethren 
 
 — all of the same blood — and therefore they should all 
 27 * 
 
S18 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 act as brethren. All who are of the same kindred should 
 he kind. The same analogy is found in the word humane 
 from human. 
 
 Politeness (which is only one species of kindness) 
 has been well defined as “ lighting our neighbor’s candle 
 by our own,” by which we lose nothing and impart some- 
 thing. 
 
 “ Good words do more than hard speeches, as the 
 sunbeams without any noise will make the traveler cast 
 off his cloak, which all the blustering winds could not do, 
 but only make him bind it closer to him.” — Leighton. 
 
 “ The power of gentleness is irresistible.” — H. Martyn. 
 
 “ The kindness of many is too much like an echo ; it 
 returns exactly the counterpart of what it receives, and 
 neither more nor less.” — Matt. vi. 46, 47. 
 
 Little Kindnesses.— Life affords but few opportuni- 
 ties of doing great services for others; but there is 
 scarcely an hour of the day that does not afford us an 
 opportunity of performing some little, it may be unno- 
 ticed kindness. 
 
 Rowland Hill used quaintly to say, “ I would give 
 nothing for that man’s religion whose very dog and cat 
 are not the better for it.” 
 
 The Rev. H. Venn. — On one occasion when passing 
 through the West of England, whilst sitting at the win- 
 dow of an inn, he observed the waiter endeavoring to 
 assist a man who was driving some pigs on the road, 
 while the rest of the servants amused themselves only 
 with the difficulties which the man experienced from their 
 frowardness. This benevolent trait in the waiter’s cha- 
 racter induced Mr. Venn to call him in, and to express 
 to him the pleasure which he felt in seeing him perform 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHEEIXaS. 
 
 319 
 
 this act of kindness. After showing him how pleasing 
 to the Almighty every instance of good will to our fel- 
 low-creatures was, he expatiated on the love of God in 
 sending His Son from the purest benevolence to save 
 mankind. He exhorted him to seek for that salvation 
 Avhich God, in His infinite mercy, had given as the most 
 inestimable gift to man. He promised to send him a 
 copy of His own work, “The Complete Duty of Man.” 
 Many years after this, a friend going to see him, stayed 
 on Saturday night at an inn, and the next day asked the 
 servants whether any of them went to a place of worship 
 on a Sunday ; to his surprise, he found the master of 
 the house a godly man, having family prayers in his 
 house, and requiring his servants to attend a place of 
 worship at least once every Sahhath. On inquiring fur- 
 ther, he was told that some years ago a gentleman had 
 sent him a book, which had been greatly blessed to him, 
 and on desiring to see the book, he found it to be “ The 
 Complete Duty of Man.” Thus was the promise fulfilled, 
 “Blessed are they that sow beside all waters.” “ Cast 
 thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after 
 many days.” 
 
 “The Man that Killed his Neighbor.” — A well- 
 known and excellent tract. No. 65 on the Tract Society’s 
 list. 
 
 KINGS, Christians.— Ex. xix. 6; Isa. xlix. 23; 
 Matt. XXV. 34 ; Luke vi. 20 ; vii. 28 ; xii. 32 ; xxii. 29 ; 
 2 Tim. iv. 8 ; Heb. xii. 28 ; Jas. ii. 5 ; 1 Pet. ii. 9 ; Rev. 
 i. 9 ; V. 10 ; xx. 6. 
 
 Eternal Crown. — A Romisli priest put the ques- 
 tion to an aged convert on his dying bed, ‘Now, Bourke, 
 
320 
 
 ILXUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 is it not true that you left the Church of Kome for lu- 
 cre’s sake ?’ The answer was a remarkable one. Rais- 
 ing his voice as high as his declining strength would ad- 
 mit of, he exclaimed, ‘ True for you. Sir, I did leave it 
 for lucre s sake, but it was for the lucre of everlasting 
 life that I left it.’ 
 
 “ Another priest, addressing a convert, said, ‘ Confess 
 what you get for leaving the true Church, and I’ll give 
 you more for turning back.’ ‘ Neither more then, since 
 you must know it, than a crown each, and every one of 
 us,” was the reply. ‘ A crown, Paddy Connor ! only a 
 crown !’ said the priest; ‘you shall have that, and more 
 too.’ ‘ Oh, but,’ said Paddy, ‘ the crown we are looking 
 for is a crown of glory, reserved in heaven for us by the 
 only Intercessor between Grod and man.’ ” — Sunday at 
 Home. 
 
 “ You’ll be a Duke, but I shall be a King.” — 
 “ A consumptive disease seized the eldest son and heir 
 of the Duke of Hamilton, which ended in his death. A 
 little before his departure from the world, he lay ill at 
 the family seat near Glasgow. Two ministers came to 
 see him, one of them at his request prayed with him. 
 After the minister had prayed, the dying youth put his 
 hand back, and took his Bible from under his pillow, and 
 opened it at the passage, ‘ I have fought a good fight, I 
 have finished my course, I have kept the faith ; hence- 
 forth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, 
 which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at 
 that day ; and not to me only, but unto all them also 
 that love His appearing.’ ‘This, Sirs,’ said he, ‘is all 
 my comfort.’ As he was lying one day on the sofa, his 
 tutor was conversing with him on some astronomical sub- 
 
ILLUSTPwATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 321 
 
 ject, and about the nature of the fixed stars. ^ Ah,’ 
 said he, ^ in a little while I shall know more of this than 
 all of you together.’ When his death approached, he 
 called his brother to his bedside, and addressing him 
 with the greatest affection and seriousness, he closed 
 with these remarkable words, ^ And now, Douglas, in a 
 little time you’ll be a duke, but I shall be a king.’ ” — 
 Oheever. 
 
 KNOWLEDGE.— Gen. ii. 9, 17; iii. 1^19; Exod. 
 V. 2 ; viii. 10 ; 2 Chron. i. 12 ; Job xxi. 14 ; Ps. ix. 10 ; 
 Ixxix. 6; Ixxxii. 5; xci. 14; cxix. 66; Prov. i. 7, 22, 
 X. 14; xiv. 8, 18; xviii. 1; xix. 2: xx. 12; Isa. i. 3; 
 
 V. 13; xxxiii. 6; xlvii. 10; liv. 13; Jer. iv. 22; ix. 6, 
 
 23, 24 ; xxiv. 7 ; xxxi. 34 ; Dan. ii. 21 ; xi. 32 ; Hos. 
 
 iv. 6 ; vi. 3-6 ; Hab. ii. 14 ; Mai. ii. 7 ; Matt. xi. 25 ; 
 
 xiii. 11 ; Luke xii. 6 ; xix. 42, 44; John xiii. 7 ; xvii. 
 3, 25 ; Rom. i. 28 ; ii. 20 ; x. 2 ; 1 Cor. viii. 1, 3 ; xiii. 
 8-12; XV. 34; Phil. i. 9; Col. iii. 10; Jas. iii. 13; 2 
 Pet. i. 3-6 ; ii. 20 ; iii. 18. 
 
 like light of the sun, candle, &c. 
 
 torch or lantern by night. 
 
 eye of the body, (Matt. vi. 22, 23.) 
 
 compasSj the mariner’s companion on the 
 
 pathless ocean. 
 
 guide post, where many roads meet. 
 
 lighthouse on a dangerous coast. 
 
 , if unsanctified, is no more availing than a painted 
 
 fire on a cold day. 
 
 The knowledge of too many Christians is light without 
 heat ; clear, but cold, like a January morning. 
 
 21 
 
322 
 
 ILLTTSTRATITK GATHERINGS. 
 
 Divine Knowledge is not the light of the moon for 
 us to sleep by, but the light of the sun to walk by. 
 
 Knowledge IS Power.” — ‘‘It is not a couch to 
 rest a searching and restless spirit, nor a terrace for a 
 wandering and variable mind to walk up and down upon ; 
 nor a tower of state for a proud mind to raise itself 
 upon; nor a commanding fort for strife and contention ; 
 nor yet a shop for profit and sale ; but a rich storehouse 
 for the glory of the Redeemer, and the relief of man’s 
 estate.” — Bacon, 
 
 Knowledge is poioer for good or bad, as it is applied. 
 A horse under restraint is of use in carrying loads and 
 l)earing burdens, &c. But if not restrained, he breaks 
 his bridle, throws his rider, and dashes the carriage in 
 pieces. The water of a large pond, conducted by 
 trenches, or directed by a mill, is of use ; but if it breaks 
 its banks, it sweeps everything before it, and destroys, 
 where otherwise it would be a blessing. When the ship 
 is steered right, the sails help forward her onward course; 
 but if steered wrong, the more sail she carries the worse.” 
 
 LAST WORDS. 
 
 It would be a striking history were the- departing 
 sayings of eminent men always recorded ! Take a few 
 examples from the men of this world, and from those 
 who lived and died in Jesus.” 
 
 Charles IX. (who gave the order for the massacre on 
 St. Bartholomew’s Day, 1575) expired bathed in his own 
 blood, which burst from his veins whilst he exclaimed, 
 ‘‘ What blood — what murders — I know not where I am — 
 how will all this end ? What shall I do ? I am lost for 
 ever — I know it !” 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 323 
 
 Francis Spira, an Italian apostate, died in the most 
 awful despair. On his death-bed he exclaimed, My 
 sin is greater than the mercy of God. I have denied 
 Christ voluntarily ; I feel that He hardens me, and al- 
 lows me no hope.” 
 
 Hobbes, the infidel, before^ death, — am taking a 
 fearful leap into the dark.” 
 
 Goethe. — His dying exclamation w^as mournfully sig- 
 nificant : — Open the shutter and let in more light.” 
 Contrast the words of the Rev. T. Scott, the Commen- 
 tator, when standing upon the confines of the grave, 
 ‘‘ This is heaven begun ; I have done with darkness for 
 ever ; nothing remains but light and joy.” 
 
 Nelson, wounded mortally by a bullet : — “0 victory, 
 victory, how you do distress my poor head ! Doctor, I 
 have not been a great sinner. Thank God, I have done 
 my duty.” 
 
 Wolfe. — They run ! they run !” ‘‘Who ?” “The 
 French.” “ Then I die happy.” 
 
 William Pitt, who could never clearly apprehend 
 what experimental Christianity meant, on his death-bed 
 said to the Bishop of Lincoln: — “I have, like many 
 other men, neglected prayer too much to have any ground 
 of hope that it can be efficacious on a death-bed. But I 
 throw myself on the mercy of God through the merits 
 of Christ!” 
 
 Lord Byron, a short time before death : — “ Shall 
 I sue for mercy ?” After a long pause, he added, “ Come, 
 come, no weakness ; let’s be a man to the last.” 
 
 George IV. — “ Oh, my God, this is death 1” 
 
 Contrast the last hopes and experience of departing 
 saints : — 
 
324 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 Luther. — Our God is the God from wlibm cometh 
 salvation ; God is the Lord, by whom we escape death.” 
 Calvin.— Thou, Lord, bruisest me ; but I am abun- 
 dantly satisfied, since it is from thy hand.” 
 
 Knox. — Live in Christ, live in Christ, and the flesh 
 need not fear death. ^ 
 
 Bellarmine, the eminent Roman Catholic apologist 
 and preacher : — ‘‘ It is safest to trust in Jesus.” 
 
 Sir Isaac Newton, a little before death : — I do not 
 know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I 
 seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea- 
 shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a 
 smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, while 
 the great ocean of truth lies all undiscovered before me.” 
 Richard Baxter. — Oh ! I thank Him, I thank Him; 
 the Lord teach you how to die.” ^‘I have pain — there 
 is no arguing against sense ; but I have peace, I have 
 peace.” 
 
 Latimer. — Be of good courage, Master Ridley, and 
 play the man ; we shall this day light such a candle in 
 England, as by God’s grace shall never be put out.” 
 Bilney. — ‘‘Jesus! I believe.” 
 
 Robert Bruce. — The moment before he died, having 
 eaten an egg at breakfast, said to his daughter, “I think 
 I am yet hungry, you may bring me another egg ;” but 
 having mused awhile, he said, “ Hold, daughter, hold, 
 my Master calls me,” with these words his sight failed 
 him ; on which he called for the Bible, and said, “ Turn 
 to the eighth chapter of the Romans, and set my finger 
 on the words, ‘ I am persuaded that neither death nor 
 life,’ ” &c.‘; when this was done, he said, “Now, is my 
 finger upon them?” Being told that it was, he added. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHEKINUS. 
 
 325 
 
 Now God be with you, my dear children ; I have break- 
 fasted with you, and shall sup with my Lord Jesus Christ 
 this night,’' and then expired. 
 
 Dr. Preston. — Blessed be God ! though I change 
 my place, I shall not change my company ; for I have 
 walked with God w^hile living, and now I go to rest with 
 God.” 
 
 Matthew Henry. — ^‘You have been used to take 
 notice of the sayings of dying men, this is mine, — that 
 a life spent in the service of God, and communion with 
 Him, is the most comfortable life that any one can lead 
 in this present world.” 
 
 Rutherford. — ^^If he should slay me ten thousand 
 times ten thousand times, I’ll trust.” I feel, I feel, I 
 believe in joy, and rejoice ; I feed on manna.” Oh, for 
 arms to embrace Him ! Oh, for a well-tuned harp !” 
 
 Rev. James Hervey. — You tell me that I have but 
 a few moments to live. Oh, let me spend them in ador- 
 ing our great Redeemer ! Oh, welcome death ; 
 
 thou mayest well be reckoned among the treasures of the 
 Christian.” His last words, — The great conflict is 
 over; all is done.” [See Nativity of Christ, 
 
 Halyburton, to his aged elder, — Jamie, ye are an 
 auld man, and I am dying ; yet the child shall die an 
 hundred years old. I am like a shock of corn fully ripe. 
 I have ripened fast under the bright Sun of Righteous- 
 ness ; and we have had brave showers.” Just before 
 death, — I am thinking on the pleasant spot that I may 
 get to lie in, close beside Mr. Rutherford and Principal 
 Anderson. I will come in as a little one among them, 
 and I will get my little George in my hand ; and, oh, we 
 
 will be a group of bonnie dust,'' During the last six 
 28 
 
826 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 hours his voice failed him. But his angelic face was 
 eloquent ; and when he could not speak, he gently clapped 
 his hands in triumph. 
 
 Kev. John Broavn. — ^‘My Christ! my Christ!” 
 Lambert at the stake. — None but Christ ! None 
 but Christ!” Cecil, when he died, exclaimed, ^‘None 
 but Christ ! None but Christ ! — so said dying Lambert 
 at the stake ; and so, under all circumstances, and with 
 all his heart, says Richard Cecil.” 
 
 Eliot. — When he could no longer leave his dwelling, 
 through weakness and infirmity, the ruling passion still 
 prevailed, and he had a young Indian to dwell with him, 
 whom he taught to read several passages of Scripture. 
 He lived till near ninety. One of his last sayings was, 
 “ The evening clouds are passed away; the Lord Jesus, 
 whom I have served, like Polycarp, for eighty years, will 
 not forsake me now. Oh, come in glory ! I have long 
 waited for Thy coming. Let no dark cloud rest on the 
 work of the Indians ; let it live when I am dead.” Here 
 his voice failed, and his last words were, ‘‘Welcome 
 
 joy!” 
 
 President Edwards, after bidding good-by to all his 
 children, looked about, and said, “Now, where is Jesus 
 of Nazareth, my never-failing Friend?” And so he fell 
 asleep, and went to the Lord he loved. 
 
 Rev. John Wesley. — “The best of all is, God is 
 with us.” 
 
 Rev. Charles Wesley. — “ I shall be satisfied with 
 thy likeness ; — satisfied — satisfied !” 
 
 Charles of Bala. — “There is a Refuge.” 
 
 Rev. Thomas Jones, when dying, — “ A sinner saved ! 
 a sinner saved !” 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATUERIXGS. 
 
 327 
 
 Rev. Pliny Fisk, to his brethren. — ‘‘Live near to 
 God, dwell in love, and wear out in the service of 
 Christ.” 
 
 Rev. John Janeway. — “ More praise still. Oh, help 
 me to praise Him ! I have nothing else to do ; I have 
 done with prayer and other ordinances.” 
 
 Dr. Payson. — “ The battle’s fought, — the battle’s 
 fought ; and the victory is won, — the victory is won, for 
 ever I I am going to bathe in an ocean of purity, and 
 benevolence, and happiness, to all eternity.” “Faith 
 and patience, hold out.” 
 
 Dr. Xettleton. — His parting counsel. — “While ye 
 have the light, walk in the light.” 
 
 J. J. Gurney.— “I think I feel a little joyful :” from 
 which he dropped into a sweet sleep, and woke before 
 the Throne. 
 
 Rev. j. H. Stewart. — “I have not got beyond ‘ God 
 be merciful to me a sinner.’ ” 
 
 A Dying Saint. — “ Valiev — shadow — home — Jesus 
 
 % 
 
 — peace,” were the last words of a dying saint. 
 
 LAW, The. — Deut. xxvii. 26 ; Isa. xlii. 21 ; Ezek. 
 XX. 11, 13, 21 ; Matt. v. 17-48 ; xxii. 36-40 ; Luke x. 
 28 ; John i. 17 ; Acts xiii. 39 ; xv. 24 ; Rom. ii. 12-29; 
 iii. ; viii. ; x. 4 ; 1 Cor. xv. 56 ; Gal. ii. 16-21 ; iii ; iv.; 
 Eph. ii. 15; Phil. iii. 9; Col. ii. 14; 1 Tim. i. 9; Heb. 
 
 vii. ; James ii. 8-12 ; 1 John iii. 4. 
 
 Matt. V. 17. “ Think not that I am come to destroy 
 
 the law, or the prophets : I am not come to destroy, but 
 to fulfill. 
 
 “ The blessed ‘ Author and Finisher of our faith’ has said, 
 ‘ ThiiiK not that I am come to destroy the law, or the pro- 
 
328 
 
 ILLUSTKATIYE GATHERINGS. 
 
 phets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.’ Destroy the 
 law ? Yes, just as much as the infant is destroyed when he at- 
 tains to perfect stature and to manly strength. Destroy the law ? 
 Yes, as much as the instrument is destroyed, because it wakes 
 to sweeter melody or bolder tones. Destroy the law ? Yes, as 
 the vineyard is destroyed, when ‘ a blessing’ being in its com- 
 paratively scant vintage, ‘the vats now are filled, and the 
 presses overflow,’ with its gathered produce, in the sweetest, 
 choicest wine. Destroy the law ? Yes, as the morning light is 
 lost, or can be destroyed, when all its ’ mountain mists are 
 scattered, and all its lingering shadows fled, and the once twi- 
 light dawn has traveled onward to a bright and perfect day.” — 
 Spencer. 
 
 James ii. 10. ‘‘ For whosoever shall keep the whole 
 
 law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.’' 
 
 Mr. Leupolt, in illustrating this, employed the following 
 figure: — “Suppose a boat on the Ganges, full of people; the 
 day is dismal — the wind roars — the thunder peals — the waters 
 are swollen — and the current rapid ; no boat can live long in 
 such a storm. But see, there is a boat full of people! You 
 hear their shrieks between the thunder-peals ! They fear the 
 rocks before them, — how can they be saved ? Oh, if they could 
 but be drawn into this narrow creek, they would be safe ! Now, 
 suppose the people on shore throw out to them a chain; they 
 catch it, and already rejoice in the prospect of deliverance, 
 when, alas ! suddenly, as both they and the people on shore be- 
 gin to pull, one link of the chain breaks, — ^not ten links, but 
 one, — what can I’ley then do? ‘ Overboard with the chain, or 
 it will sink us suuner,’ cries one man from the boat. ‘What 
 shall they do then ! ‘Cast themselves on the mercy of God,’ 
 says another. Yes, and so say I to the sinner; for if one com- 
 mandment be broken, — one link of the chain, — all is broken” 
 
 like a '■'shadow^'’ or outline— a shadowing forth, 
 
 (Heb. X. 1.) 
 
 ■ a “ schoolmaster” (Gal. iii. 24), or peda- 
 
 gogue. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 329 
 
 a beautiful vase, of wliich, if one small 
 
 piece be chipped, the v’hole is spoilt. 
 
 a dreary rock. The soul of man is the 
 
 Andromeda chained to the rock ; Satan 
 is the monster ready to devour ; the 
 Gospel is the Perseus, which, by the 
 sword of the Spirit, slays the monster’s 
 power, breaks the legal chain, and sets 
 the soul at liberty. 
 
 Moses’ vail. (2 Cor. iii. 13-16.) 
 
 The law is the accuser, marshal, jailer, and recorder 
 of every sinner. It is his accuser^ ‘ the adversary who 
 delivers us to the officer,’ and makes out the charge 
 against us. It is the marshaL It attaches him of high 
 treason against the majesty of Heaven, and arrests him, 
 in the name of God. • It is his jailer. It shuts him up 
 Greek, Gal. iii. 22) under sin (under the 
 charge and in the consciousness of guilt) ; it locks him 
 up, and turns the key, and draws the bolts on him. It 
 records the sentence of death against him, for there is 
 ‘ death recorded’ against every soul of man ; the holiest 
 saint is legally attainted traitor and a reprieved felon] 
 and there it leaves the man, ^dead,’ dead in law, for he 
 who goes out of court sentenced to die is, in the eye of 
 the law, a dead man. So the sinner is dead. If he 
 looks to the law, he sees only death before him. He, 
 therefore, must not look to it, for, as he suffered in Christ 
 (for Christ died for his people), he has once suffered for 
 sin, ‘ and he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from 
 sin.’ ^ He that is dead is justified from sin.’ One death 
 is enough. And so now the believer must only look to 
 Christ, to His perfect obedience as his righteousness, to 
 
830 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 His precious death as Im punishment, to His resurrection 
 as his discharge, to His ascension as the assurance of 
 his own being raised to His right hand in heavenly 
 places, and to His Spirit^ as the only source of his 
 strength. ’ ’ — Ohampneys. 
 
 Eor us sinners to expect to be saved by the law is 
 just as if a man under sentence of death should attempt 
 to sue out his pardon on the footing of that very law 
 which has convicted him.” — Madan, 
 
 Let it be observed that Christ's active obedience to 
 the law for us, and in our room and stead, does not ex- 
 empt us from personal obedience to it, any more than 
 His sufferings and death exempt us from a corporeal 
 death, or suffering for His sake. It is true, indeed, that 
 we don’t suffer and die in the sense He did, to satisfy 
 justice, and atone for sin ; so neither do we yield obe- 
 dience to the law, in order to obtain eternal life by it. 
 By Christ’s obedience for us we are exempted from obedi- 
 ence to it in this sense, but not from obedience to it as a 
 rule of walk and conversation, by which we may glorify 
 God, and express our thankfulness for His abundant 
 mercies.” — Dr. Gill. 
 
 LAW AND GOSPEL. — Bom. vii. ; x. 3-10 ; 2 Cor. 
 iii. ; Heb. xii. 18-29. 
 
 Difference between 
 LAW. GOSPEL. 
 
 1. Almost wholly nega- 1. Positive. ^^Thoushalt 
 tive. Cf. the Ten love the Lord thy 
 
 Commandments. God with all thy 
 
 ‘^Thou shalt not,” heart,” &c. 
 
 &c. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 331 
 
 Difference between 
 
 GOSPEL. 
 
 The still small voice.” 
 (1 Kings xix. 12.) 
 
 2 . 
 
 Christ’s first miracle, 
 — turning water into 
 wine. 
 
 Like the dew — soften- 
 ing. 
 
 LAW. 
 
 2. Like the strong wind, 
 
 earthquake, fire. (1 
 Kings xix. 11, 12.) 
 
 3. Moses’ first miracle, — 3. 
 
 turning water into 
 blood. 
 
 4. Like the hammer — 4. 
 
 breaking. 
 
 ‘‘ The best way to shut men up to the Gospel is to shut 
 them out from the law.” — LuTce xviii. 21-24. 
 
 It was the admirable advice which Mr. Wesley re- 
 cords as having been given to a preacher by an old 
 woman. ‘Preach,’ said she, ‘the law first — then the 
 Gospel — then the law again.’ ” — Life of Dr. A, Clarke, 
 
 “ Though the New Testament is not to be interpreted 
 by the Old, but rather the Old Testament by the New, 
 yet when the light of the latter dispensation is thrown 
 upon the elder one,-it is often reflected back as in a 
 mirror, so as to cast additional lustre upon itself. Like 
 that secret writing, which is invisible to the reader, till, 
 held before the flame, it gives forth the precious truth 
 for which the soul was longing ; so are there myriads of 
 bright and holy thoughts within that volume, which con- 
 ceal themselves from such as are cold in their affections 
 towards its Author, but which are brought out by the 
 warmth of heavenly desires, giving sweet assurances of 
 mercy and rich promises of blessing, when held before a 
 glowing and a grateful heart.” — Rev. J. F. Stainforth. 
 
 “By the law is the knowledge of sin ; by the Gospel 
 is the knowledge of Christ.” 
 
332 
 
 illustrative gatherings. 
 
 God hath written a law and a Gospel ; the law to 
 humble us, and the Gospel to comfort us ; the law to cast 
 us down, and the Gospel to raise us up ; the law to con- 
 vince us of our misery, and the Gospel to convince us of 
 His mercy ; the law to discover sin, and the Gospel to 
 discover grace and Christ.” — Mason, 
 
 You never saw a woman sewing without a needle ! 
 She would come but poor speed, if she only sewed wi* 
 the thread. So, I think, when we’re dealing wi’ sin- 
 ners, we maun aye put in the needle o’ the law first ; for 
 the fact is, they re sleepin’ sound, and they need to be 
 awakened up wi something sharp. But when we’ve got 
 the needle o’ the law fairly in, we may draw as lang a 
 
 thread as you like o’ Gospel consolation after it.” 
 
 Floehhart, 
 
 LETTERS. 
 
 One great means of usefulness. Do Christians suffi- 
 ciently think of it ? 
 
 The Rev. John jS^ewton says rather reckoned 
 
 on doing more good by some of my other works than by 
 my letters, which I rather wrote without study or with- 
 out design. Yet his letters were the great treasure he 
 left behind. It is stated in the life of Mr. Jay, of Bath, 
 that he used to have one read to him every Sunday eve- 
 ning. 
 
 Rutherford’s letters were written more than two 
 centuries ago, yet the smell of the myrrh has not yet 
 departed. Most eminently have they been blessed. 
 They are not historical letters. They contain neither 
 politics nor biography. They are not argumentative, 
 like Pascal’s, nor descriptive, like Walpole’s. They are 
 
ILTA’STRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 33S 
 
 'pure devotion^ — a Christian heart’s love letters, — the out- 
 flow of a sweet fountain that sent forth healing waters. 
 Cecil used to call Rutherford “ one of his classics.” 
 Baxter said, Hold off the Bible, and such a book the 
 world never saw.” One of his golden sentences gives 
 us the secret of his unusual unction, — The cross gives 
 much to say,'' ■ 
 
 LIFE. — Gen. ii. T, 17 ; xlvii. 9 ; Deut. xxx. 20 ; 
 xxxii. 29 ; 1 Sam. ii. 6 ; xii. 2 ; xx. 3 ; 1 Chron. xxix. 
 15; Jobvii. ; xiv. ; xvi. 22 ; xvii. 13: xxxiv. 14, 15; 
 Ps. xvii. 14 ; xxxvi. 5 ; xxxix. ; xlix. 20 ; Ixiii. 3 ; Ixvi. 
 9; Ixxxix. 48; xc. ; civ. 27-30 ; Prov. iv. 10; Eccles. 
 i. 4; iii. 2; ix. 10; Isa. xxxviii. 18, 19; Dan. v. 23; 
 Matt. X. 39 ; Luke viii. 14; xii. 15 ; xxi. 34 ; Acts xvii. 
 28 ; xviii. 10 ; xx. 24 ; Rom. xiv. 7-9 ; 1 Cor. iii. 22 ; 
 2 Cor. V. 6 ; Phil. i. 21 ; 1 Tim. iv. 8 ; vi. 7 ; 1 Pet. i. 
 17-19. 
 
 Gen. XXV. A chapter of life in a changing -world. Abra- 
 ham’s marriage — Abraham’s death — Family dissensions — Isaac 
 and Ishmael — Isaac’s children — The two seeds — Esau and 
 Jacob. 
 
 Ps. xxxi. 15. ‘Oly times are in thy hand.” 
 
 Life is the ordinance of God. Nothing more shows Divine 
 Sovereignty than the time and place of our birth, the duration 
 of our life, and the circumstances of our death. 
 
 1 Cor. vii. 29. “But this I say, brethren, the time is 
 short.” 
 
 The word translated “short,” is commonly applied to the act 
 of furling in sail, i. e., reducing it into a narrow compass ; and 
 is then applied to any thing that is reduced -svithin narro-w 
 limits. 
 
334 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 One of the most ingenious tortures of the Hohenslaufen 
 family, in the height of their despotic control, was that of a 
 cell, which, at the prisoner’s first entrance, presented an air of 
 comfort and ease ; so that it was not till he had been a few days 
 confined that he observed the dimensions of his chamber begin- 
 ning to contract. But the discovery once made, the fact became 
 more appalling everyday. Slowly, but terribly, the sides drew 
 closer, and the unhappy victim at last was crushed to death. 
 What an emblem does this suggest of the sinner’s contracting 
 day of grace ! Oh, what would the poor victim in such a cell 
 have given to see the door open, and hear a voice, — “ Escape 
 for thy life!” Would he have lingered for one moment, think 
 you ? Would that sinners would escape as eagerly by the door 
 of grace ! 
 
 Emblems: — A dream; an eagle hasting to the prey; 
 a flower ; grass ; handbreadth ; a pilgrimage ; a shadow ; 
 a shepherd’s tent ; sleep ; a swift ship ; a swift post : a 
 tale told ; a thread cut by the weaver ; a vapor ; water 
 spilt on the ground; a weaver’s shuttle; wind. 
 
 It is calculated that, — 
 
 1 person dies every 1 second. 
 
 60 persons die every 1 minute. 
 
 300 
 3,600 
 86,400 
 31,566,227 
 946,986,810 
 
 The • Chinese apply to different ages certain terms*. 
 The age of 10 is called the opening degree; 20, youth 
 expired ; 30, strength and marriage ; 40, ofiicially apt ; 
 50, error-knowing; 60, cycle-closing; 70, rare bird of 
 age; 80, rusty- visaged ; 90, delayed; 100, age’s ex- 
 tremity. — Sir J. Bowring. 
 
 5 minutes, 
 hour, 
 day. 
 year. 
 
 generation of 30 
 years. 
 
II.LrSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 835 
 
 Chaxge is written upon all the lintels of the numer- 
 ous door-posts of human life, — change of the most con- 
 tradictory and surprising nature, and of which we have 
 at present some impressive, and even mournful instances. 
 The man born in poverty dies in possession of the fields 
 upon which in early life he earned his bread by the sweat 
 of his brow. The hereditary owner of vast estates lives 
 to see them, like dissolving views, fading before his eyes; 
 and he expatriates himself, perhaps, to draw his latest 
 sigh in the shambles of continental debauchery. The 
 diligent and successful merchant, who contemplated an 
 evening of life placid and clear, sees the fortune of his 
 industry fall to pieces before some commercial tornado ; 
 and instead of enjoying the fruit of his labors, must end 
 his days in contributing, perhups, to enrich those by 
 whom he has been ruined. The father of a hopeful 
 family, upon whom he has expended time, and labor, atid 
 money, — who he expected, in his vanity, might be the 
 founders of an illustrious house, and transmit to distant 
 generations the names and the virtues of ancestral, anti- 
 quity, lives to carry every one of them to the grave, and 
 dies, leaving his all to one not born in his house, and who 
 only acts the part of a chief mourner out of deference 
 to public decency. Such are some of the illustrations 
 of life’s vicissitudes upon what may be called the medium 
 scale.” 
 
 ‘‘But, Christians, your canopy is not the starry firma- 
 ment, else you too might lament the absence of the sun 
 and moon. Yours is the bright blue arch of paradise, 
 where the Sun of Righteousness ever shines; where the 
 bright and Morning Star ever twinkles ; and where no 
 
336 
 
 rLLITSTR ATT VE G ATHE KINGS. 
 
 clouds obscure, nor tempests roar. Act, then, *your part 
 accordingly.” — il'-Farlane. 
 
 LIGHT, Divine. — Ps. iv. 6 : xxvii. 1 ; xxxvi. 9 : xliii. 
 3 ; Isa. ix. 1, 2 ; xlii. 6 ; lx. 1, 3 ; Mai. iv. 2 ; Matt, 
 iv. 16 ; Luke ii. 32 ; John i. 4, 5, 9 ; iii. 19 ; viii. 12 ; 
 
 ix. 5 ; xii. 85, 36 ; 1 Tim. vi. 16 ; 1 John i. 5 ; Rev. 
 
 xxi. 23. 
 
 Chutstians. — ‘‘ Lights,” and enlightened,” 
 
 receiving and reflecting. 2 Sam. xxii. 29 ; Ps. xxxiv. 
 5; xxxvi. 9; Prov. iv. 18; Dan. xii. 3 ; Matt. v. 14-16 ; 
 xiii. 43; Luke xii. 85; John viii. 12; Acts xxvi. 18; 
 Rom. xiii. 12 ; 2 Cor. vi. 14 ; Eph. v. 8 ; Col. i. 12 ; 1 
 
 Thess. V. 5 ; 1 Pet. ii. 9 ; 1 John i. 7. 
 
 ‘ Gon is Light,' in three senses (says Bishop Hall), 
 1. Of absolute clearness, in His inflnite wisdom and 
 knowledge. 2. Of exact purity, in the perfect rectitude 
 of His will. 3. Of gracious diffusion, in the communi- 
 cation of Himself to His creatures, and to the Church 
 especially.” 
 
 There are three great lights, — of nature, grace, and 
 glory. What the light of nature cannot make manifest, 
 that of grace can ; and what grace cannot, glory will. 
 
 Divine light is not the light of the moon, to sleep by, 
 but the light of the sun, to walk by. 
 
 ‘‘ What is Light ? — Is it not a combination of differ- 
 ent rays, — the red, the orange, the yellow, the green, the 
 blue, the indigo, and the violet ? Some would think, 
 perhaps, that they, could make better light if they had 
 the brilliant rays alone ; but so think not I. I would 
 have the due proportion of the sombre with the bright, 
 and all in simultaneous motion; and then I think I 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 337 
 
 should more resemble both the created and the uncreated 
 light. At all events, this is my one ambition, — to live 
 with one Mary at my Saviour’s feet, listening to His 
 words (whilst others are cumbered about the world) ; and 
 to die with the other Mary, washing His feet with my 
 tears, and wiping them with the hairs of my head.”— 
 Simeon. 
 
 Lighthouses. ^ — Phil. ii. 15. — ‘‘Among whom ye shine 
 as lights in the world.” 
 
 “ The image here is not improbably taken from light- 
 houses on a sea-coast. As those lighthouses are placed 
 on a dangerous coast to apprize vessels of their peril, and 
 to save them from shipwreck, so the light of Christian 
 piety shines on a dark world, and on the dangers of the 
 voyage which we are making.”— 
 
 A traveler once visiting the lighthouse at Calais, said to the 
 keeper, “ But what if one of your lights should go out at night ?” 
 “Never impossible !” he cried. “ Sir, yonder are ships sail- 
 ing to all parts of the world. If to-night one of my burners 
 were out, in six months I should hear from America, or India, 
 saying that on such a night the lights at Calais lighthou.se gave 
 no warning, and some vessel had been wrecked. Ah, Sir ! 
 sometimes I feel, when I look upon my lights, as if the eyes of 
 the whole world were fixed upon me. Go out! burn dim! 
 Never! impossible!” 
 
 With how much dignity can enthusiasm invest the humblest 
 occupation ! Yet, what a lesson to the Christian ! It is no ro- 
 mance which makes the Christian a spiritual lighthouse for the 
 world, with the eyes of the whole world upon him. Let, then, 
 his light be full, and bright, and clear. The moment he ne! 
 gleets It, and leaves his lamps untrimmed, some poor soul, strug- 
 gling amid the waves of temptation, for lack of it, may be 
 dashed upon the rooks of destruction. 
 
 Eddystone Lighthouse Inscription.— “ To eive light 
 and save life.” ” 
 
 29 
 
 22 
 
838 
 
 Tl.U'STUATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 Goshen. — If a man whose body was radiant and 
 bright as the sun, were Avalking through a land of Egyp- 
 tian darkness, all who followed him would actually walk 
 in the light, and the closer they kept to him, the clearer 
 their light would be and the safer their road. He who 
 follows Christ, follows one from whom light streams upon 
 the road we are to go — an illuminated man — laying bare 
 its hidden pitfalls — discovering its stumbling stones — 
 showing all its turnings and windings, and enabling us 
 to walk safely, surely, and cheerfully on our way. (John 
 viii. 12.) 
 
 LITTLE THINGS.— Ex. xxiii. 30; 2 Sam. xii. 3; 
 Ps. Ixviii. 27 ; Isa. xxii. 23-25 ; Matt. v. 19 ; xiii. 31, 
 32; XXV. 21: Luke xvi. 10; xix. 17. 
 
 Deut. xxii. G, 7.—“ If a bird’s nest chance to be be- 
 fore thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whe- 
 ther they be young ones or eggs, and the dam sitting 
 upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take 
 the dam with the young ; but thou shalt in any wise let 
 the dam go, and take the young to thee : that it may be 
 well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.” 
 
 The Jews call this the least command of the law, and so it 
 sooni. Yet observe tlie promise added, and the motive 
 urajed — the same as to the Fifth Commandment, “ the first Com- 
 mandment with promise I” Is not this designed by the great 
 Lawgiver to show the importance of every commandment of the 
 law ? (Matt. V. 19.) A fiirthing is as truly a coin of the realm 
 as a sovereign, because it has the king’s image upon it. 
 
 Isa. xl. 15. — "‘Behold, the nations are to him as a 
 drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of 
 the balance.” 
 
ILLUSTEATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 339 
 
 What a magnificent idea of the awful and infinite greatness 
 of Jehovah 1 “ A drop of a bucket,” the loss of which no man 
 
 would notice, and “the small dust of the balance,” the small 
 particles of dust that remain after the balances have been wiped 
 and adjusted, so small that their united mass makes no appreci- 
 
 ^ able diflference in the weight, and the eye can scarcely see 
 them. W^hat mind but that which is infinite could employ so 
 bold a figure, to represent the nations of the earth, teeming wdth 
 their thousands and tens of thousands of immortal souls ! 
 
 “A Straw will show the state of the wind.’’ 
 
 Small leaks sink great ships.’’ 
 
 ‘‘Little strokes fell great oaks.” 
 
 A grain of sand is a little thing, but let it get into a 
 watch, or in our eye, and we learn not to despise the 
 power of little things. 
 
 “ The small creeks^ bays, and little inlets will tell as 
 surely whether the tide is up or not, as the great ocean 
 spread out before you and pouring its full tide upon the 
 shore. ’ ’ — Ohampneys. 
 
 Coral Islands. — The stupendous work of little in- 
 sects is a proof of the power of littles. It would require 
 a larger grave, it has been said, to hold all the coral in- 
 sects in the world, than all the elephants. 
 
 “ A Single Snow-elake.— Who cares for it ? But a 
 whole day of snow-flakes, obliterating the landmarks, 
 drifting over the doors, gathering upon the mountains to 
 
 crash in avalanches,— who does not care for that ?” 
 
 Seedier, 
 
 Weeping Willows. The origin of our weeping wil- 
 lows is, that Lady Suflblk received a present from Spain, 
 and when the parcel was opened out, a few bits of 
 branches were enclosed, which Mr. Pope seeing, pro- 
 posed to plant in the garden. This was the first weep- 
 
340 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 ing willow introduced into England, from which all the 
 others in the island have been propagated. It was cut 
 down in 1801. 
 
 Electricity. — The commencement of the modern dis- 
 coveries in electricity was what most would regard as a 
 simple accident. Dr. Galvani’s wife was struck one day 
 in 1791, by the convulsions of some frogs she was pre- 
 paring for her husband’s dinner, when they ivere touched 
 by an electric conductor. This led to the Doctor’s ex- 
 periments ; which, between 1793 and 1808, were carried 
 still further by the Italian Volta. Since then the science 
 has been unfolded every year, and now we see the fruits 
 in the common and submarine telegraph, the greatest 
 wonder of the world. 
 
 Eemember the Power of Littles. — A star seems 
 a little thing, yet it is perhaps a world. A word — how 
 quickly spoken — how soon forgotten ! Yet there may 
 be life or death eternal in it ! A blow of the hand — how 
 like a flash it may be, yet may it lead to ignominy, to 
 exile, or even a scaffold. Moses was little when he lay 
 in his ark of bulrushes, yet he lived to be the plague 
 of a king, and the means of delivering some millions of 
 slaves. Napoleon Bonaparte was once little, yet what 
 an Apollyon he became at last. There is, in truth, 
 nothing little which can be connected with eternity and 
 God. The decision of an hour may influence us for ever ; 
 and though he was wise who said concerning man, ^ A 
 little sheet will wind him, a little grave will hold him, a 
 little worm will eat him,’ he was not less wise who wrote, 
 ‘It is but the littleness of man that sees no greatness in 
 a trifle.’ Life is made up of little incidents, not of bril* 
 liant achievements, and upon the little the eternal hangs. 
 
ILLtTS^nATtVE GATHERINGS, 
 
 841 
 
 But all that might be said upon this maxim might be 
 summed up in the lines whose truth apologizes for their 
 quaintness : — 
 
 ‘ Little drops of water, little grains of sand, 
 
 Make the boundless oeean, and the beauteous land; 
 
 And the little moments, humble though they be, 
 
 Make the mighty ages of eternity. 
 
 Little deeds of kindness, little words of love, 
 
 Make the earth an Eden, like the heaven above • 
 
 Little deeds of mercy, done by infant hands. 
 
 Grow to bless the nations far off in heathen lands.’ 
 
 Or farther : philanthropy has seized on this maxim, and 
 employed it to improve and elevate mankind, whose 
 happiness rarely depends on the great or glaring. ^The 
 accumulation of your littles,’ it has been said to the peo- 
 ple, ^ will form into a mightier sum than all the united 
 gifts that the rich have yet thrown into the treasury. 
 What ! do you not know that a penny a-week from each 
 householder in Britain amounts to half-a-million of pounds 
 sterling in the year ?' .... Now this is , turning arith- 
 metic into morality, it is God-like, for it achieves grand 
 results by little agencies, and as the Almighty bounds 
 the ocean by sand grains, or fills it by drops, when man 
 learns to imitate Him, he has caught the inspiration of 
 that wisdom which comes from above ; he is a fellow- 
 worker with the Mighty One, who is glorified alike 
 by the microscope and by the telescope .” — Christian 
 Treasury, 
 
 LITTLE SINS. — Cant. ii. 15 ; Matt. v. 19. 
 
 ‘‘What they want in magnitude they make up in 
 number. A ship may have a heavy cargo of sand, as 
 29 * 
 
842 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 ■well as a cargo of millstones, and may as soon sink with 
 them. ’ ’ — Ho'phina. 
 
 Ip the sin is little, then the more guilt in offending 
 your best friend for a little cause. 
 
 It is not the greatness of the coin, but the image of 
 the king upon it that authorizes it and makes it current ; 
 the man that steals a farthing is, therefore, as truly a 
 thief as he that steals a sovereign. 
 
 “ There are two ways of coming down from the top 
 of a church steeple : one is to jump down, and the other 
 is to come down by the steps ; but both will lead you to 
 the bottom. So also there are two ways of going to 
 hell : one is to walk into it with your eyes open, — few 
 people do that,— the other is to go down by the steps of 
 little sins ; and that way, I fear, is only too common. 
 Put up with a few little sins, and you will soon 'W'ant a 
 few more ; — even a heathen could say, ‘ Who ever was 
 content with only one sin ?’ — and then your course will 
 be regularly worse and worse every year. Well did 
 Jeremy Taylor describe the progress of sin in a man : 
 ‘First, it startles him, then it becomes pleasing, then 
 easy, then delightful, then frequent, then habitual, then 
 confirmed ! Then the man is impenitent, then obstinate, 
 and then he is damned.’ Reader, the devil only wants 
 to get the wedge of a little allowed sin into your hearts, 
 and you will soon be all his own. Never play with fire. 
 Never trifle with little sins.” — Ryle. 
 
 Matches. — If we were to see a woodman felling eight 
 large trees in a forest every week, or four hundred every 
 year, we should some of us say, “ What a pity !” yet in 
 one large steam sawing-mill, visited by Mr. Mayhew, 
 that was just the number employed to make lucifer 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 343 
 
 matches, 1,123,200,000 matches were made in one year 
 out of the above 400 trees ! This may remind one of 
 the remark of Howe, “ What a folly it is to dread the 
 thought of throwing aAvay one’s life at once, and yet to 
 have no regard for throwing it away by parcels and 
 piecemeal !” 
 
 LOVE DIVINE.-Deut. vii. 7, 8; x. 15; Psalm 
 Ixxviii. 68 ; Prov. viii. 17 ; Cant. ii. 4 ; Isaiah xliii. 4 ; 
 Ixiii. 9; Jer. xxxi. 3; Hosea xi. 4 ; Zeph. iii. 17 ; Mai. 
 
 i. 2 ; John iii. 16 ; xiii. 1, 34 ; xiv. 21 ; xv. 10-17 ; xvii. 
 26; Rom. v. 5-8; viii. 35-39; 2 Cor. xiii. 11, 14; Eph. 
 
 ii. 4, 5 ; iii. 19 ; v. 25 ; 2 Thess. ii. 16 ; Titus iii. 4 ; 1 
 John iii. 1, 16 ; iv. 7-19 ; Rev. i. 5 ; iii. 19. 
 
 Christian. — Deut. vi. 5 ; xiii. 3 ; Judges v. 31 ; 
 
 Psalms V. 11 ; xxxi. 23 ; xci. 14 ; xcvii. 10 ; cxvi. 1 ; 
 Cant. i. 7 ; ii. 5 ; iii. 2 ; v. 8 ; viii. 6, 7 ; Isa. xxvi. 8, 9 ; 
 Ivi. 6, 7 ; Matt. X. 37 ; xxii. 37-40 ; Mark xii. 33 ; Luke 
 
 vii. 47 ; X. 25-37 ; xi. 42 ; John v. 42 ; xiv. 15, 21, 23, 
 24 ; xxi. 15-17 ; 1 Cor. viii. 3 ; 2 Cor. v. 14 ; Gal. v. 
 22 ; Eph. vi. 24 ; Phil. i. 9 ; 2 Thess. iii. 5 ; 2 Tim. iv. 
 8 ; Heb. vi. 10 ; James i. 12 ; 1 Pet. i. 8 ; 1 John ii. 5, 
 15 ; iii. 17 ; iv. 7-21 ; v. 3 ; Jude 21 ; Rev. ii. 4 ; xii. 11. 
 
 Love, as ^principle. — Gen. xxix. 20 ; Judges xvi. 15 ; 
 Ruth i. 16, 17 ; 1 Sam. xx. 17 ; 2 Sam. i. 23-26 ; Cant. 
 
 viii. 6, 7 ; John xv. 13. 
 
 Love is like the diamond — pure white. 
 
 Other graces shine like the precious stones of nature, each 
 with its own hue of brilliance ; the diamond uniting all colors 
 in one beautiful and simple white. Love, uniting all graces, 
 is, “the fulfilling of the law,” the beauty of holiness, “the 
 image of God.” 
 
344 
 
 ILLUSTRiTI VE GATH EK IXGS. 
 
 “ is in this world like a seed from the tropics, 
 
 “ Planted where the winter comes too soon ; and it cannot 
 spread itself in flower-clusters, and wide-twining vines, so that 
 the whole air is filled with the perfume. But there is to be 
 another summer for it yet. Care for the root now, and God will 
 take care for the top by-and-by.” — Beecher. 
 
 is like t7'ees in summer ^ 
 
 Pull of leaf, with the birds singing in the waving branches. 
 Conscience^Veneration — Fear, are the same trees in winter 
 — bleak, barren — cheerless. 
 
 the centripetal force^ 
 
 Which keeps all the celestial bodies in harmonious motion 
 each in its appointed orbit. What would ensue, could we 
 imagine the force to be withdrawn ? 
 
 fir», 
 
 Assimilating everything it can take hold of to its own nature, 
 or consuming it. 
 
 the fivot^ 
 
 On which the rest of the commandments turn. Matt, 
 xxii. 40. 
 
 the armor of light.^ 
 
 The unseen panoply which the redeemed soldiers wear, — 
 encased in which, they walk unhurt through the horrors and 
 dangers of the night’s thick darkness. Kom. xiii. 12. 
 
 Some persons would make religion to consist of 
 little else than a self-denying course of the practice of 
 virtue and obedience. They make it a kind of house-of- 
 correction work. But no ! I love the service of my 
 God ; like the bird I fly at liberty on the wings of 
 obedience to His holy will.”-— i>r. Chalmers. 
 
 The Hidden Picture.—'' A man’s strength is often 
 
345 
 
 ILLrSTR.ATITE GATHERINGS. 
 
 greater fiotn soine single word remembered and cherished, 
 than in arms or armor. Looking over the dead on a 
 field of battle, it was easy to see whv that voung man, 
 and he a recruit, fought so valiantly. Hidden under his 
 vest was a sweet face, done up in gold ; and so, through 
 love’s heroism, he fought with double strokes and danger, 
 mounting higher, till he found honor in death. So^ if 
 you carry the talisman of Christ in your heart, it will 
 give you strength and courage in every conflict, and at 
 death open to you the gates of g\ov j.” ^Beecher. 
 
 LU.ST.— Xumb. xi. 34; Psalms Ixxviii. 18, 27-57; 
 Ixxxi. 8-12 ; Prov. vi. 24, 25 ; Matt. v. 27, 28 ; Rom. 
 vi. 12 ; vii. 7 ; xiii. 14 ; Gal. v. 16, 17, 24 ; Eph. ii. 3 ; 
 IV. 22 ; 1 Thess. iv. -S-o ; 1 Tim. vi. 9 ; 2 Tim. ii. 22 ; 
 ui. 6; iv. 3; Titus ii. 12; .James i. 14, 15: iv. 1-3; 
 1 Pet. i. 14 ; ii. 11 ; iv. 2, 3. 
 
 “ may be in the heart, though it be not seen by 
 
 others , as guests may be in tne house, though they look 
 not out at the windoTrs.’’ 
 
 Our luGts are cords bv 'which Satan binds ns; our 
 
 fiery trials are God’s messengers sent to loose their 
 bands. • 
 
 Lu: 5T^ are like agues ; the fit is not always on, and 
 yet the man is not rid of his disease; and some men’s 
 lusts, like some agues, have not such quick returns as 
 others.” — Spmcer, 
 
 ^LLXURY. Deut. xxviii. 56; Xeh. iii. 5; Amos iii. 
 lo ; vi. 1-6 ; Hag. i. ; Luke vii. 25 ; xxi. 34 ; 1 Tim. v. 
 
 6 ; Rev. xviii. 3-5. 
 
 Plants which grow only by the sides of streams are 
 
346 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE aATHERI^GS. 
 
 sure to flourish, whilst it is well known that those which 
 grow in water are watery and coarse in texture, and at 
 times possess acrid and pernicious qualities.” 
 
 The Delicate Plain, called Ease. — “ Then Chris- 
 tian and Hopeful outwent them again, and went till they 
 came to a delicate plain, called Ease, where they went 
 with much content ; but that plain was but narrow, so 
 they were quickly got over it. 
 
 ‘‘Now, at the farther side of that plain was a little hill, 
 called Lucre, and in that hill a silver mine, which some 
 of them that had formerly gone that way, because of the 
 rarity of it, had turned aside to see, but going too near 
 the brim of the pit, the ground being deceitful under 
 them, broke, and they were slain ; some also had been 
 maimed there, and could not to their dying day be their 
 own men again. 
 
 “ Then I saw in my dream, that a little off the road, 
 over against the silver mine, stood Demas (gentleman- 
 like) to call passengers to come and see, who said to 
 Christian and his fellow, ‘ IIo ! turn aside hither, and I 
 will show you a thing.’ 
 
 “ Christian , — ‘ What thing so deserving as to turn us 
 out of the w^ay to see it ?’ 
 
 Demas , — ‘ Here is a silver mine, and some digging 
 in it for treasure ; if you will come, with a little pains, 
 you may richly provide for yourselves.’ 
 
 “ Then said Hopeful^ ‘Let us go see. 
 
 “ ‘ Not I,’ said Christian, ‘I have heard of this place 
 before now, and how many there have been slain ; and 
 besides, that treasure is a snare to those that seek it, for 
 it hindereth them in their pilgrimage.’ 
 
 ‘^Then Christian called to Demas, saying, ‘Is not the 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 347 
 
 place dangerous ? Hath it not hindered laany in their 
 pilgrimage ?’ 
 
 “Dmas.— ‘Not very dangerous, except to those that 
 are careless.’ But withal he blushed as he spake.”— 
 Pilgrim’s Progress. 
 
 LYING. — Lev. xix. 11; Ps. vii. 14; lii. 8; Iviii. 3; 
 Ixii. 4 ; Ixiii. 11 ; ci. 7 ; cxix. 29, 30, 163 ; Proverbs 
 VI. 16-19; xii. 17-22; xiii. 5; xix. 22; xxi. 6; xxvi. 
 24—28; Isa. Ivii. 4; lix. 3, 4; Ixiii. 8; Hosea xi. 12; 
 John viii. 44; Acts v. 3; Eph. iv. 2.5; Col. Hi. 9; 2 
 Thess. ii. 9 ; 1 Tim. iv. 2 ; Rev. xxi. 27 ; xxii. 1.5. 
 
 “ The essence of a lie is the intention to deceive.” 
 
 “ One lie must be thatched over with another, or it 
 will soon rain through.” — Owen. 
 
 “People never tell more lies than in i\\m ’prayers."— 
 Adam. 
 
 Clasp Knives. — “ A lie always needs a truth for a 
 handle to it, else the hand would cut itself which sought 
 to drive it home upon another. The worst lies, there- 
 fore, are those whose blade is false, but whose handle is 
 true.” — Beecher. 
 
 Die Rather than Lie.— .Jerome writes of a brave 
 ■woman, who, being upon the rack, bade her persecutors 
 do their worst, for she was resolved to die rather than 
 lie. A noble example for all God’s children to follow ! 
 
 The Countess of Huntingdon used to say, she 
 thanked God for the letter “ M ” in the promise, “ Not 
 many ■wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not 
 many noble, are called,” &c. (1 Cor. i. 26-29) ; that 
 i.hough it was “ not many," it was not any. 
 
 MARRIAGE. — Gen. ii. 18, 2-3, 24; Deut. vii. 3, 4; 
 
348 
 
 ILLtJSTRATIV^: dATlIEUlNGS* 
 
 Josh, xxiii. 12, 13 ; Neh. xiii. 23-31 ; Ps. cxxvii. ; 
 cxxviii. ; Prov. v. 15-19 ; xii. 4 ; xviii. 22 ; xix. 14 ; 
 xxxi. 10-31 ; Matt. xix. 3-12 ; Luke xlv. 20 ; xx. 35 ; 
 1 Cor. vii. ; 2 Cor. vi. 14-18; Eph. x. 22-33; Col. hi. 
 18, 19; 1 Tim. ii. 12: iv. 1-3; v. 11^15; Titus ii. 4, 
 5; Heb. xiii. 4; 1 Pet. iii. 1-7, 
 
 Type of the Church. — Isa. Ixii. 4, 5 ; Jer. iii. 14 ; 
 xxxi. 32 ; Hosea ii. 19, 20 ; Eph. v. 23-32 ; Pev. xix. 
 7 ; xxi. 2. 
 
 Gen. xxiv. — Abraham seeking a wife for Isaac. 
 
 A picture of “ the father of the faithful,’* and the holy prin- 
 ciples on which faith acts. Observe (1), the Patriarch’s pa- 
 tience; — much as he had wished' to see the child of promise 
 settled, he calmly waited till he was near forty ; (2), the Pa- 
 triarch’s faith, ver. 7 ; (3), the Patriarch*s charge, — the qualifi- 
 cations sought — not riches, nor beauty, but Isaac’s wife must be 
 one of the holy seed ; (4), the three marks of fitness the servant 
 of the Patriarch looked to ; —one of his master’s kindred — 
 activity and industry — kindness and hospitality. We may 
 compare with this. Lev. xXi. 7, 13, 14, the careful directions 
 made by the law for the marriage of the priests. 
 
 Philip Henry. — When he was settled at Worthen- 
 bury, he sought the hand of the only daughter and 
 heiress of Mr. Matthews, of Broad Oak. The father 
 demurred, saying, that though Mr. Henry was an excel- 
 lent preacher and a gentleman, yet he did not know from 
 whence he came. True,’’ said the daughter ; but I 
 know where he is going, and I should like to go with 
 him.” 
 
 Mr. Henry records in his diary long after, the 
 happiness of the union, which was soon after consum- 
 mated ; — 
 
 April 26, 1680. — This day we have been married 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 349 
 
 twenty years, in which time we have received of the Lord 
 twenty thousand mercies,— to God be glory !” 
 
 Sometimes he writes, “ We have been so long married, 
 and never reconciled, i. e., there never was any occasion 
 for it.” 
 
 His advice to his children, with respect to their mar- 
 riage, was, — “ Please God, and please yourselves, and 
 you will please me and his usual compliment to his 
 newly-married friends, “ Others wish you all happiness. 
 I wish you all holiness, and then there is no doubt but 
 you will have all happiness.” 
 
 MEALS, Grace at.— 1 Sam. ix. 13; Psalm cxi.- 
 cxviii. [The great Halle! ; according to Lightfoot, 
 Psalm cxi. and cxiv. were sung at the second cup, and 
 cxv.—cxviii. after the fourth : thus answering the same 
 purpose as our grace at meals.] Matt. xv. 36 ; Luke 
 xxii. 19 ; John vi. 11 ; Rom. xiv. 6 ; 1 Tim. iv. 3, 4. 
 
 Acts xxvii. 35. — And when he had thus spoken, he 
 took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them 
 all ; and when he had broken it, he began to eat.’' 
 
 Obs. St. Paul’s usual custom was not now hindered (as would 
 have been the case with many Christians) by— 1. The confusion 
 they were in. 2. The sense of danger, which often distracts 
 the mind. 3. The fear of man, though there was scarce one 
 of the 273 on board who sympathized with him. What a no- 
 ble example of calm self-possession, and Christian courage 
 carrying out Christian principle ! 
 
 “ This day I had some measure of spiritual light ; 
 particularly I had a glimpse of the Divine Majesty when 
 giving thanks after breakfast at J. R.’s.”— Dr. Love. 
 Who gives anything, food or clothing, to a beggar, 
 
350 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINaS. 
 
 and does not expect thanks ? Yet how many, who re- 
 ceive God’s daily bounties, and ask every morning for 
 God’s daily bread, forget to give God thanks ! 
 
 An Irish Bishop, having lost his way, once called at 
 the cottage of a poor woman for direction, when he found 
 her just finishing her dinner of cold water and a crust 
 of dry bread ; but in the height of thankfulness praising 
 God, as if in the midst of unbounded mercies, as she 
 said, What, have all this and Christ besides!” 
 
 MEDIATOR, Christ the. — The God-Man reconcil- 
 ing God and Man.— Num. xvii. 12, 13 ; 1 Sam. ii. 25 ; 
 Job ix. 33; Ps. xl. 6-8; Ixxxix. 19; cvi. 23; cxlii. 4, 
 5 ; Isa. xxvi. 12 ; xxvii. 5 ; xlii. 6, 7 ; xlviii. 16 ; xlix. 
 8; liii. 6; lix. 16-18 ; Ezek. xiii. 5; xxii. 30; Mai. iii. 
 1 ; Matt. iii. 17 ; John x. 7-9 ; xiv. 6 ; xvi. 23 ; xvii. 
 9 ; Acts ii. 36 ; x. 36 ; Rom. viii. 34 ; Gal. iii. 20; Eph. 
 ii. 13-18; 1 Tim. ii. 5; Heb. viii. 6; ix. 15; x. 5; xii. 
 24 ; 1 John ii. 1. 
 
 Typified by Moses, — Exod. xx. 19 ; xxiv. 6-8, 12-18; 
 Deut. V. 5 ; Ps. cvi. 23 ; Gal. iii. 19 ; — Aaron^ Numb, 
 xvi. 48. Cf. Joab, 2 Sam. xiv. Blastus, Acts xii. 20 
 
 a friend at court”). Jacob's Ladder. — Gen. xxviii. 
 and John i. 51. 1. The connecting link between earth 
 
 and heaven. 2. The exhibition of God’s care over indi- 
 viduals. 3. One ladder. (1 Tim. ii. 5.) 
 
 Stopping the Gap. — Christ’s being a mediator of 
 reconciliation, implies the ardent love and large pity that 
 filled Mis heart toward poor sinners. For He doth not 
 only mediate by way of entreaty, going betwixt both, 
 and persuading and begging peace, but He mediates in 
 the capacity of a surety by putting^ Himself under an 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 851 
 
 obligation to satisfy our debts. Oh how compassionately 
 did Christ’s heart work toward us ! Our Mediator, like 
 Jonah His type, seeing the stormy sea of God’s wrath 
 working tempestuously, and ready to swallow us up, cast 
 in Himself to appease the storm. I remember how much 
 that noble act of Marcus Curtius is celebrated in the 
 Roman history, who being informed by the oracle that 
 the great breach made by the earthquake could not be 
 closed except something of worth were cast into it, 
 heated with love to the Commonwealth, he went and 
 cast in himself. This was looked upon as a bold and 
 brave adventure. But what was this to Christ’s offer- 
 ing?” 
 
 MEDITATION.— Gen. xxiv. 63 ; Josh. i. 8 ; Ps. i. 2 ; 
 xix. 14; xxxix. 3; xl. 8; xlix. 3; Ixii. 1; Ixiii. 6; 
 Ixxvii. 12; civ. 34; cxix. 15, 97, 148; Luke ii. 19,51; 
 xxi. 14 ; 1 Tim. iv. 15. 
 
 To ^^mark, learn, and inwardly digest.’' 
 
 The tuning of the instrument before prayer or 
 praise.” 
 
 ‘^Meditation is prayer’s handmaid, to wait on it, 
 both before and after the performance. It is as the 
 plough before the sower, to prepare the heart for the 
 duty of prayer, and the harrow to cover the seed, when 
 Tis sown. As the hopper feeds the mill with grist, so 
 does meditation supply the heart with .matter for 
 pray er . ’ ’ — Gurna IL 
 
 A GrARMENT that is double dyed, dipped again and 
 again, will retain the color a great while ; so a truth 
 which is the subject of meditation.” ‘‘Get the heart 
 filled with love by the things of God. I never yet saw a 
 
352 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATnEllINGS. 
 
 covetous old man forget where his money lay.’' — Philip 
 Henry, 
 
 The Inverted Lamp. — Too much reading and too 
 much meditation may produce the effect of a lamp in- 
 verted, which is extinguished by the excess of the oil, 
 whose office it is to feed it.” 
 
 Meditation will give strength to our purposes. 
 Reason is the strongest when it is most in action. Now, 
 meditation stirs up reason into action. Before, it was a 
 standing water, vfliich moves nothing else, when itself 
 moves not ; but now it is as the speedy stream which 
 bears down all before it. Before, it was as the still and 
 silent air, but now it is as the powerful motion of the 
 wind ; and overpowers the opposition of the flesh and of 
 the devil. Before, it was as the stone, which lies still 
 in the brook ; but now, when meditation sets us to work, 
 it is as the stone out of David’s sling, which smites down 
 the Goliath of unbelief. That may be accomplished by a 
 weaker motion continued, which will not by a stronger 
 at the first attempt. To run a few steps will not get a 
 man heat, but walking an hour may. So, though a sud- 
 den occasional thought ayUI not raise our affections to 
 any spiritual heat, yet meditation can continue our 
 thoughts, and lengthen our walk till our hearts grow 
 warm.” — Salter. 
 
 MEEKNESS. — Ps. xxii. 26 ; xxv. 9 ; xxxvii. 12 ; 
 xxxviii. 9-14 ; Ixxvi. 6-9 ; cix. 4 ; cxlvii. 6 ; cxlix. 4 ; 
 Prov. XV. 1 ; xx. 22 ; xxiv. 29 ; xxv. 21, 22 ; Isa. xi. 
 4; xxix. 18, 19; Ixi. 1; Zeph. ii. 3; Matt. vi. 14, 15; 
 xi. 29 ; xxi. 5 ; 1 Cor. iv. 11-13 ; 2 Cor. x. 1 ; Gal. v. 
 23 ; vi. 1 ; Eph. iv. 2 ; Col. iii. 12 ; 1 Tim. vi. 11 ; 2 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINaS, 
 
 353 
 
 
 Tim. ii. 24, 25 ; Titus iii. 2 ; James i. 21 ; iii. 13 ; v. 9 ; 
 1 Pet. ii. 23 ; iii. 4, 15. 
 
 Matt. V. 5. — ‘‘Blessed are the meek.” 
 
 A missionary in Jamaica once asked the question of a black 
 boy, when examining the school upon this verse, “Who are 
 the meek ?” The boy answered, “Those who give soft answers 
 to rough questions,” 
 
 Rom. xii. 20. — “ Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, 
 feed him ; if he thirst, give him drink ; for in so doing 
 thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.” 
 
 The word refers to the tender and cheerful feeding of their 
 young by parent birds, or of children by kind nurses. Feed 
 says Wesley, “ with your own hand ; if it be needful, even 
 put bread into his mouth.” Heap coals of fire upon his head^ — 
 that part which is most sensible. 
 
 “ So artists melt the sullen ore of lead, 
 
 By heaping coals of fire upon its head ; 
 
 ‘ On the kind warmth the metal learns to flow. 
 
 And, pure from dross, the silver runs below.” 
 
 “A meek man enjoys almost a perpetual Sabbath. 
 The anger of a meek man is like fire struck out of steel, 
 hard to be got out, and when got out, soon gone. Meek- 
 ness not only gives great peace of mind, but often adds 
 a lustre to the countenance. We only read of three in 
 Scripture whose faces shone remarkably, viz., Christ, 
 Moses, and Stephen, and they were eminent for meek- 
 ness.” — Henry. 
 
 Ex. Moses, Num. xii. 2. David, 2 Sam. xvi. 9-12. 
 Jeremiah, Jer. xxvi. 14. Stephen, Acts vii. 56-60. 
 Paul, 1 Cor. iv. 11-13. Jesus, Ps. xlv. 4; liii. 7; 1 
 Pet. ii. 21-23. 
 
 30 * 
 
 23 
 
354 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE (lATIIERINGS. 
 
 MEMORY. 
 
 John iv. 54. — This is again the second miracle that 
 Jesus did, when he was come out of Jud^a into Galilee.’’ 
 
 God numbers His mercies, and keeps an account of them, if 
 we do not. 
 
 Burning the Bushel. — A poor woman, who had what 
 is called ‘‘a bad memory,” went one day to church and 
 heard a sermon upon dishonesty. A short time after, 
 being questioned about the text, she complained that her 
 memory was too treacherous to recall it; ‘‘but,” she 
 added, “ I remember that when I came home I burnt 
 my bushel.” “ Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers 
 only.” 
 
 Bishop Beveridge. — When on his death-bed his 
 memory so completely failed, that he did not know any 
 of his connections or friends. A minister, with whom 
 he had been intimately acquainted, visited him, and 
 asked, “Bishop Beveridge, do you know me?” “Who 
 are you?” was the answer. Another friend accosted 
 him in a similar manner, but the Bishop could not re- 
 member either of them. Hi& own wife then came to his 
 bedside, and asked, “Do you know me?” “Who are 
 you?” he asked again. Being told she was his wife, he 
 said he did not know her. “Well,” said one of them, 
 “ Bishop Beveridge, do you know Jesus Christ? “Je- 
 sus Christ !” replied he, reviving, as if the name had 
 acted upon him like a charm. “ Oh, yes, I have known 
 him these forty years ; precious Saviour, He is my only 
 hope!” 
 
 John Newton. — It was the pious remark of John 
 Newton, when his memory had almost completely gone, 
 that he could never forget two things : — 1. That he was 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 855 
 
 a great sinner ; 2. That Jesus Christ was a great and 
 mighty Saviour. 
 
 A Family with Short Memories. — ‘Sir,’ said a 
 man, addressing a minister going home from church one 
 Sabbath afternoon, ‘ did you meet a boy on the road 
 driving a cart with rakes and pitchforks in it?” 
 
 “ ‘ I think I did,’ answered the minister; ‘ a boy with 
 a short memory, wasn’t he ?’ 
 
 “ ‘ What made you think he had a short memory, Sir ?’ 
 asked the man, looking much surprised. 
 
 “‘I think he had,’ answered the minister, ‘and I 
 think he must belong to a family that have short memo- 
 ries.’ 
 
 “ ‘ What in the world makes you think so ?’ asked the 
 man, greatly puzzled. 
 
 “ ‘Because,’ said the minister, in a serious tone, ‘ the 
 great God has proclaimed from Mount Sinai, “ Remember 
 the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy,” and that boy has for- 
 gotten all about it.’ '' —Christian Treasury. 
 
 MERCY, Divine. — Ex. xxxiv. 6, 7 ; 1 Kings viil. 23;- 
 Neh. xiii. 22 ; Psa. v. 7 ; xxv. 6, 10 ; xxxiii. 5 (marg.) ; 
 xxxvi. f5 ; li. 1 ; Ivii. 3 ; lix. 10 ; Ixii. 12 ; Ixvi. 20 ; 
 Ixxxvi. 15 ; Ixxxix. 14, 28 ; c. 5 ; ci. 1 ; ciii. 4, 8, 17 ; 
 cxix. 156 ; cxxx. 7 ; Isa. xxx. 18 ; xlix. 10 ; liv. 7-10 ; 
 Iv. 3, 7 ; Lam. iii. 22, 23, 32 ; Dan. ix. 9 ; Hos. xiv. 3 ; 
 Joel ii. 13 ; Jonah iv. 2 ; Micah vii. 18 ; Hab. iii. 2 ; 
 Matt. V. 7 ; Luke i. 78; Rom. ix. 15, 16; 2 Cor. i. 3; 
 iv. 1 ; Eph. ii. 4 ; 1 Tim. i. 3, 16 ; 2 Tim. i. 16-18 ; 
 Titus iii. 5 ; Heb. iv. 16 ; James ii. 13 ; iii. 17 ; 1 Pet. ii. 
 3; iii. 10. 
 
356 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 Rom. iii. 25. — Whom God hath set forth to be a 
 propitiation through faith in His blood.’’ 
 
 Propitiation,’ or, mercy-seat., (the same word as inHeb. ix. 
 6). If we would have mercy, it must he through Christ ; out 
 of Christ no mercy is to be had. We read in the old law, — 
 First, none might come into the Loly of holies, where the 
 mercy-seat stood, but the High Priest; signifying, we have no- 
 thing to do with, mercy, but through Christ our High Priest; 
 secondly, the High Priest might not come near the mercy-seat 
 without blood (Lev. xvi. 14) ; to shov/ that we have no right to 
 mercy, hut through the expiatory sacrifice of Christ’s blood ; 
 thirdly, the High Priest might not, upon pain of death, come 
 near the mercy-seat without incense. (Lev. xvi. 13.) Ho 
 mercy from God, without the incense of Christ’s intercession ; 
 so that, if we would have mercy, we must get a part in Christ. 
 Mercy swims to us through Christ’s blood.” — Watson. 
 
 2 Sam. ix. 1. — And David said, Is there yet any 
 that is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him 
 kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 
 
 “ David, after his victory over the Philistines, calls Ziba 
 before him, and asks him whether there were not yet any man 
 left of the house of Saul, that he might do him a kindness for 
 Jonathan’s sake ; ^whereupon they presented unto him Mephi- 
 hosheth, a poor, lame, impotent man, who no sooner sees the 
 King hut falls upon his face, and looks upon himself as a dead 
 dog, far below the King’s favor. ‘ Ho matter,’ says the King, 
 * fear not, for I will show thee kindness for Jonathan’s sake,’ 
 &c. And thus, if there he any forlorn Joseph, that has fallen 
 into the pit of despair, let him hut cast up his eyes to the hills, 
 from whence cometh his salvation, and God will show him 
 mercy, for Jesus Christ’s sake. If there he any lame, impotent 
 Mephihosheth — any wounded spirit — any of the household of 
 faith that is distressed, — God will inquire after them, and do 
 them good, for Christ Jesus’ sake.” — Spencer. 
 
 Luke xviii. 13. — “ God be merciful to me a sinner.” 
 
 When the plague raged in London, in I66fi, it became the 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 857 
 
 practice to write upon the doors of all infected houses, Lord, 
 have mercy upon us.” Were we to do so now, in every house 
 where sin’s plague has entered, where would the inscription not 
 be found ? Yet, no event has ever shown more, perhaps, how 
 little judgments alone can soften the heart, than this fearful 
 visitation. The records of profanity, during its ravages, are 
 fearful in the extreme. 
 
 Mercy hath but its name from misery, and is no other 
 thing than to lay another’s misery to heart.” — Binning, 
 The depths of our misery can never fall below the 
 depths of mercy.” — Sibhes. 
 
 “ The plaster is as wide as the wound.” — Henry, 
 
 In all mercies think not so much of them, as of 
 Christ’s love that sweetens them. By some stroke or 
 another, God will take away the mercy that is not im- 
 proved. 
 
 God often bestows His richest mercies upon us, when 
 we have been most sinning against Him, as if to manifest 
 the more His grnoe. Thus Jacob was favored Avith the 
 vision of the In^der, after his deceit had made him an 
 exile from his father’s house, — the Israelites were fed 
 wuth manna, in return for their ungrateful murmurings 
 against the Lord ; and at the very time that Aaron was 
 framing the golden calf — in sinful compliance with a 
 sinful people — a God^of grace was conferring upon him 
 the priesthood, and giving the commission to Moses in 
 the Mount. 
 
 If the mercies of God be not loadstones to draw us to 
 heaven, they will be millstones to sink us to perdition. 
 
 ‘‘ The mercy of God is the first article of every man’s 
 creed ; but the different manner of understanding and 
 applying it makes an essential, infinite difference in the 
 
358 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 characters of men, and constitutes either religion or 
 atheism . ’ ’ — A dam. 
 
 ‘‘ So MANY are God’s kindnesses to us, that, as drops 
 of water, they run together ; and it is not until we are 
 borne up by the multitude of them, as by streams in deep 
 channels, that we recognize them as coming from Him.” 
 — Beecher. 
 
 As THE Dead Sea drinks in the Jordan, and is never 
 the sweeter, and the ocean all other rivers, and is never 
 the fresher ; so we are apt to receive daily mercies from 
 God, and yet remain insensible of them and unthankful 
 for them.” — Bishop Reynolds. 
 
 God’s character, like the pure light of day, is one 
 uniform and unbroken mass of light. But when we take 
 the prism, and divide the rays, we are surprised with 
 their variety and brilliance, and wonder how they should 
 all thus harmoniously unite. By revelation we see how 
 God’s justice and mercy. His holiness and truth, are 
 each distinct attributes of the godhead ; by redemption 
 we behold, and wonder at, their gracious union. 
 
 Thomas Hooker.— When dying, one said to him. 
 
 Brother, you are going to receive the reward of your 
 labors.” He humbly replied, Brother, I am going to 
 receive mercy. 
 
 MINISTERS.— Ex. iii. 10-12 ; iv. 10-17 ; xxviii. ; 
 xxix. ; Lev. iv. 3, 13, 14 ^^the offering for the priest, the 
 same as that for the whole congregation) ; Deut. xvii. 8— 
 13 ; 1 Sam. ii. 35 ; Job xxxiii. 23 ; Ps. cxxxii. 16 ; Prov. 
 XXV. 13; Eccl. xi. 1-6; Isa. vi. ; xlix. 2-5; lii. 7, 11; 
 liii. 1 ; Ixi. 1-3 ; Jer. i. ; iii. 15 ; vi. 14, 27 ; x. 21 ; 
 Ezek. ii. ; iii. 17-27 ; xxxiii. ; xxxiv. ; Joel ii. 17 ; Mai. 
 
ILLU3TEATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 359 
 
 ii. 7 ; Matt. ix. 38 ; x. ; xxiii. 3 ; xxviii. 18-20 ; John 
 xxi. 15-17 ; Acts viii. 5-8 ; xvi. 17 ; Rom. xii. 6-8 ; 
 1 Cor. iv. 1-4 ; xvi. 8-11 ; 2 Cor. i. 4-6 ; ii. 14-17 ; iv. 
 1 ; V. 11 ; vi. ; Eph. iv. 11, 12 ; vi. 18-20 ; 1 Tbess. ii. ; 
 V. 12, 13 ; 1 Tim. ; 2 Tim. ; Titus i. ; Heb. xiii. 17, 18 ; 
 1 Peter iv. 11 ; v. 1-3. 
 
 Unfaithful.— Isa. Ivi. 10-12; Jer. vi. 14; x. 21; 
 xxiii.; Ezek. xiii. 10-16, 22; xxxiii. 6-11; xxxiv. ; 
 John X. 5-13. 
 
 1 Tim. i. 2. “ Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: 
 Grace, mercy, and peace.” 
 
 It has been well observed, that whilst St. Paul begins nearly 
 all his Epistles with the salutation of “ Grace be with you and 
 peace” (Horn. i. 7 ; 1 Cor. i. 3 ; 2 Cor. i. 2 ; Gal. i. 3 ; Eph. i. 2 ; 
 Phil. i. 2 ; Col. i. 2 ; 1 Thess. i. 1 ; 2 Thess. i. 2 ; Philemon 3;) 
 he begins his Epistles to Timothy and Titus, the ministers of 
 the church, with “Grace, mercy, and peace.” (1 Tim. i. 2; 
 2 Tim. i. 2 ; Titus i. 4.) May we infer that ministers need 
 especial mercy ? 
 
 The work and character of, described. — 
 
 Ezra. — Ezra vii. 6-10; Nehemiah viii. 
 
 Levi. — Mai. ii. 5-7 ; Deut. xxxiii. 8-11. 
 
 Isaiah vi. ; xl. 1-8 ; lii. 7-11 ; Iviii. 1 ; Ixi. 1-3. 
 
 Jeremiah i. ; ix. 1 ; xv. 15-21 ; xx. 7-13. 
 
 Ezekiel i. to xxiv. 
 
 John the Baptist. — Luke i. 13-17, 76-80; Matt. iii. 1-15; 
 John V. 35. 
 
 Paul.— Acts ix. 15, 16; xvi. 17; xx. 17-38; xxvi. 18 ; Korn, 
 i. 1 ; 1 Cor. i. 17-29 ; ii. ; iii. ; iv. ; ix. ; 2 Cor. i. ; iii. 1-6 ; iv. ; 
 vi. ; X. ; xi. ; xii. ; xiii. ; Eph. iii. 8 ; 1 Thess. ii. ; 1 Tim. 
 i. 12-16. 
 
 Barnabas. — Acts xi. 22-24. 
 
 Stephen. — Acts vi. 5. 
 
 Epaphroditus. — Phil. ii. 25-30. 
 
 Timothy.— Phil. ii. 19-23 ; 1 Cor. iv. 17 ; xvi. 10, 11. 
 
360 
 
 ILLUS^RAtlVE GATHERiNGlg. 
 
 Jesus* — M att. i. 21 ; Luke i. 31-35 ; iv. 16-22 Mark i. 14, 
 15 ; xii. 37 ; John vii. 46 ; Acts x. 36-38.^ 
 
 Figures. — An Ambassador ; Angels ; Apostles ; Evan- 
 gelists ; Fathers ; Fishers of men ; Lights ; Messenger; 
 Nurse ; Overseer ; Pastor ; Prophet ; Servant ; Shepherd ; 
 Stars; Stewards; Teachers ; Watchmen ; Witness. 
 
 like the pole^ whose glory was to exhibit the 
 
 Brazen Serpent. 1 Cor. iii. 5; 2 Cor. ir. 
 5, 7. 
 
 fountains — ever flowing, so that the passer-by 
 
 may always find a running stream, whenever 
 he may come to draw. Mai. ii. 7 ; 2 Tim. iv. 
 2 ; Acts xxviii. 30, 31. 
 
 one stayiding hy running water. The argu- 
 ment pleaded by an Indian chief, more than a 
 century ago, in inviting a missionary to settle 
 in his tribe, — ‘‘ Come and abide with us, and 
 you shall be as one that stands by a running 
 water, filling many vessels.” Isaiah xxii. 
 20-25. 
 
 ‘‘ The good news-man '' — The title given to mission- 
 aries in some once heathen countries. — (Prov. xxv. 13 ; 
 Isa. Hi. 7.) 
 
 A Minister who sees his principles clearly, and holds 
 them firmly, is like an adult among children, or a physi- 
 cian among patients. 
 
 Luther used to say, there are three things required 
 to make a minister, — prayer — meditation — and tempta- 
 tion. 
 
 Cecil. — The spirit and manner of a minister often 
 affects more than the matter.” 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 361 
 
 M^Cheyne. — ‘^Many are fond of ministers, who are 
 not fond of Christ.” 
 
 Bunyan well describes a faithful minister. In the 
 House of the Interpreter Christian saw the picture of a 
 very grave person hung up against the wall, and this 
 was the fashion of it, — “ It had eyes lifted up to heaven, 
 the best of books in his hand, the law of truth was writ- 
 ten upon his lips, the world was behind his back ; he 
 stood as if he pleaded with men, and a crown of gold 
 did hang over his head. 
 
 Baxter had probably as deep and solemn impressions 
 of the vastness and responsibility of ministerial work as 
 any man. In one of his wwks he says to ministers, — 
 
 Oh what a world of work you have to do ! Had you but 
 one ignorant man or woman to teach, what an arduous 
 task it would be, even though they should be willing to 
 learn. But if they are as unwilling as they are igno- 
 rant, how much more difficult will it prove ! But to 
 have such a multitude of ignorant persons, as most of us 
 have, what work will it find us ! What a pitiful life it is 
 to have to reason with them that have lost the use of 
 reason, and to argue with them that neither understand 
 themselves nor you ! Oh, brethren, what a world of 
 wickedness have we to contend against in one soul, and 
 what a number of these souls !” And yet Baxter’s own 
 eminent success shows what encouragement is held out 
 to the faithful, prayerful, zealous minister. 
 
 Requisites for ministerial efiiciency. The Rev. J. T. 
 Nottidge, in one of his admirable letters, specifies three 
 qualities, which, though in a minor sense, are very im- 
 portant helps to ministerial efficiency, and which every 
 minister should seek to possess — self-possession — activity 
 
362 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 of intellect (or promptness of thought)— gentleness, and 
 cheerfulness. 
 
 Prayerfulness.— K ministry of prayer must be a 
 ministry of power.” “ If you did not plough in the 
 closet,” it was said to a holy man of God, “you would 
 not reap in the pulpit.” Cf. Ps. cix. 4.—“ For my love 
 they are my adversaries : but I give myself unto prayer. 
 Heb. But I prayer— «. e., I am all over prayer— always 
 ready for prayer — at all seasons — one who prays with- 
 out ceasing. This must be the character of a successful 
 minister. 
 
 Independence of Character.— The best clock in the 
 world will be spoiled if you are always moving the hands 
 backward and forward, and altering it, in order to keep 
 time with a variety of other clocks 5 R minister, who 
 shapes and accommodates his sentiments and discourses 
 to the tastes and humors of other people, will never be 
 happy, respected, or useful.” 
 
 Tenderness, the result of a devotional, loving spirit. — 
 “ To affect feeling is nauseous, and soon detected ; but 
 to feel, is the readiest way to the heart of others.”— 
 Cecil. 
 
 With this, the experience of all real, successful minis- 
 ters agrees. “We may talk,” says Nettleton, “of the 
 best means of doing good, but, after all, the greatest 
 difficulty lies in doing it in a proper spirit. ‘ Speaking 
 the truth in love,’ ‘ in meekness, instructing those that 
 oppose themselves,’ with ‘the meekness and gentleness 
 of Christ.’ I have known anxious sinners drop the sub- 
 ject of religion in consequence of a preacher addressing 
 them in an angry tone.” “ I never was fit, says Pay- 
 SON, “ to say a word to a sinner except when I had a 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 363 
 
 broken heart myself, when I was subdued and melted 
 into tenderness, and felt as though I had just received 
 pardon to my own soul, and when my heart was full of 
 tenderness and pity.’’ See the lives of H. Martyn, 
 M^Cheyne, Hewitson, and many others, for the touching 
 exhibition of this ‘‘gentleness” which maketh “great.” 
 (Psalm xviii. 35.) 
 
 Faithfulness . — “ Our first concern must be to be plain 
 and studiously faithful in our exhibition of truth. Un- 
 faithfulness is to undo our own souls as well as our peo- 
 ple’s.” — [Bridges .) — Silence is treachery. “It is pro- 
 bable that many who are called Gospel ministers are 
 more chargeable with concealing truths than affirming 
 direct error ; with neglecting some part of their duty, 
 than actually committing crimes ; with not properly 
 building the house, than willfully pulling it down.” — Br. 
 Witherspoon. 
 
 Aiming at Conversions . — “If souls are not saved, 
 whatever other designs are acccomplished, the great 
 purpose of the ministry is defeated.” 
 
 Rev. J. a. James. — “This,” says he, “I have made the 
 great end of my ministry, and I have had my reward.” 
 
 Rev. R. Knill. — H is speciality as a preacher seems to have 
 been the directness of his aim at the conversion of souls: and, 
 besides multitudinous instances of individual success, it is noted 
 in his life (by Mr. Birrel) that “ there was reason to believe 
 he had been the instrument of converting 100 persons who, in 
 one way or another, became preachers of the Gospel.” 
 
 Dr. Bacchus, of America, used to give this singular 
 advice to students, that in their ministrations they should 
 give especial attention to the young under twenty, and 
 
364 
 
 ILLUSTKATIVD GATHEHINGS. 
 
 the aged above sixty. Upon this plan he had himself 
 acted, and his ministry had been eminently blessed. 
 
 It was said of 
 
 Rev. J. H. Forsyth. — ^^He did what thousands do, 
 but he did it not as one in a thousand does.” 
 
 Whitfield. — So close was his communion with God 
 before preaching, that it was said he used to come down 
 to the people as if there was a rainbow about his 
 head.” 
 
 Rev. J. H. Stewart. — ‘‘ He was a precious box of 
 ointment in a wounding world.” 
 
 MOTHERS. — Gen. iii. 20 ; Exod. xx. 12 ; Lev. xix. 
 3 ; Ps. cxiii. 9 ; Prov. i. 8-9 ; x. 1 ; xv. 20 ; xix. 26 ; 
 xxiii. 22 ; xxx. 11 ; Isa. xlix. 15, 23 ; Ixvi. 13 ; Ezek. 
 xvi. 44; Matt. x. 35; xii. 46-50; xiv. 8, 11; xx. 20; 
 Mark x. 30; Luke ii. 51; vii. 12; John ii. 1; Acts xii. 
 12; Gal. iv. 26 (cf. Rev. xvii. 3-5); Eph. vi. 1-3. 
 
 ‘^The mother’s heart is the child’s schoolroom.” — 
 Beecher. 
 
 Some time ago, several students, who were preparing 
 for the ministry, were conversing about the influence of 
 pious mothers upon their children ; and on investigating 
 their own histories, it was found that out of 120 present, 
 upward of 100 had been thus blessed by God. 
 
 Napoleon. — When he once asked Madame Campan, 
 ^‘Vfhat is the great want of the French nation?” her 
 reply was comprised in one word, — ‘'^Mothers.'' 
 
 Tell the Mothers to trust in God,” was the dying 
 charge of one who had herself been ‘^a mother in Israel,” 
 and had trained up her family in the service of the Re- 
 deemer. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATIIERIXG3. 
 
 365 
 
 A Wesleyan Sunday-school Teacher, speaking one day 
 to his children upon the depravity of the human heart, 
 asked his children if they knew any one who was 
 always good ; one of the class, prompted by simple and 
 child-like affection, instantly replied, “ Yes, Sir, I know 
 one, — my mother.” 
 
 The Bishop op Calcutta (Dr. Wilson) mentions in 
 his account of his interviews with Bellingham, the famous 
 assassin, that nothing he could say appeared to make any 
 impression, until he spoke of his mother; and then the 
 prisoner burst into a flood of tears. 
 
 Abbot, in his Mother at Some, relates a story of a 
 gentleman in America, who was going to a seaman’s 
 meeting in a mariner’s chapel. Seeing a weather-beaten 
 sailor at the door of a boarding-house, puffing a cigar, 
 and with arms folded, he walked up to him, and said, 
 “ Well, my friend, will you go with us to the Meeting?” 
 No, said the sailor bluntly. The gentleman, who, 
 from the appearance of the man, was prepared for a re- 
 pulse, mildly replied, “Yoii look, my friend, as if you 
 had seen hard days ; have you a mother ?” The sailor 
 raised his head, looked earnestly in the gentleman’s face, 
 and made no reply. The gentleman, however, continued, 
 
 “ Suppose your mother were here now, what advice would 
 she give you ?” The tears rushed for a moment into 
 the sailor’s eyes ; he tried in vain to conceal them ; has- 
 tily brushing them away with the back of his rough 
 hand, he rose and said, with a voice almost inarticulate 
 with emotion, “ I’ll go to the Meeting.” He crossed the 
 stieet, entered the chapel- door, and took his seat with 
 the assembled congregation. 
 
 A Mother’s Praters Heard. — During the last ill- 
 
 31 * 
 
366 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 ness of a pious mother, "when she was near death, her 
 only remaining child, the subject of many agonizing and 
 believing prayers, who had been roving on the sea, re- 
 turned to pay his parent a visit. 
 
 After a very affecting meeting, You are near port, 
 mother,’’ said the hardy-looking sailor, and I hope you 
 will have an abundant entrance.” “Yes, my child, the 
 fair haven is in sight, and soon, very soon, I shall be 
 landed 
 
 “ < On that peaceful shore, 
 
 Where pilgrims meet to part no more.’ ” 
 
 ‘‘ You have weathered many a storm in your passage, 
 mother ; but now God is dealing very graciously with 
 you by causing the winds to cease, and by giving you a 
 calm at the end of your voyage.” 
 
 “ God has always dealt graciously with me, my son, 
 but this last expression of His kindness, in permitting me 
 to see you before I die, is so unexpected that it is like a 
 miracle wrought in answer to prayer.” 
 
 “ Oh, mother !” replied the sailor, weeping as he 
 spoke, “ your prayers have been the means of my salva- 
 tion, and I am thankful that your life has been spared 
 till I could tell you of it.” 
 
 She listened with devout composure to the account of 
 his conversion, and at last, taking his hand, she pressed 
 it to her dying lips and said, “ Yes, thou art a faithful 
 God, and as it has pleased thee to bring back my long- 
 lost child and adopt him into thy family, I will say, 
 ‘ Kow lettest thou thy servant depart in peace ; for mine 
 eyes have seen thy salvation.’ ” — CJieever. 
 
 Pious Mothers.— What a long and interesting list 
 would the records of the Church present ! 
 
ILI.T.’PTRATTVE GATUERIXaS. 
 
 367 
 
 The Mothers of Scripture. — Sarah ; Eebekah ; Joche- 
 bed ; motber of Samson; Hannah; the Shunammite; 
 Elizabeth; Mary, mother of Jesus; Mary, mother of 
 John, Mark ; Lois, and Eunice, &c. 
 
 The Mothers of the Early Church. — Monica, the emi- 
 nent mother of Augustine. Never did mother struggle 
 more earnestly than she. From her son’s nineteenth to 
 the twenty-eighth- year of his age, while he was rolling 
 in the filth of sin, did she, in vigorous hope, persist in 
 eainest prayer. In his twenty-ninth year we find her 
 still praying ; he left her and went to Rome ; bitterly 
 she felt the separation, yet she returned to her former 
 employment of prayer. From Rome he went to Milan, 
 and there we find the praying mother again. At length 
 the long looked-for, prayed-for, time arrived. The teach- 
 ing of Ambrose was blessed to her son’s conversion, and 
 the mother’s happiness was completed. Her example 
 still cries, “ Christian mothers, continue in prayer.” 
 
 Nonna. — Gregory of Nazianzen, ascribed his conver- 
 sion to his sainted mother, as also his brother Cmsarias, 
 and their sister Gorgonia, who besides was instrumental 
 in converting her husband, and training her children and 
 her nephews in the ways of piety. 
 
 Theodoret, Basil the Great, Emhilia, Chrysostom, 
 and many others, wmre proofs of the power of a mother’s 
 prayers. 
 
 The Mothers of Later Times. — Bishop Hall, 
 Schwartz, (dedicated from infancy by his. mother on her 
 death-bed to the service of Christ,) Philip Henry, and 
 his son Matthew, Hooker, Zinzendorp, President 
 Edwards, Dr. Dwight, Payson, Doddridge, Wesley, 
 
368 
 
 ILLUSTP.ATIVK aATHKRIXGS. 
 
 Felix Neff, Legh Richmond, and the missionaries 
 Knill, Moffatt, &c., all had pious mothers. 
 
 John Newton learned to pray at his mother’s knees. 
 She was taken to heaven before he was eight years old. 
 At sea, in the midst of many dangers, his agonizing 
 prayer was often, “ My mother’s God, the God of mercy, 
 have mercy on me.” The prayer was heard, and he be- 
 came “ a burning and a shining light.” Through him 
 Scott the Commentator was led to Christ, and Wilber- 
 force, the champion of African freedom, and the author 
 of that “ Practical View of Christianity” which brought 
 Legh Richmond into the ministry of Christ. An encour- 
 aging lesson to mothers to persevere : for nearly twenty 
 years the seed lay apparently dead in Newton s heart, 
 hut then it sprung up and bore fruit sixty, yea, an hun- 
 dred fold. 
 
 Cecil, when he had adopted infidel sentiments in his 
 youth, and thought himself proud of his arguments, 
 said, long afterwards, “ There was one argument I 
 could never get over, — the influence and life of a holy 
 mother.” 
 
 MURMURING.— Ex. v. 22, 23 ; xiv. 11, 12 ; xvi. 7 ; 
 xvii. 2, 3 ; Num. xiv. 1-12 ; xvi. 3 ; xvii. 5 ; xxi. 5 ; 
 Prov. xix. 3; Job iii. ; Ps. xxxvii. 1-8; Isa. xxix. 24; 
 Jer. XX. 14-18 ; Lam. iii. 39 ; Jonah iv. 8, 9 ; Mai. iii. 
 14; Matt. xx. 11; Mark xiv. 5; Luke v. 30; xv. 2, 
 29, 30 ; xix. 7 ; John vi. 41-43, 60-69 ; vii. 32 ; Acts 
 vl. 1; Rom. ix. 20; 1 Cor. x. 10; Phil. ii. 14; James 
 V. 9 ; Jude 16. 
 
 “ Heartless complaints 'which end in nothing, are 
 among our greatest sins.’ — -*T. H. hvciTi^, 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 369 
 
 Christ is never more ^ wounded in the house of His 
 friends/ than when they murmur; nothing seemed so 
 much to overcome His forbearance with the Israelites.” 
 —Lady Powerscourt. 
 
 The Murmurer reminds us of the creakino" wheel 
 that wants oil ; it may still go on its accustomed round, 
 but with a jarring discord. 
 
 W E ARE too apt to bite the rod that hurts us, and not 
 mind the hand that sent it. 
 
 “ Consider that murmuring is a mercy-embittering 
 sin, a mercy-souring sin. As the sweetest things put 
 into a sour vessel sours them, or put into a bitter vessel 
 embitters them, so murmuring puts gall and wormwood 
 into every cup of mercy that God gives into our hands. 
 The murmurer writes ‘Marah,’ that is bitterness, upon 
 all his mercies, and he reads and tastes bitterness in them 
 all. As ^ to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet,’ 
 so to the murmuring soul every sweet thing is bitter.” — 
 Brook's Mute Christian. 
 
 ‘‘ I Mourn but do not Murmur,” was the chastened 
 expression of a Christian lady in the midst of deep dis- 
 tress and painful bereavement. 
 
 Punishment of. — It is calculated that not less than 
 one million of the children of Israel died in the wilder- 
 ness by God’s judgment for their murmurings ; and this 
 only in forty years ! 
 
 NATIVITY OF CHRIST.— Isa. vii. 14; ix. 7; 
 Micah V. 2 ; Luke ii. 1-14 ; Gal. iv* 4. 
 
 Ps. Ixxxv. 10. — Mercy and truth are met together, 
 and righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” 
 
 first great Christman meeting. How many festive meetings 
 24 
 
370 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 are there at the festive time of Christmas ; this was the first. It 
 was a meeting (1) arranged and settled long before it took place. 
 Our meetings are often casual, or if arranged, are often inter- 
 rupted, hut not so this — pre-determined in the eternal counsels 
 of the unchanging God. It was a meeting (2) after Long and 
 painful separation. “ Mercy and peace,” &c. These divine 
 perfections had met in harmony in paradise, but when man fell 
 the union was broken. Each took their separate path apart. 
 But arouhd the manger cradle of Bethlehem there was a meet- 
 ing (3) of happy harmony and sweet reunion^ — the breach was 
 healed, and all met in delightful and abiding fellowship. Then 
 did truth “ spring out of the earth” (John xiv. 6), and “right- 
 eousness looked down from heaven,” as if missing some bright 
 jewel it had lost; or rather, as if looking down in wonder that 
 now, after long and earnest search, the “pearl of great price” 
 was found. “ Eighteousness looked down,” yea, righteousness 
 itself came down. 
 
 The birth of Christ displays : — 
 
 1. The Truth of GioTs Word. — It was prophesied 
 that He should be born of woman, Gen. iii. 15 ; Isa. vii. 
 14 ; of the family of Abraham, Gen. xxii. 18 ; John viii. 
 56 ; of the tribe of Judah, Gen. xlix. 10 ; of the royal 
 house of David, Psalm cxxxii. 11 ; at Bethlehem Ephra- 
 tah, Mic. V. 2. 
 
 Bethlehem, z.e., the house of bread ; Ephratah, ^.e., fruitful. 
 Thus was Bethlehem honoured — little but fruitful — from the 
 little village came forth He who should be “ruler.” In its 
 manger was born “the infant of days,” “whose goings forth 
 have been from of old, from everlasting,” “the root and off- 
 spring of David.” 
 
 2. The Working of GroTs Providence. — Making the 
 pride of Augustus the means of bringing Joseph and 
 Mary sixty miles (from Nazareth to Bethlehem), just 
 before the birth of Christ, and so unwittii%ly helping to 
 fulfil God’s prophecy. Luke ii. 1-6. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 S71 
 
 3. The Condescension of Grod's Love . — That Christ 
 should take upon Him our nature, John i. 14; be born 
 of a poor woman, 2 Cor. viii. 9 ; be laid in a manger, 
 Luke ii. 7 ; be announced to poor shepherds, Luke ii. 
 10, 11 ; and be persecuted even in infancy, Matt. ii. 13. 
 
 Oh let us love Him, who hath so freely and wondrously 
 loved us ! 
 
 By how much the lower He was made for me, by so 
 much the dearer may He be to me.’’ — Bernard, 
 
 Natal. — The colony of Natal was discovered 360 
 years ago, and was so named because the Portuguese 
 navigators first saw it on Christmas. day, 1499. The 
 change which has taken place, and is taking place, 
 through the influence of Christianity, would form a 
 profitable Christmas theme for meditation. 
 
 Sir Matthew Hale died on Christmas-day, having 
 had a remarkable presentiment a month before of it, 
 and having told his servants on November 25 that he 
 should die in just a month, and so it proved. He .was 
 one of the most eminent judges England has ever known. 
 He began his career by giving sixteen hours a day to 
 study ; and, notwithstanding all his numerous occupa- 
 tions, always maintained the sanctity of the Sabbath 
 most inviolably. 
 
 The Rev. James Hervey died on Christmas-day, 
 Dec. 25, 1758. When dying he thanked the physicians 
 for their visits, and with great solemnity and sweetness 
 in his countenance exclaimed, “ Lord, now lettest thou 
 thy servant depart in peace according to thy most holy 
 and comfortable word, for mine eyes have seen thy 
 precious salvation. Here, doctor, is my cordial ! what 
 are all the cordials given to support the dying, in com- 
 
372 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINaS. 
 
 parison of that which arises from the promises of salva* 
 tion by Christ! This,*^this, now supports me.’' About 
 three o’clock he said, The great conflict is over — now 
 all is done;” after which he scarcely spake any other 
 word intelligibly, except twice or thrice Precious sal- 
 vation!'' and then leaning his head against the side of, 
 his chair, he shut his eyes and sang his Christmas carol 
 before the Throne. 
 
 NEGLECT. 
 
 Heb. ii. 3. How shall we escape if we neglect so 
 great salvation ?” 
 
 Neglect is enough to ruin a man. A man who is in busi- 
 ness need not commit forgery or robbery to ruin himself; he 
 has only to neglect his business, and his ruin is certain. A man 
 who is lying on a bed of sickness need not cut his throat to de- 
 stroy himself; he has only to neglect the means of restoration, 
 and he will be ruined. A man floating in a skiff above Niag- 
 ara need not move an oar, or make an effort to destroy himself; 
 he has only to neglect using the oar at the proper time, and he 
 will certainly be carried over the cataract. Most of the calam- 
 ities of life are caused by simple neglect Let no one infer, 
 therefore, that because he is not a drunkard, or an adulterer, 
 or a murderer, that therefore he will be saved. Such an infer- 
 ence would be as irrational as it would be for a man to infer 
 that, because he is not az-murderer, his farm will produce 
 a harvest ; or that, because he is not an adulterer, therefore his 
 merchandise will take care of itself.” — Barnes, 
 
 The Life Preserver . — “ Commencing a long journey 
 upon one of our western lakes and rivers, I took the 
 precaution to provide myself with a life preserver of the 
 best construction. This was always my practice in 
 traveling. My custom was, every night before retiring 
 
ILLt’StRATlVE GATHERINaS. 
 
 373 
 
 to sleep, to examine it, and see that it was where I could 
 place my hand upon it in an iestant. 
 
 “ Soon after entering the Mississippi river, we were 
 not a little agitated by an accident which befell the boat. 
 The night was dark and tempestuous, and the ‘ father of 
 waters’ angry and frightful. The passengers sprang 
 from their berths, and rushed together into the main 
 saloon. The accident proved to be of small consequence, 
 and the alarm very soon subsided. 
 
 “ Returning to my state room, I fell into a sort of 
 waking dream. I thought I was on one of our inland 
 seas in a violent tempest. Our vessel, dismasted and 
 disabled, was rapidly driving on a lee shore. The pas- 
 sengers were evidently making ready for the last strug- 
 gle. And I observed, for the first time, that some seemed 
 perfectly calm and composed. On looking again, I saw 
 that they were provided with life preservers, which they 
 had already attached to their persons ; and feeling the 
 utmost confidence in this means of preservation, they 
 were quietly waiting the issue. 
 
 But how shall I describe the terror and dismay of 
 the other passengers, as they passed to and fro before 
 my eyes ! 
 
 ‘ What a fool I w^as,’ said one, ‘ that I did not buy 
 a life preserver before I left home ; 1 always meant to 
 do it ; they were exposed for sale right before my eyes 
 every day. My friends entreated me to procure one, 
 and I promised that I would. I thought I could obtain 
 one at any time, so 1 put it off^ and now it is too laU' 
 
 ‘‘ ‘ I did not believe that there was any danger,’ said 
 another. ‘ I have passed over these lakes many times, 
 
374 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS* 
 
 and never saw such a storm before ; so I concluded to 
 run the risk again,' 
 
 ‘‘ Another I observed hastening to his trunk, and re- 
 turning instantly with the case of a life preserver in his 
 hand, but an expression of blank despair on his coun- 
 tenance. The article had once been good ; but he had 
 not taken care of it. He had thrown it loosely amongst 
 his effects, and it had been punctured by a pin. It was 
 now a mockery of his woe. He tried to mend it, but 
 this was impossible. There was no time for this. 
 
 ‘‘Another produced with great joy what seemed to be 
 an excellent life preserver ; but when he proceeded to 
 adjust it, he found that he had been cheated. It was a 
 counterfeit article. He did not procure it at the right 
 place. It would retain its shape and buoyancy for a 
 while and for a few moments in smooth water ; but would 
 not bear the pressure of a man’s whole weight. He had 
 never examined it before, and now, in the hour of need, 
 found it utterly worthless. 
 
 “ At length my eye was arrested by a young man who 
 had been notorious throughout the voyage for his gayety 
 and frivolity. On one occasion, during a pleasant day, 
 he had made sport of those who had wisely prepared for 
 the time of peril. And now I saw him addressing a 
 gentleman whom he had previously ridiculed, inquiring 
 whether his life preserver could not save them both. ‘ No,’ 
 was the answer; ‘it was only made for one.' 
 
 “ Reader, there is hope which is an anchor of the 
 soul, sure and steadfast ; the time is coming when you 
 will certainly need it. Life may now be like a smooth 
 and sunny sea ; but very soon you will be amid ‘ the 
 swellings of Jordan.’ Be sure you get this certain hope. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 Be careful that your hope is of the right kind ; examine^ 
 it well. ‘ ChriHt in you^' says St. Paul, ‘ is the hope of 
 glory.’ Is this your hope ? Take care of it ; keep it 
 with all diligence, and it will stand you in good stead in 
 the time of danger ; for He who rules the waves and 
 waters saith, ^Fear not.’ When thou passest through the 
 waters, I will be with thee ; and through the rivers, they 
 shall not overflow thee.’ Isa. xliii. 2 .” — Abridged f rom 
 an American Tract, 
 
 NEW YEAPt.— Gen. xxvi. 12 ; xlvii. 8, 9 ; Exod. xii., 
 2 ; xiii. 3, 4 ; Lev. xvi. 34 ; Deut. xi. 12 ; 1 Sarn. vii. 12 ; 
 XX. 6 ; Job xvi. 22 ; xxxii. 7 ; Ps. Ixv. 11 ; Ixxvii. o-ll ; 
 xc. ; cii. 24-27 ; Eccles. xii. 1 ; Isa. xxix. 1 ; Matt. vi. 
 33 ; Luke xiii. 8 ; Acts xi. 26. 
 
 Exod. xl. 2, 17. On the first day of the first month 
 shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the con- 
 gregation.” 
 
 A divinely-appointed example of beginning a new year well. 
 So in Hezekiah’s days they began to sanctify the temple at the 
 same time. 2 Chron. xxix. 17. Can we begin the year better 
 than by thus honoring God in His temple openly, and sanctify- 
 ing anew the altar in our tents ? 
 
 Lev. xxiii. 23, 24. And the Lord spake unto Moses, 
 saying. Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the 
 seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye 
 have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an 
 holy convocation.” 
 
 The first day of the .Jewish civil year, the memorial, as it 
 was thought, of the creation of the world. The blowing of 
 trumpets was an appropriate act, designed (1) to remind them 
 of the trumpet of Mount Sinai, when the law was given, which 
 we may set before us at the beginning of the new year ; or (2), 
 
3T6 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERING^. 
 
 to call the Jews, by an emblem, to shake off their spiritual 
 drowsiness, to search their ways and amend them, and to 
 prepare for the Day of Atonement, which followed nine days 
 afterwards. 
 
 Two Statesmen. — Contrast tlie experience of two 
 statesmen, each eminent in their way, but differing in 
 their principles. Lord Dundas, when one wished that 
 great statesman a happy new year, replied, It had need 
 be happier than the last, for I never knew one happy 
 day in it.” The testimony of Wilberforce, the year 
 before his death was, This last year has been the hap- 
 piest of my life.” Ps. xxxvii. 37. 
 
 Romaine’s wish for his people was, one new-year’s 
 day, — God grant that this may be a year famous for 
 Relieving y 
 
 A. L. Newton. — The character of God is my grand 
 subject this year. I have got it in fifty-two points, with 
 six texts on each ; and it is such a rock to rest upon, — 
 to see what God is, and that He really is.” 
 
 Mr. Hardcastle (once a noble-minded merchant, and 
 long the Treasurer of the London Missionary Society). 
 
 When he was dying, it was one of his memorable say- 
 ings. ‘ My last act of faith I wish to be, to take the 
 blood of Jesus, as the High Priest did, when he entered 
 behind the Vail; and when I have passed the Vail, I 
 would appear with it before the Throne.’ So, in mak- 
 ing the transit from one year to another, this is our 
 most appropriate exercise. We see much sin in the 
 retrospect ; we see many a broken purpose, many a mis- 
 spent hour, many a rash and unadvised word ; we see 
 much pride, and anger, and worldliness, and unbelief ; 
 we see a long track of inconsistency. There is nothing 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 877 
 
 for us but the great atonement. With that atonement 
 let us, like believing Israel, end and begin anew. Bear- 
 ing Its precious blood, let us pass within the vail of a 
 solemn and eventful future. Let a visit to the Fountain 
 be the last act of the closing year, and let a new year 
 still find us there. James Hamilton. 
 
 NOVELS. 
 
 As a general rule, novels weaken the passive emotions, 
 without strengthening the active principle. 
 
 Lord Byron’s works, it may be, have their sublimi- 
 ties ; so has Vesuvius ; but those who venture Pliny- 
 like, must expect Pliny’s fate. 
 
 Goldsmith, who had himself written a novel, in writ- 
 ing to his brother, respecting the education of his son, 
 
 gave his opinion of such works in this strong language, 
 
 “ Above all things never let your son touch a novel or 
 romance.” 
 
 Sir Walter Scott.— Very striking and touching 
 were the last scenes of his life, when he called for a book 
 to be read to him, and being asked what book he wished, 
 replied, “ There is but one Book.” and asked foii the 
 Bible. 
 
 i'iO\ELTY. “The mass of men are fond of novelty 
 in matters of recreation j in fashions of furniture, dress, 
 scenery, sports, or amusements, &c. ; but in respect of 
 their course of life, they are wedded to their established 
 customs and usages, even w’hen they have nothing but 
 custom to recommend them.”— Archbishop Whately.— 
 
 [Thus copying the example of nature in a tree, of which 
 32 * 
 
STS 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 the main part — the trunk — remains unchanged, but the 
 leaves and flowers are mutable and perishing.] 
 
 A DESIRE to say something which no man ever said, 
 makes people say things which no man ever ought tc 
 say. 
 
 What we want in religion is not new light, hut new 
 sight ; not new paths, hut new zeal to walk in old paths. 
 
 OBEDIENCE.— Exod. v. 2 ; xxiii. 20, 21 ; Deut. v. 
 27—33 ; xxviii. ; Josh. v. 6 ; 1 Sam. xv. 22 ; 1 Kings 
 xiii. ; Ps. cxix. 4-6, 32, 106, 112 ; Prov. xxviii. 9 ; 
 Eccl. xii. 13 ; Isa. xlviii. 18; Jer. vii. 23, 24; xi. 3—5; 
 xxvi. 13 ; XXXV. ; xxxviii. 20 ; Ezek. xxxvi. 27 ; Dan. 
 ix. 10 ; Matt. vii. 21, 24 ; xii. 50 ; xxviii. 20 ; Luke vi. 
 46 ; xi. 27, 28 ; John viii. 51 ; xiii. 17 ; xiv. 15, 21 ; 
 Rom. ii. 6-10 ; x. 16, 17 ; 2 Cor. x. 5 ; Jas. iv. 17 ; 
 1 Pet. i. 2, 14, 15, 22 ; 1 John ii. 3-6 ; iii. 22 ; v. 2, 3 ; 
 Rev. xxii. 14. 
 
 should be 
 
 From the heart. — Ps. xl. 8, spoken of Christ (cf. the 
 two tables of the law in the ark), but true of all be- 
 lievers ; Deut. xi. 13—15 ; 1 Sam. vii. 3 ; Ps. cxix. 35 ; 
 John iv. 34; Rom. i. 9 ; vi. 16—19 ; vii. 22—25. Hence 
 Matt. V. 20. Cf. the feigned obedience of the ungodly. 
 Ps. xviii. 44 ; Ixvi. 3 ; Ixxxi. 15 (margins.) 
 
 “ The obedience of faith.” — Rom. xvi. 26 ; Acts vi. 7 ; 
 Heb. xi. 6 ; Luke xvii. 12-16. “ Gio show yourselves 
 
 unto the priests,” ^. e., before they were cleansed. 
 
 Matt. xii. 13. — “ Stretch forth thine hand.” What, 
 when it was withered ! Yes ; obedience says, “ Trust, 
 where ye cannot trace.” 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERDTGS. 
 
 379 
 
 Quicquid decorum est ex fide proficiscitur.’^ — Aug. “A 
 crab-tree may bear fruit fair to the eye, but it is sour, because 
 it doth not come from a good root. A moral person mav srive 
 God outward obedience, and to the eyes of others it seems glori- 
 ous; but this obedience is sour, because it comes not from the 
 sweet and pleasant root of faith. A child of God gives Him 
 the obedience of faith, and that meliorates and sweetens his 
 services, and makes them come off with a better relish. Heb. 
 xi. 4. ^ By faith Aid offered a letter sacrifice than Cain.^^'~ JTatson. 
 
 Cheerful— Vs. xviii. 44 : c. 2, 3 ; cxix. 32, 35, 60, 
 143 ; Isa. i. 19. 20. 
 
 “ As when a general commands his army to march, if then 
 the soldiers should stand upon terms, and refuse to go, except 
 they have better clothes, their pay in hand, or the like, and 
 then they will march ; this would not show them an obedient, 
 disciplined army ; but if, at the reading of their orders, thev 
 presently break up their quarters and set forth, though it be 
 midnight when the command come, and they without money 
 or clothes on their backs, leaving the whole care of themselves 
 for these things to their general, and they only attend how they 
 may best fulfil his commands, these may be said to march in 
 obedience.” — Salter. 
 
 Universal— Veut. xxviii. 14; Ps. cxix. 6, 84, 128. 
 So mark the characters of Caleb and .Joshua, Xum. xiv. 
 24 , xxxii. 12. David, A.ct.s xiii. 22. Zacharias and 
 Elizabeth, Luke i. 6. Cornelius, Acts x. 33. 
 
 “A soul sincerely obedient, will not pick and choose what 
 commands to obey, and what to reject, as hvpocrites do. An 
 obedient soul is like a crystal glass with a light in the midst, 
 which shines forth through every part thereof. A man sin- 
 cerely obedient lays such a charge upon his whole man, as 
 ^lary, the mother of Christ, did upon all the servants at the 
 feast. (John ii. 5.) ‘ AYhatsoever he saith unto you, do it.’ 
 
 Eyes, ears, hands, heart, lips, legs, body, and soul, do vou all 
 seriously and affectionately observe whatever Jesus Christ savs 
 unto you, and do Brooks. 
 
880 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATllERllSraS. 
 
 Uniform, — Ps. xliv. 17-19; cvi. 3; cxix. 112; Luke 
 xxiii. 56 ; Phil. ii. 12. Of. Job xxvii. 10 (the hypocrite’s 
 service). 
 
 “To obey GoJ in some things of religion, and not in others, 
 shows an unsound heart; like Esau who obeyed his father in 
 bringing him venison, but hot in a greater matter, viz., the 
 choice of his wife. Childlike obedience moves toward every 
 command of God, as the needle points that way -which the load- 
 stone draws. If God calls to duties which are cross to flesh 
 and blood ; if we are children, we obey our Father.” — Watson. 
 
 OBSCURE DISCIPLES.— Judges vii. 13, 14 (cf. v. 
 7) ; Ps. viii. 2 ; cxix. 141 ; Prov. xix. 1 ; Isa. xxii. 24 ; 
 lx. 22 ; Zeph. iii. 12 ; Matt. xi. 25, 26 ; xiii. 31-33 ; 
 Lukevi. 20; Acts iv. 13; 1 Cor. i. 26-31; 2 Cor. 
 iv. 7. ; X. 7. 
 
 Ps. Ixxxiii. 3. “ Thy hidden ones.” 
 
 1. The safety of God’s people. We often hide to preserve, 
 Matt. xiii. 44 (where the aim is not to conceal, but to secure). 
 Thus Noah was hid in the ark, and the waters of destruction 
 could not reach him ; and thus the promise, Ps. xxxii. 5 ; xxxi. 
 20 ; and the charge, Isa. xxvi. 20. 
 
 2. Their concealment: This is not absolute, but has various 
 
 degrees and different causes, It is true of our spiritual life, 
 Col. iii. 3; Rev. ii. 17, and true of its outward manifestation. 
 Some are concealed by persecution ; some by slander ; some by 
 disposition ; some by infirmity, yet all are known to God, — 
 “ The Lord knoweth them that are his.” 2 Tim. ii. 19. 
 
 How many true heroes and saints do we meet with in 
 Scripture, of whom we have no record but their noble 
 deeds ; as, e. g.^ 
 
 Jael, Judges v. 24; Gideon, Judges vi. 15, 16. The widow 
 of Zarephath, 1 Kings xvii. 9-16. Obadiah, 1 Kings xviii. 3, 
 4, 12, 13. The seven thousand hidden ones, 1 Kings xix. 18. 
 The little maid, 2 Kings v. 2-4. The poor wise man, Eccl. ix. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 381 
 
 14-16. Many eminent examples of faith and devotion in our 
 Lord’s ministry The leper, Matt. viii. 1. The woman who 
 said, “If I may but touch his garments, I shall he wholo,” 
 Matt. ix. 21. Lazarus, the beggar, Luke xvi, 20. The 
 “daughters of Jerusalem,” Luke xxiii. 27, 28. His own apos- 
 tles, &c. Saints of the early Church, Eom. xvi. “Antipas, 
 the faithful martyr,” Rev. ii. 13. The “ few names” in Sardis, 
 Eev. iii. 4. 
 
 Excuses often made by obscure disciples, why they 
 don’t do more for Christ : — 
 
 1. ‘^7 live in retirement^ and am little known.” Well, 
 your Lord loved retirement, “who went about doing 
 good. Retired Christians have fewer hindrances to 
 communion with God, and the cultivation of a heavenly 
 mind. Cecil used to say, “ Solitude is my great ordi- 
 nance.” 
 
 2. “I am so obscure ; people do not much regard what 
 
 1 say or do. But that depends upon your character. 
 If you walk with God in holy love and zeal, you will 
 have the power of holiness, and your influence will speak 
 a language that cannot be gainsayed. 
 
 3. “Z am no scholar,'^ Never mind; if you know 
 the two great truths, — that you are a great sinner, and 
 Christ a great Saviour, — this is knowing more than mil- 
 lions. 
 
 4. “I am very poor, and cannot give much.” So w^as 
 the widow, who was richer than many rich. Isa. Iv. 8 ; 
 
 2 Cor. viii. 12. 
 
 Brother Martin.— In the Reformation records we 
 read of Brother Martin, a poor monk of Basle, who re- 
 lied for salvation upon Jesus only, before Luther roused 
 the sleeping Church. Having written his Confession, he 
 placed it in a wooden box, and hid it in a hole in the 
 
382 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 wall of his cell, where it was never found until last cen- 
 tury. 
 
 OBSERVATION.— Eyes and no Eyes.’’ (See an 
 excellent story in Miss Edgeworth’s Evenings at 
 Home.”) 
 
 Fools learn nothing from wise men, but wdse men 
 learn much from fools.” 
 
 The Blank Book. — A great and enlightened states- 
 man being asked by a young gentleman, what treatise on 
 the art of government he could recommend as the best, 
 he replied, hook of white paper. Take such a book, 
 journey with it through the world, carefully attend to 
 every matter, whether political or not, which appears to 
 you remarkable, note it for the information of yourself 
 and others, and in this way you will make an excellent 
 work, from which you will learn much.’ The sagacious 
 man, it appeared, preferred experience and observation 
 to all other books, and why should I not entertain the 
 same opinion on spiritual matters ?” — Crotthold' s Emblems. 
 
 (See under “Hearing” and “Providence” how Philip 
 Henry and Dr. Doddridge followed out this plan.) 
 
 OLD AGE. — Lev. xix. 32 ; 1 Sam. ii. 31 ; Ps. Ixxi. 
 (Psalm for the aged); xc. 10; xcii. 14; cxlviii. 12; 
 Prov. xvi. 31 ; xvii. 6 ; xx. 29 ; xxiii, 22 ; Eccles. xii. ; 
 Isa. xlvi. 4: Ixv. 20 ; Joel ii. 28; 1 Tim. v. 1? 2 ; Tit. 
 ii. 2. 
 
 Gen. xlvii. 8. — “How old art thou?” 
 
 A question once put by a Persian Emperor to an old man, 
 whose hairs were white with the snows of many winters. “Just 
 about four years,” was the answer, the old man counting only 
 the years since his spiritual birth. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 383 
 
 Num. viii. 25, 26. 
 
 The Levites were to cease working after fifty, (Marg., to 
 “return from the warfare of the service,’’) yet they were not 
 discharged from all service as useless and wholly disabled, but 
 rather were to be of use in helping and directing their younger 
 brethren, and supplying with their experience what they could 
 no longer render with their hands. 
 
 Rev. iii. 20. — Behold, I stand at the door and 
 knock ; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I 
 will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with 
 me.” 
 
 —the last meal — mercy and grace provided to the 
 aged. Some are called, and many are eminently enriched with 
 grace in the evening of life. 
 
 “ Naturally improves the understanding more than it 
 does the affections or the wdll.” 
 
 Polycarp. — “ Eighty-and-six years,” was his well- 
 known answer, when required to deny the truth, “ have 
 I served my Saviour, and He hath never done me any 
 harm, and shall I deny him now ?” 
 
 Contrast Wolsey’s lamentation: “Had I served my 
 God as well as I have served my King, He would not 
 have left me now.” (Isa. iii. 10, 11.) 
 
 John Eliot (the Apostle to the Indians), on the day 
 of his death, in his eighty-sixth year, was found teaching 
 the Indian Alphabet to a child by his bedside. “ Why 
 not rest from your labors now ?” said one. “I have 
 prayed to God,” was the answer, “to render me useful 
 in my sphere, and now that I can no longer preach. He 
 leaves me strength to teach this poor child.” (Ps. xcii. 14.) 
 
 WiLBERFORCE once remarked ; “ I can scarcely under- 
 stand why my life is spared so long, except it be to show 
 
384 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 that a man can be as happy without a fortune as with 
 one.” And soon after, when his only surviving daughter 
 died, he writes, “ I have often heard, that sailors on a 
 voyage will drink, ‘ Friends astern !’ till they are half 
 way over, then ‘Friends ahead!’ With me it has been 
 ‘Friends ahead !’ this long time.” 
 
 Luke Short. — Mr. Flavel, the well-known Puritan, 
 was one day preaching upon 1 Cor. xvi. 22, “If any man 
 love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema 
 Maran-atha.” The discourse was unusually solemn, par- 
 ticularly the e.xplanation of the words, ‘■‘Anathema Ma- 
 ran-atha " — “cursed with a curse, cursed of G-od with a 
 bitter and grievous curse.” At the conclusion of the 
 service, when Mr. Flavel rose to pronounce the benedic- 
 tion, he paused, and said, “ How shall I bless this whole 
 assembly, when every person in it who loveth not the 
 Lord Jesus Christ is ‘Anathema Maran-atha ?' ” In 
 the congregation w'as a lad named Luke Short, then 
 about fifteen years old, who shortly after sailed to 
 America, where he passed the rest of his life. Mr. 
 Short’s life was lengthened much beyond the usual term. 
 When an hundred years old, he had sufBcient strength to 
 work on his farm, and his mental faculties were very little 
 impaired ; but hitherto he had lived a sinner. One day, 
 as he sat in his field, he thought upon his past life. Re- 
 curring to the events of his youth, Mr. Flavel s discourse 
 came to his mind — the preacher’s solemn W'arning, and 
 the important truth he delivered. God’s Spirit strove 
 with the aged sinner, conviction was followed by repent- 
 ance, and he became one who loved the Lord Jesus Christ 
 in sincerity and truth. 
 
 Eighty-five years passed after the seed was 
 
 sown 
 
TLLrSTIlATIVE UATIIERIXG?. 
 
 385 
 
 before it sprung up and brought forth fruit. Let minis- 
 ters take encouragement : In due season ye shall reap, 
 
 if ye faint not.” 
 
 The Wroxg Side of Fifty. — Mr. Venn, in one of his 
 excursions to preach for the Countess of Huntingdon, 
 ^vhile riding on the road, fell into company with a person 
 who had the appearance of a clergyman. After riding 
 together for some time, conversing on different subjects, 
 the stranger, looking in his face, said, Sir, I think you 
 are on the wrong side of fifty?” On the wrong side 
 of fifty!” answered Mr. Venn. ‘^No, Sir, I am on the 
 right side of fifty.” “ Surely,” the clergyman replied, 
 ‘‘you must be turned fifty?” “Yes, Sir,” added Mr. 
 Venn, “but I am on the right side of fifty, for every 
 year I live I am nearer my crown of glory.” 
 
 A Christian Six Months Old.— In the revival in 
 Ireland in 1853, an aged convert in Achill, a poor man, 
 104 years old, walked ten miles to make a public profes- 
 sion of his faith, at a confirmation held by the Protestant 
 Bishop of Tuam. Mr. E. had a most interesting con- 
 versation with this aged man. He said, “ I lived one 
 hundred and three years and six months in total dark- 
 ness, knowing nothing of the way to heaven — blind and 
 ignorant.” “And now,” said Mr. E., “what is your 
 hope?” “My hope, Sir, is in the Lamb of God, who 
 taketh away the sins of the world. Oh I to think that I 
 should have gone on one hundred and three years and 
 six months caring not for my soul, and then that this 
 blessed truth should have burst upon me ! How can I 
 praise Him enough for his wondrous love towards such a 
 poor old sinner !” 
 
 Herod. — What a miserable picture does he present 
 
 25 
 
S8C 
 
 II.U'S'IT.ATIV!': (lATIIKRrX(JS. 
 
 ■when slaying all the jxior inl’aiits at Bethlehem! An 
 aged sinner of seventy so alarmed at hearing of a child 
 not two years old ! 
 
 OMNISCIENCE DIVINE.— Gen. xvi. 13 ; Lev. xix. 
 14; 1 Sam. ii. 3; xvi. 7 ; 1 Kings viii. 39; 1 Chron. 
 xxviii. 9; Job x. 4; x.wiii. 10, 24; xlii. 2; Ps. xi. 4; 
 Ixxiii. 11 ; cxxxix. ; Prov. v. 21 ; xv. 3, 11 ; Jer. xvii. 
 
 10 ; xxxii. 19 ; Amos ix. 9 ; Acts i. 24 ; xv. 18 ; Heb. 
 iv. 13. 
 
 of good mQVL and actions. — Gen. xx. 6; Exod. 
 
 iii. 7 ; Judges xi. 11 ; 1 Kings xiv. 13 ; 2 Chron. xvi. 9 ; 
 P.sa. xvii. 3; xxxiv. 15 ; xxxviii. 9; Ivi. 8 ; Jer. xii. 3; 
 xxiv. 6 ; Matt. vi. 4, 6 ; John xxi. 17 ; Acts xv. 8 ; 
 2 Tim. ii. 19 ; 1 John iii. 20. Hence Psa. xxxviii. 9 ; , 
 Isa. xxxvii. 14 ; John xxi. 15. 
 
 of the evil . — Job xxii. 13, 14 ; xxxiv. 21, 22 ; 
 
 Ps. X. 11-14 ; xliv. 20, 21 ; xciv. 7-11 ; Isa. xxix. 15, 
 16 ; Jer. vii. 8-11 ; xvi. 17 ; xxiii. 23, 24 ; Ezek. viii. 
 5-12 ; Amos v. 12 ; ix. 2-4, 8 ; Obad. 3-5 ; Matt. xxii. 
 
 11 ; John ii. 23—25. 
 
 Figures. — Light, 1 John i. 5 (all pervading ) ; — Flame 
 of fire, Rev. i. 14 (penetrating and searching ) ; — Sceptre 
 full of eyes, the Egyptian representation of the deity ; 
 — the stone laid before Joshua with seven eyes, Zech. iii. 
 9 ; the Lamb wdth seven horns and seven eyes, Rev. v. 6. 
 
 How often do we trace God’s omniscience exemplified 
 in the detection of sin which the sinner thought con- 
 cealed, the approbation of modest virtue, and the notice 
 of secret sorrow ! 
 
 Take a few examples from Scripture, — 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINOS. 
 
 387 
 
 THE EVIL. 
 
 Adam. — “Where art thou?” 
 (Gen. iii. 9.) What a question 
 was that, which reached the sin- 
 ner in his hiding-place I 
 
 Cain. — “Where is Abel thy 
 brother?” (Gen. iv. 9.) Theory 
 of blood went up to heaven. 
 
 Joseph' s brethren. — “God hath 
 found out the iniquities of thy 
 servants.” (Gen. xliv. 16.) Yes; 
 though twenty-two years had 
 passed. 
 
 Achan. — (Josh, vii.) The tribe 
 — the himily— the household — the 
 man — the tent — the place in the 
 tent — there was the accursed trea- 
 sure. God knew it all the while. 
 
 Gehazi. — “Went not mine 
 heart with thee ?” (2 Kings v. 
 
 26.) — The unseen e}^e that tracks 
 the sinner and informs the heart. 
 
 Jeroboam' s wife. — “ Come in, 
 thou wife of Jeroboam.” 1 
 Kings xiv. 6.) Cannot He who 
 seeth through the thick clouds 
 see through sin’s flimsy cover- 
 ings ? 
 
 Ananias and Sapphira . — “ Why 
 hath Satan filled thine heart to 
 lie to the Hol}^ Ghost?” (Acts 
 V. 3.) There is no darkness nor 
 shadow of death where the work- 
 (‘rs of iniquity may hide them- 
 selves.” (Job xxxiv. 22.) 
 
 THE GOOD. 
 
 Abimelech . — “ I know that thou 
 didst this in the integrity of thy 
 heart.” (Gen. xx. 6; 1 Sam. 
 xvi. 9.) 
 
 * Abraham. — (Gen. xxii. 12.) 
 Omniscience saw the keen trial 
 borne with such unmurmuring 
 patience, and turned the extrem- 
 ity of faith into the opportunity 
 of fjtvour. 
 
 Children of Israel . — “ I know 
 their sorrows.” (Exod. iii. 7.) 
 God has a book for the wants, 
 and a bottle for the tears, 'd' his 
 believing people — every sorrow 
 of every sorrower. 
 
 Nathanael.-'^ Before that Philip 
 called thee, when thou wast un- 
 der the fig-tree, I saw thee.” 
 (John i. 48.) 
 
 The Seven Churches . — The epistle 
 to each begins with the consola- 
 tory preface, “I know thy 
 woi'ks.” (Rev. ii. 2-9.) 
 
 A candle wakes some men as well as a noise ; the 
 eye of the Lord works upon a good soul as well as His 
 hand ; and a godly man is as much afflicted with the con- 
 
388 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 sideration, > Thou God seest me/ as with ‘The Lord 
 strikes me.’ ” — Donne. 
 
 God needs no chains nor prison to keep the sinner 
 sure ; His eye is enough ; the sinner entangles himself 
 too surely to escape. ♦ 
 
 “ In a sheet almanac a man may at one view see 
 all the months in the year, both past and to come ; but 
 in a book almanac, as he turneth to one month so he 
 turneth from another, and can but look only at the 
 present. This is the true difference betwixt the know- 
 ledge of God and man ; — He looketh in an instant of 
 time to things past, present and future ; but the know- 
 ledge of man reacheth only to a few things past and 
 present, but knoweth nothing at all of things that are to 
 come ; that is God’s peculiar so to do, and a piece of 
 learning too high for any mortal man to attain unto.”— 
 Spencer. 
 
 The Thief. — Looking up.— “A man who was in the 
 habit of going to a neighbor’s corn-field to steal the 
 grain, one day took his son with him, a boy of about 
 eight years of age. The father told him to hold the bag 
 while he looked if anv one were near to see him. After 
 
 t/ 
 
 standing upon the fence, and peeping through all the 
 corn-rows, he returned to take the bag from the child, 
 and beg^ his sinful work. ‘ Father,’ said the boy, ‘you 
 forgot to look somewhere else.’ The man dropped the 
 bag in a fright, and said, ‘ Which way, child ? ’ ‘ You 
 
 forgot to look up to the sky, to see if God were noticing 
 you.’ The father felt this reproof of the child so much, 
 that he left the corn, — returned home, and never again 
 ventured to steal.” — Clieever. 
 
 S^ALL HAVE A REPORTER THERE.” — So re- 
 
ILLUSTI^ATIVE (lATHERIXaS. 
 
 389 
 
 marked a young friend tlionghtlossly, as he was about 
 to leave home to attend a social ball given in a country 
 town. My heart responded with deep and solemn 
 interest to his assertion, as I thought of the immortal 
 souls who would gather there, thus to employ the fleeting 
 moments in mercy allotted them to prepare for eternity. 
 A reporter wm there. A report was written which is 
 now before the Great Judge. A report of what ? Of 
 every thought, word, and deed, — -of violated vows to live 
 for Christ, and not for the world — of parental vows 
 solemnly made, and now forgotten, as parents with their 
 children measure ofi'time, precious time, to the sound 
 of the viol.’’ 
 
 Where is the report written ? On memory, to be 
 traced by conscience as it shall wake from its slumbers, 
 and recall wasted opportunities, abused mercies, slighted 
 admonitions, loud warnings, when death is at tlie door. 
 
 Where will the report be read ? At the bar of God. 
 Reader, ponder and think over the solemn truth. 
 
 ORIGINAL SIN.-Gen. i. 26 ; v. 3 ; viii. 21 ; Lev. 
 xii. (the woman who had borne a child, unclean for seven 
 days, as having borne a sinner into the world) ; Job xiv. 
 3 ; XV. 14-16 ; xxv. 4 ; Ps. li. 5 ; Iviii. 3 ; Prov. xxii. 
 15 ; xxix. 15 ; John iii. 6 ; Rom. v. 12 ; viii. 8, 9 ; Eph. 
 ii. 3. 
 
 The simple inherit folly” (Prov. xiv. 18), and unlike 
 any earthly inheritance, they cannot renounce it if they 
 would. 
 
 “ Six is born in a child as surely as fire is in the 
 flint ; it only waits to be brought out, and manifested.” 
 — Dr. Hook. 
 
390 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS* 
 
 Original sin acted as an extinguisher, and there- 
 fore the soul is born in darkness and cannot see, until 
 enlightened by the Spirit of God.” — Toplady. 
 
 “ Though goodness may be repaired in ourselves, yet 
 it cannot be propagated to ours ; even the cleanest grain 
 sends forth that chaff from which it was fanned ere the 
 sowing.” — Bishop Hall, 
 
 Our striving against nature is like holding a 
 weathercock with one’s hand ; as soon as the force is 
 taken off, it veers again with the wind.” — Adam, 
 
 ORIGIN OF EVIL. 
 
 John Newton. — ^‘Pray, Mr. Newton,” once asked a 
 young man, ‘^what do you think of the entrance of sin 
 into the world?” ‘‘Sir,” said Mr. N., “I never thinh 
 of it ; I know there is such a thing as sin in the world, 
 and I know there is a remedy, and there my knowledge 
 begins, and there it ends. 
 
 OPPORTUNITY. — Ps. xxxii. 6 ; Prov. x. 5 ; Isa. Iv. 
 6; Jer. viii. 20; Matt. xx. 1-6; xxi. 28; xxiii. 37-39; 
 Mark X. 46, 47 (Jesus passing by ; it may be “ now or 
 never!”) Luke v. 17; xiii. 8, 9; xix. 41-44; John v. 
 4-9 ; xii. 35 ; Acts xiv. 27 ; 1 Cor. xvi. 9 ; 2 Cor. ii. 
 12; Col. iv. 3 (literally, “buying up the opportunity”); 
 Heb. iii. 7-15. 
 
 is like a narroiv passage in the Arctic Seas. 
 
 Sometimes in these Northern regions, ships get enclosed 
 in a narrow space between ice-islands. The floating rocks 
 glide nearer the ship on every side, and the dismayed 
 seamen behold their only chance of escape from the fatal 
 crash lies in a narrow channel, that every moment grows 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 391 
 
 still narrower. How Inirriedly they press their vessel 
 through that strip to reach the safety of the open ocean ! 
 Even so must we press along the narrow way that leads 
 to eternal life, for who knows how soon that narrow way 
 may be closed against him ? 
 
 is like favoring breeze^ springing up around a 
 
 sailing vessel. If the sails be all set, the ship is wafted 
 onward to its port. If the sailors are asleep, or ashore, 
 the breeze may die again, and when they would go on 
 they cannot; their vessel stands as idle as a painted ship 
 upon a painted ocean. 
 
 is like a string of stepping-stones across a ford. 
 
 The traveler, coming up to them, may find the river so 
 swollen with the rains that the stones are all but covered. 
 If he delay, though his home be on the opposite bank, 
 and full in sight, it may be too late to cross, and he may 
 have a journey of several miles to reach his home. 
 
 is like a strip of sand, which stretches around a 
 
 seaside cove. The greedy tide is lapping up the sand. 
 The narrow strip will quickly become impassable; and 
 then how sad the fate of the thoughtless children, who 
 are now playing and gathering shells and sea-weed inside 
 the cove ! — Union Magazine. 
 
 Opportunities are importunities. They are like 
 flowers that fade at night ; seize them, therefore, while 
 they last. 
 
 ‘^Thk mill can’t grind with the water that is lost.” 
 
 Dr. Payson observes that those who have once en-^ 
 tertained serious impressions, and lost them, are much 
 less likely to have their attention again arrested, than 
 those who have always been thoughtless and unconcerned. 
 However, we may flatter and deceive ourselves with the 
 
3!>2 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE aATllERiXUS. 
 
 idea that we shall find more favorable opportunities than 
 our nge affords, it is certain, if we believe all who have 
 gone before us, that we now have fewer temptations and 
 few^er diflSculties of all kinds to struggle with, than we 
 shall have at any future period of our lives, even suppos- 
 ing that life may be prolonged to us/’ 
 
 Herod — those who offered to follow Christ (Luke ix. 
 57-62,) — Felix — Agrippa — Simon Magus, &c., &c. ; — 
 how many characters seem to float before our eyes in 
 Scripture, as having been visited with convictions and 
 opportunities of grace, but only, it has been said, ‘^like 
 ships, which, when night is spread over the sea, emerge 
 for a moment from the darkness, as they cross the path- 
 way of the moonbeams, and then are lost again in utter 
 gloom.” — Bishop of Oxford. 
 
 Px\RDON OF SIN. — 1 Kings viii. 46-52; 2 Chron. 
 vi. 36-39; vii. 14; xxx. 18-20;^ Psa. Penitential (vi. ; 
 xxxii. ; xxxviii. ; li. ; cii. ; cxxx. ; cxliii.); xxv. 11, 18; 
 Ixxxvi. 5; Prov. xxviii. 13; Isa. i. 18; xxxiii. 24; xl. 
 1, 2 ; xliii. 25 ; Iv. 7 ; Jer. v. 1, 7 ; xxxi. 20, 34 ; xxxiii. 
 6,8; 1. 20 ; Dan. ix. 9 ; Hosea xiv. 4 ; Matt. vi. 13 ; 
 Mark ii. 7 ; Luke i. 77 ; vii. 47 ; xxiii. 34 ; xxiv. 4, 7 ; 
 John i. 29 ; Acts iii. 19; v. 31; viii. 22; x. 43; xiii 
 38, 39; xxvi. 18; Pom. iii. 25, 26 ; v. 20; Eph. i. 7; 
 Heb. viii. 12; ix. 13, 14, 22; James v. 15 ; 1 John i. 
 7-9 ; iii. 5. 
 
 Figures. — Washing out stains or impurities. Ps. li. 2 ; 
 Isa. i. 18 ; Zech. xiii. 1 ; Rev. vii. 14. — Purging. Ps. 
 li. 7. Healing. Ps. vi. 2. — Passing hy. Micah vii. 18. 
 — Blotting out^ as a canceled debt, or accusation. Isa. 
 xliii. 25 ; Matt. vi. 13 ; Col. ii. 14. — Scattering a cloud 
 
ILLUSTI^ATTVK aAT^IK]U^"ia^=?. 
 
 303 
 
 that hides the sun. Isa. xllv. 22 . — Covering (as the 
 mercy-seat, sprinkled with blood, covered the Law, within 
 the Ark, that condemned the sinner.) Ps* xxxii. 1; 
 Ixxxv. 2; Rom. hi. 25,^Lifting offsb burden. Job vii. 
 21 (Heb. — Removing), as far as the Oast from the west 
 (Ps. chi. 12); casting behind the back (Isa. xxxviii.17); 
 into the depths of the sea (Micah vii. VS),~Making sin 
 to meet on Jesus^ as on the head of the scape-goat. Isa. 
 liii. 6. 
 
 1 John i. 9. — If w^e confess our sins. He is faithful 
 and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all 
 unrighteousness.'’ 
 
 A German prince, traveling through France, visited the Ar- 
 senal at Toulon, where the galleys were kept. The comman- 
 dant, as a compliment to his rank, offered to set at liberty any 
 slave whom he selected. The prince went the round of the 
 prison, therefore, and conversed with the prisoners. He in- 
 quired into the reason of their confinement, and met only with 
 universal complaints of injustice, oppression, and false accusa- 
 tion. At last he came to one man, who admitted his imprison- 
 ment to be just. “My Lord,” said he, “I have no reason to 
 complain. I have been a wicked, desperate wretch. I have 
 often deserved to be broken upon the wheel, and it is a mercy 
 that I am here.” The prince fixed his eyes upon the man, and, 
 without hesitation, selected him, saying, “This is the man 
 whom I wish released.” 
 
 ‘‘I BELIEVE IN THE FOBGIVENESS OF SINS.” — The 
 article of the Creed wdiich brought peace to Luther’s 
 troubled mind, when seeking the way of salvation. Oh, 
 my sins! my sins !” was his cry, almost of despair, from 
 which, however, he was greatly relieved by the good 
 counsel and comforting advice of Staupitz. But the 
 work vras not yet finished. One day, all his fears and 
 terrors had returned, when an old monk entered his cell, 
 
894 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 and Luther opened his heart to him. The venerable old 
 man was unable to follow his soul in all its doubts as 
 Staupitz had done, but he knew his Oredo^ and found 
 much consolation in it for his own heart, so he re- 
 peated to Luther the cheering article, 1 believe in 
 the forgiveness of sins.'' These simple words, pronounced 
 with much sincerity in the decisive moment, diffused 
 great consolation in Luther’s mind. From that moment 
 light sprang up in his rejoicing heart. 
 
 Grace. — ^‘It is remarkable that the words in all 
 European languages which express forgiveness, or par- 
 don, all imipljfree gift."— Archbishop Whately. 
 
 Lord, forgive my sins, and sujfer me to keep them. 
 Is this the meaning of my prayers ? Christ has removed 
 the burden of sin from my conscience a thousand times ; 
 and as often as He takes it off I lay it on again.” — 
 Adam's Private Thoughts. 
 
 I am sometimes downright staggered at the exceed- 
 ing richness of His grace. How Christ can go on 
 pardoning day after day, and hour after hour ! some- 
 times I feel almost afraid to ask, for shame.” — A. L. 
 Newton. 
 
 feel more sure than ever that the right thingjs to 
 take each sin, the moment the conscience feels it, to the 
 blood of Jesus, and there, having once purged it, to re- 
 member it no more. I don’t think of one scriptural 
 example of a sin once forgiven ever being charged upon 
 the conscience again ; and I suppose the yearly sins were 
 never expected to be again brought to mind, after the 
 scape-goat had borne them into the land of forgetfulness. 
 Oh, for grace to plunge into the ocean of Divine forgive- 
 ness !” — Ibid. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE UATHERINUS. 
 
 395 
 
 PARENTS. — Exod. X. 2; xx. 12; Deut. vi. 7 (marg.j; 
 
 1 Sam. iii. 13 ; Job i. 5 ; Ps. Ixxviii. 5 ; ciii. 13 ; Prov. 
 X. 1 ; xiii. 24 ; xvii. 25 ; xix. 18 ; xxii. 6, 15 ; xxxi. 
 28 ; Isa. xliv. 3 ; Ixv. 23; Jer. xxxv. 18, 19 ; Lam. v. 
 7; Matt. XV. 4; Luke ii. 43-51; xviii. 29, 30; xxi. 
 16 ; John ix. 2, 3; Acts ii. 17, 39; Rom. i. 30; Eph. 
 vi. 1-4 ; Col. iii. 20, 21 ; 1 Tim. v. 4 ; 2 Tim. i. 5 ; iii. 
 
 2 ; Titus ii. 4. 
 
 Exod. XX. 12. — Honor thy father and thy mother.” 
 
 “ An old schoolmaster said one day to a clergyman who came 
 to examine his school, ‘ I believe the children know the Cate- 
 chism word for word.’ ‘ But do they understand it ? that is the 
 question,’ said the clergyman. 
 
 “The schoolmaster only bowed respectfully, and the exami- 
 nation began. A little boy had repeated the fifth command- 
 ment — ‘ Honor thy father and thy mother,’ and he was desired 
 to explain it. Instead of trying to do so, the little fellow, with 
 his face covered with blushes, said, almost in a whisper, ‘A^es- 
 terday. Sir, I showed some strange gentlemen over the moun- 
 tain. The sharp stones cut my feet, and the gentlemen saw 
 them bleeding, and they gave me some money to buy me shoes. 
 I gave it to my mother, for she had no shoes either ; and I 
 thought I could go barefoot better than she.’ 
 
 “ The clergyman then looked very much pleased; and the 
 old schoolmaster only quietly remarked, ‘ God gives us His 
 grace and His blessing.’ ” — Christian Treasury. 
 
 “ The brightest smiles and bitterest tears spring from 
 parents’ hearts.” 
 
 Absalom’s Pillar (2 Sam. xviii. 18) is still standing, 
 according to Sandys ; and the Turks, whenever they 
 pass, throw a stone at it, in token of their horror at Ab- 
 salom’s unnatural conduct 
 
 ‘‘ If parents were really faithful to their children, 
 there would be very few^ unconverted adults.” — 
 
306 
 
 tLLTlSTRATlVfi GATHERINGS. 
 
 A CASE, ALAS ! TOO COMMON. — Some time since a 
 fine, tall young man was convicted of wilful murder, and 
 lay under sentence of death. When his mother visited 
 him in his cell, he turned round, and said to her, ^If it 
 had not been for you^ I should never have been here.’ 
 She replied, ‘ Tm sure 1 never tvld you to do any Jiarm,^ 
 With awful emphasis he rejoined, ^ I'm sure you never 
 told me to do any good.' " — Cottage Magazine. 
 
 PATIENCE, Divine.— G en. vi. 8 God’s patience 
 is lasting, but it is not everlasting”); 2 Chron. xxxvi. 
 14-16; Exod. xxxiv. 6; Ps. Ixxviii. 88; Ixxxvi. 15; 
 Eccles. viii. 11 ; Isa. xxx. 18; xlviii. 9; liii. 7 ; Joel ii. 
 18 ; Luke xiii. 7-9 ; xviii. 7 ; Rom, ii. 4 ; ix. 22 ; xv. 5 ; 
 1 Pet. iii. 20 ; 2 Pet. iii. 9, 15; Rev. i. 9. 
 
 ^‘The heavier the cannon, with the more difficulty 
 are they drawn ; but when arrived, they^ recompense the 
 slowness of their march by the fierceness of their bat- 
 tery. The longer the stone is in falling, the more it will 
 bruise and grind to powder. There is a great treasure 
 of wrath laid up by the abuse of patience.” — Charnock. 
 
 How LONG Jesus seeks! How long a night rain 
 wets His locks and hair ! How long a night it is He 
 stands at the church-door knocking ! There be many 
 hours in this night since He was preached in paradise ; 
 and yet He stands to this day. How fain would He come, 
 and how glad would he be of lodging ! The arm that 
 hath knocked five thousand years aches not yet. Be- 
 hold, He stands and knocks ; and will not give over till 
 all be His, and till the tribes, in ones and twos, be over 
 Jordan, and up with Him in the good land.” — Ruther- 
 ford. 
 
ILL! STKATIVK GATHERINGS. 
 
 897 
 
 Christian. — Ruth ill. 18; 1 Sam. xxvi. 10; 
 
 Ps. xxxvli. 1-7 ; xl. 1 ; Prov. xiv. 29 ; Eccles. vii. 8 ; 
 Isa. XXX. 15 ; Lam. iii. 26 ; Matt, xviii. 26 ; Luke xxi. 
 19 ; xxiii. 56 ; Rom. v. 3, 4 ; viii. 25 ; xii. 12 ; Col. i. 
 11 ; 1 Thess. v. 14 ; 1 Tim. vi. 11 ; Titus ii. 2 ; Heb. 
 vi. 12 ; X. 36 ; xii. 1 ; James i. 4 ; v. 7 ; 2 Pet. i. 6 ; Rev. 
 ii. 2, 3 ; iii. 10. 
 
 ‘‘An anodyne of God’s own preparation.” — Cowper. 
 The vessel must be held still that is to be filled. 
 
 “ Be Patient. — Christ went to heaven Avith many a 
 Avrong ; His visage and countenance was all marred more 
 than the sons of men. You may not be above your 
 Master.” — Rutherford, 
 
 “Pray and STAY are two blessed monosyllables.” — 
 Donne, 
 
 “ Never think that God’s delays are God’s denials. 
 Hold on — hold fast — hold out.” 
 
 “ The Five P’s. — P atience — perseverance — punctu- 
 ality — prayer and preparation, — five requisites for every 
 good Sunday-school teacher.” 
 
 “ WiiAT IS Patience ? — A beautiful answer was given 
 by a little Scotch girl. When her class at school Avas 
 examined, she replied, ‘ Wait a wee^ and dinna loearyl ” 
 Mrs. Wesley. — “I remember once asking her,” said 
 one, “ hoAV she could have patience to teach the same 
 thing tAventy times over to one of her children ?” 
 “Why,” said she, “if I had said it only nineteen times, 
 and given over, I should have lost all my labour. It Avas 
 the tAventieth time that fixed it.” 
 
 Church Missionary Society. — No Institution, pro- 
 bably, has ever afforded more noble examples of the ex- 
 ercise of Christian patience. During the first fifteen 
 34 
 
398 
 
 TU.USTHATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 years of its operations the missionaries could not report 
 one communicant; and the whole income of the Society 
 had only i-eached $15,000. 
 
 The whole history of missions, indeed, teaches the 
 same lesson. In Western Africa, it was fourteen years 
 before one convert was received into- the Church; in 
 East Africa, ten ; in New Zealand, nine years before 
 there was one baptism, two more before a second, and 
 five years more before one communicant. In Burmah, 
 Dr. Judson labored seven years before he had one; and 
 in Tahiti it was sixteen. Yet it is remarkable that, in 
 most of those Missions where the faith of the Church was 
 peculiarly tried at the commencement, the success has 
 been most rich and abundant afterward. 
 
 Passion and Patience. — I saw, moreover, in my 
 dream, that the Interpreter took him by the hand, and 
 had him into a little room, where sat two little children, 
 each one in his chair. The name of the eldest was Pas- 
 sion, and of the other Patience. Passion seemed to be 
 much discontented ; but Patience w^as very quiet. Then 
 Christian asked, ‘ What is the reason of the discontent 
 of Passion?’ The Interpreter answered, ^ The governor 
 of them wmuld have him stay for his best things till the 
 beginning of the next year, but he wdll have them all 
 now^ ; but Patience is wdlling to w^ait.’ 
 
 Then I saw that one came to Passion and brought 
 him a bag of treasure, and poured it down at his feet ; 
 the which he took up and rejoiced therein, and, wdthal, 
 laughed Patience to scorn. But I beheld but a while 
 and he had lavished all away, and had nothing left him 
 but rags. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 S99 
 
 ^ “Then said Christian to the Interpreter, ‘Expound 
 this matter more fully to me.’ 
 
 “ So he said, ‘ These Iayo lads are figures : Passion, 
 of the men of tJiis world, and Patience, of the men of 
 that which is to come ; for, as here thou seest, Passion 
 will have all now, this year, that is to say, in this world. 
 So are the men of this ivorld ; they must have all their 
 good things nowL They cannot stay till next year, that 
 is, until the next world, for their portion of good. That 
 proverb, “ A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,” 
 is of more authority with them than all the Divine testi- 
 monies of the good of the world to come. But as thou 
 sawest that he had quickly lavished all away, and had 
 presently left him nothing but rags, so it will be with 
 all such men at the end of this world.’ ” — Pilgrim s 
 Progress, 
 
 PEACE. 
 
 Num. vi. 26 ; xxv. 12 ; Deut. xxix. 19; Judges vi. 24; 2 
 Kings ix. 17-22 ; Ps. v. 5 (cf. Title) ; xxxiv. 14 ; xxxyii. 11, 87 ; 
 Ixxii. 7 ; Ixxxv. 8, 10; cxix. 165 ; cxxii. 6; cxxv. 5 : Pr<»v. i. 
 83 ; Isa. ix. 6 : xxvi. 8, 12 : xxxii. 17 ; xlv. 7 ; xlviii. 18, 22 ; 
 Hi. 7 : liii. 5; liv. 10-18; Ivii. 19-21 ; Jer. vi. 14: xxiii. 17 ; 
 xxxiii. 6 ; Ezek. xiii. 10-16 ; Micah v. 5 ; Zech. vi. 13 ; ix. 10 ; 
 Alatt. X. 13, 34; Mark ix. 50 ; Luko i. 79; ii. 14 ; xix. 88, 42 ; 
 John xiv, 27 ; xvi. 83 ; Acts x. 86 : Rom. v. 1 : riii. 6 ; xiv. 17 ; 
 XV. 18; xvi. 20; Gal. v. 22: vi. 16; Eph. ii. 14, 17; iv. 3; 
 vi. 15 ; Phil, iv. 6, 7 ; 1 Thess. v, 23 ; 2 Thess. iii. 16 ; Heh. 
 xiii. 20 ; Jas. iii. 18. 
 
 Ps. xxix. 11. — “ The Lord will give strength unto his 
 people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.” 
 
 “Peace” after a storm; and when is peace so welcome? 
 M’Cheyne, when in Palestine, pointed out the course of the 
 
400 
 
 ILI.USTK ATI V U G ATH KRINGS. 
 
 storm described in this Psalm, — arising in the Mediterranean 
 (v. 3), traveling by Lebanon (v. 5), down to the Temple porch, 
 where the people fly for shelter (v. 9). Then, when the tem- 
 pest’s force is spent, comes the calm. It is well thus to mark 
 the course of storms, as well in the moral as in the physical 
 world (Jas. iv. 1) ; and happy is it when the storm and tempest 
 drive us to seek shelter under the protecting pavilion of the God 
 of storms. 
 
 Isa. xxxiii. 21. — But there the glorious Lord will be 
 unto us a place of broad rivers and streams ; wherein 
 / shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship 
 pass thereby.” 
 
 Like a beautiful city at rest, calmly sleeping upon the waters! 
 such is the Christian’s peace. 
 
 Isa. xxvi. 3. — Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, 
 w^hose mind is staved on thee; because he trusteth in 
 thee.” 
 
 “ A ship’s compass is so adjusted as to keep its level amidst 
 all the heavings of the sea. Though forming part of a struc- 
 ture, that feels every motion of the restless waves, it has an ar- 
 rangement of its own that keeps it always in place, and in 
 working order. Look at it when you will, it is pointing — 
 trembling, perhaps, but truly — to the pole. So each soul in 
 this life needs an adjustment of its own, that amid the fluctua- 
 tions of the ‘ earthen vessel * it may be kept ever in a position 
 to feel the power of its great attraction in the skies.” — Chris^ 
 tian Treasury. 
 
 The 8till music of a holy soul.” 
 
 The calm sunset of a summer’s Sabbath. 
 
 The olive hranch ^ — the sign of judgment abating. 
 
 The deep, majestic flow of the waves of the sea, (Isa. 
 xlviii. 18.) 
 
 Jerusalem^ — -z. e.^ the vision of peace. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE G ATHElUXaS. 
 
 401 
 
 Melclmedec, King of Salem, the King of righteous- 
 ness, the King of peace. 
 
 The ruler over contending passions. (Col. iii. 15.) 
 
 Love reposing. — “ If joy be love exulting, peace is joy 
 reposing. It is love in the green pastures and beside 
 the still waters.” — Dr. Hamilton. 
 
 Dwelling in the middle of Mount Tahor. — Some 
 Christians (though they are few) dwell constantly on the 
 summit of Mount Tabor, and are always in joy, ecstatic, 
 rapturous joy ; and others dwell almost solely at the base 
 of the holy mountain, living a lower life, where there is 
 strife and trouble. Those who dwell most in the middle 
 region are, perhaps, the happiest; those who dwell in 
 calm and tranquil peace. Peace is more durable than 
 rapture, and more useful than ecstasy. 
 
 It is a great mercy to have the Gospel of peace, but 
 it is far greater to have the peace of the Gospel. 
 
 January. — Kurna Pompilius, to recommend peace, 
 altered the beginning of the Roman year. It formerly 
 commenced with the month of March (which Romulus 
 had appointed because he loved Mars, the God of war), 
 but Pompilius changed it to January, from Janus, which, 
 in the original meaning, refers to husbandry and peace. 
 
 PECULIAR PEOPLE. — Believers. — Exod. xix. .5, 
 6 ; xxxiii, 16 ; Num. xv. 39 ; Deut. iv. 32—34 ; vii. 6-9; 
 xxvi. 16-19 ; Ps. iv. 3; cxxxv. 4; cxlvii. 20 ; Amos. iii. 
 2 ; Zeph. iii. 12 ; Zech. iii. 8 (m) ; Mai. iii. 17 ; Matt. x. 
 16 ; Rom. xii. 2 ; 2 Cor. vi. 17, 18 ; Tit. ii. 14 ; 1 
 Pet. ii. 9. 
 
 Like JSfovemher roses, blooming in the midst of winter’s 
 bleakne.ss, 
 
 34 * 26 
 
402 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 Like green oases in tlie sandy desert. 
 
 the “ sealed ” ones. Eev. vii. 1-8 ; Ezek. ix. 
 
 the great gulf stream, which flows from the 
 
 western to the eastern world, — through the ocean, yet 
 distinct from it in color, warmth, and other points. 
 So have the Jews ever been as a nation ; and so should 
 all Christians be ; — in the world, hut not of it. 
 
 Goshen and Egypt. — “ They saw not one another, 
 neither rose any man from his place for three days, but 
 all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.” 
 Ex. X. 23 ; viii. 22 ; xi. 6, 7 ; xii. 13. 
 
 PERFECTION. — Gen. xvii. 1 ; Deut. xviii. 1-3; Ps 
 xviii. 32 ; xxxvii. 37 ; cxxxviii. 8 ; Prov. iv. 18 ; Luke 
 vi. 40 ; John xvii. 23 ; 2 Cor. vii. 1 ; Eph. iv. 12 ; Phil, 
 iii. 12-15; Col. i. 28; ii. 10; iii. 14; iv. 12; 2 Tim. 
 iii. 16 ; Heh. vi. 1 ; xiii. 21 ; Jas. i. 4 ; iii. 2 ; 1 Pet. 
 V. 10. 
 
 Matt. V. 48. — “ Be ye therefore perfect, even as your 
 Father which is in heaven is perfect.” 
 
 Christians are like children at school, learning to write, by 
 having a copy set before them. It is through much imperfec- 
 tion and failure, and by trial after trial, that they begin to im- 
 prove, till they are able to write with ease and rapidity. They 
 may never be able to write with the same exact perfection as 
 the engraving ; yet if they do the best they can and continue 
 daily to improve, the master is pleased ; so we must be ever 
 copying the Lord Jesus, and the truest Scriptural perfection 
 is to be always aiming at perfection. 
 
 ‘‘Perfection is ripeness, and^therefore not possible on 
 earth. Time is not a summer long enough to ripen the 
 soul. Heaven is the summer of the Beecher. 
 
 Dwarf Trees.— The perfection of the schools is a 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 403 
 
 kind of mandarin perfection, like that of a Chinese gar- 
 den filled with dwarfed plants and trees, with oaks tw'o 
 feet high. Scriptural perfection is like the oak of the 
 forest, gigantic and unstunted in its growth, filling up its 
 native and noble proportions, not stunted and dwarfed by 
 the rules of art. 
 
 PERSEVERANCE.-Judg. viii. 4; Job xvii. 9; Ps. 
 xxxvii. 24, 28, 31 ; xciv. 18 ; cxix. 165 ; cxxxviii. 8 ; 
 Prov. iv. 18; Jer. xxxii. 40; Matt. x. 22; xxiv. 13; 
 Luke xxii. 31, 32 ; John viii. 31, 32 ; x. 27, 28 ; xvii. 
 11, 12 ; Acts xiv. 22 ; Rom. viii. 29, 30, 35-39 ; Gal. vi. 
 9 ; Col. i. 23 ; 2 Thess. iii. 13 ; 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8 ; Heb. iii. 
 6, 14 ; vi. 11 ; Jas. i. 25 ; 1 Pet. i. 5 ; 1 John ii. 19 ; iii. 
 9; Jude 24; Rev. ii. 10, 26. 
 
 ‘‘No grace, no, not the most sparkling and shining 
 grace, can bring a man to heaven of itself without per- 
 severance ; not faith, which is the champion of grace, if 
 it be faint and fail ; nor love, which is the nurse of grace, 
 if it decline and wax cold ; nor humility, which is the 
 adorner and beautifier of grace, if it continue not to the 
 end ; not obedience, not repentance, not patience, no, nor 
 any other grace, except they have their perfect work. It 
 is not enough to begin well, except we end well. Ma- 
 nasseh and Paul began ill, but ended well; Judas and 
 Demas began well, but ended ill.” — Brooks, 
 
 “ Then I saw in my dream that the Interpreter took 
 Christian by the hand, and led him into a place where 
 was a fire burning against a wall, and one standing by 
 it, always casting much water upon it, to quench it ; yet 
 did the fire burn higher and hotter. 
 
 “ Then said Christian, ‘ What means this ? ' 
 
404 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS, 
 
 ‘‘ The Interpreter answered, ^ This fire is the work of 
 grace that is wrought in the heart ; he that casts water 
 upon it, to extinguish and put it out, is the devil ; but in 
 that thou seest the fire, notwithstanding, burns higher 
 and hotter, thou shalt also see the reason of that/ So 
 he had him about to the back side of the wall, where he 
 saw a man with a vessel of oil in his hand, of which he 
 did also continually cast, but secretly, into the fire. 
 
 Then said Christian, ‘ What means this ?' 
 
 ‘‘ The Interpreter answered, ^ This is Christ, who con- 
 tinually, with the oil of His grace, maintains the work 
 already begun in the heart ; by means of which, notwith- 
 standing what the devil can do, the souls of His people 
 prove gracious still. And in that thou sawest that the 
 man stood behind the wall to maintain the fire ; this is 
 to teach thee that it is hard for the tempted to see how 
 this work of grace is maintained in the soul.’ ” — 
 Pilgrim s Progress. 
 
 Joan of Arc. — It is related of her that when on her 
 trial, she w’as asked, ^‘Do you believe that you may fall 
 from grace?” She replied, with much humility, If I 
 am not in a state of grace, I pray that God may bring 
 me in it ; and if I am, I pray that He may keep me in 
 
 PLEASURE. — Deut. xxxii. 15; Esther i. 10-12; 
 Prov. iii. 17 ; v. 11; xxi. 17 ; xxiii. 21 ; Eccl. ii. ; vii. 
 2-6 ; xi. 7-10 ; xii. 1 ; Isa. v. 11, 12 ; xlvii. 8, 9 ; Iviih 
 3 ; Ezek. xvi. 49, 50 ; Hos. xiii. 6 ; Amos iii. 15 ; v. 
 11 ; vi. 3-6 ; Luke viii. 14 ; xvi. 20, 26 ; xxi. 34 ; 
 Rom. xiii. 13, 14 ; xv. 3 ; Eph. iv. 19 ; Phil. iii. 19 ; 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERI^'GS* 
 
 405 
 
 1 Tim. V. 6 ; 2 Tim. ill. 4; Heb. xi. 25; Jas. v. 5; 
 
 2 Pet. ii. 13. 
 
 James v. 5. — Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, 
 and been wanton.” 
 
 l(XTTara\fiaaTt from o-TraraXaw, wliich according to Parkhurst is 
 derived from cTraddoi, which properly signifies to insert more 
 threads into the warp in weaving, by moving the o-Ta0>7, a part 
 of the weaving-loom contrived for this purpose ; and thence to 
 spend extravagantly or luxuriously. Oh ! how the men of this 
 world try to crowd still more and more pleasure into life’s short 
 web. Xerxes oflTered a reward to the man who would invent a 
 new pleasure. 
 
 “He buys honey too dear who licks it from thorns.” 
 The pleasures of the world are not like the waters of 
 the Nile, which leave, when they are gone, the germs of 
 beauty and fertility, to bud and blossom and cheer the 
 heart of man ; on the contrary, they are are like those 
 streams polluted by the washings of poisonous minerals, 
 depositing the seeds of death and disease to all who 
 drink of them. 
 
 “ Pleasure is but like a wooden frame set under an 
 arch, till it be strong enough of its own weight to stand 
 alone. So when by any means the devil hath a man 
 sure, he takes no longer care to cozen him with plea- 
 sures, but is content that he should begin an early hell, 
 and be tormented before the time .” — Bishop Jeremy 
 Taylor, 
 
 “I have often seen a little child following his parent 
 in the fields, and stooping now and then to gather a few 
 flowers. He looks up and sees him at a distance ; the 
 little creature runs and gets up to him again, afraid he 
 should be led far away. Thus the Christian, while 
 gathering a few flowers from the world, sulfers his God 
 
406 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 to be often at a distance from him, but the moment he 
 perceives that he is alone he runs to reach again his 
 father, friend, and best fxotectov.”— Rowland Hill. 
 
 John Howard’s Wiee. — It is related in the life of 
 the great Philanthropist, that having settled his accounts 
 at the end of a particular year, he found a balance in his 
 favour, and therefore proposed to his wife to spend it on 
 a journey to London, or on whatever else she chose. 
 After due deliberation she fixed upon a plan. “ What a 
 nice cottage it would build for some poor family ! Sup- 
 pose it be spent on that?” It is needless to add the 
 husband at once agreed to the act of self-denial, and the 
 cottage, soon built and tenanted, afforded the happiness 
 known only to self-denying kindness. 
 
 POOR.— Deut. XV. 7-11 ; Judges vi. 15 ; Ruth i. 21 ; 
 1 Sam. ii. 7, 8; xviii. 23; 2 Sam. xii. 1-6; 1 Kings 
 xvii. 12; 2 Kings iv. 2-7; Esth. ix. 22; Job i. 21; 
 xxix. 12 -16 ; Ps. ix. 18 ; x. ; xxxiv. 6 ; xl. 17 ; xli.’ 
 1-3 ; Ixviii. 10 ; Ixxii. 8 ; Ixxiv. 19 ; cxii. 9 ; cxxxii. 15 ; 
 cxl. 12 , Prov. X. 4 ; xiii. 7 ; xiv. 21, 31 ; xvii. 1, 5 ; 
 xix. 1, 7 ; xxi. 18, 17 ; xxii. 2 ; xxviii. 19, 27 ; xxix. 7; 
 XXX. 7-9 ; Eccles. ix. 14-16 ; Isa. xxix. 19 ; xli. 17 ; 
 Jer. xxxix. 10; Ezek. xvi. 49 ; Dan. iv. 27 ; Hab. iii. 17,’ 
 18 ; Zeph. iii. 12 ; Zech. xi. 7, 11 ; Matt. v. 3 ; xi. 5 (cf. 
 Mark xii. 37) ; Mark xii. 41-44 ; Luke ix. 58 ; xiv. 13 ; 
 Acts IX. 36, 39 ; Rom. xv. 26 (cf. Acts xx. 35) ; 1 Cor. 
 1. 26-29 ; xiii. 3 ; 2 Cor. vi. 10 ; viii. ; Gal. ii. 10; Heb. 
 xi. 37 ; Jas. ii. 5, 6; Rev. ii. 9. 
 
 Jer. ii. 31.—“ 0 generation, see ye the word of the 
 Lord : Have I been a wilderness unto Israel ? a land 
 
 of darkness ?” 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 407 
 
 it Xoie. — None of those who have had any dealings with God 
 ever had reason to complain of Him as a icilderness, or a land of 
 darkiiess. He has blessed us with fruits of the earth, and 
 therefore we cannot say that He has been a wilderness to us, a 
 dry and barren land, that (as Mr- Gataker expresses it) He has 
 held us to hard meat, as cattle fed upon the common ; so his 
 sheep have been led into green pastures. He has also blessed us 
 with the lights of heaven, and has not withheld them, so that we 
 cannot say He has been to us a land of darkness. He has caused 
 His sun to shine, as well as His rain to fall, upon the unthankful 
 and evil, as well as upon the good and grateful.” — Matthew 
 Henry. 
 
 James i. 9.— “Let the brother of low degree rejoice 
 in that he is exalted.” “ Glory in his sublimity. ’’ — 
 {Manton.) 
 
 “ He saith of low degree, and yet brother. Meanness doth not 
 take away Church relations. Christian respects are not to be 
 measured by these outward things. A Christian life is full of 
 mysteries ; poor, and yet rich ; base, and yet exalted ; shut out 
 of the world, and yet admitted into the company of saints and 
 angels; the world’s dirt, and God's jewels.” — Manton. 
 
 Under the law there were many provisions made, 
 especially for the poor, ‘‘that the poor may eat.” 
 
 Exod. xxiii. 10, 11.— The Sabbatical year. Cf. Heut. xv. 
 12-15. 
 
 Lev. xix. 9, 10, — The gleanings in harvest. 
 
 Lev. ii., &c. — The same minute directions are given as to the 
 sacrifices of the poor as of the rich. 
 
 Exod. XXX. 12-16, the half shekel atonement exhibited the 
 equality of the poor and rich in God’s sight. 
 
 The shell may be coarse which encloses the pearl. An 
 iron safe may hold treasures of gold. A broken frame 
 may contain the most beautiful picture. Poor Chris- 
 tians may be rich Christians. 
 
 “Poor but loyal.” — The inscription on one of the 
 
408 
 
 ILtU SXRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 banners carried by the workhouse children of Hull, on 
 the occasion of the Queen’s visit to that port. 
 
 “ Be contented with a mean condition. This is not 
 the time for the manifestation of the sons of God. Thousrh 
 others that are wicked may have a larger portion and 
 allowance than you, yet God doth not misplace His hands 
 (as Joseph thought his father did, Gen. xlviii.), hut puts 
 them upon the right head, and assigns temporal blessings 
 to the right persons. Ephraim is not preferred before 
 Manasseh without reason.” — 3Ianton. 
 
 “The Lord’s poor are the Lord’s care.” It was the 
 advice of a bishop to a candidate for ordination, “ Take 
 care of the poor, and the Lord will take care of you.” 
 The history of that clergyman (who is still living) has 
 most remarkably justified the wisdom of the counsel, and 
 verified the truth of the prediction. 
 
 “ If an angel were sent from heaven to find the most 
 perfect man, he would probably not find him composing 
 a body of divinity, but perhaps a cripple in a poor-house, 
 whom the parish wish dead, and humbled before God 
 with far lower thoughts of himself than others think of 
 him.” — Newton. 
 
 Luther said once, “ I thank thee, 0 God, that thou 
 hast made me a poor man on the earth.” When the 
 Elector sent him a valuable present, he w'rote hack that 
 he could not refuse what had been given by his Prince, 
 hut begged his Highness to send no more, and not to 
 give ear to those who said he was in need of anything, 
 for he was not ; that somebody else had sent him sixty 
 florins (about six pounds), and he began to be afraid that 
 he should he numbered among those whose portion is in 
 this world ! 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS* 
 
 409 
 
 Calvin, when a gentleman died in his house, and left 
 2,000 crowns, wishing to place it in his hands, refused. 
 
 My death,” he said, will prove what they will not 
 believe of me in ray life.” And so it did. He died as 
 poor as he had lived. At his death there was not more 
 that $200 of his property left. 
 
 The Rare Jewel of Contentment. — Mr. Cecil re- 
 lates an instance of a member of his church, a man of 
 extraordinary piety, who had long been clerk in an opu- 
 lent mercantile house in London. Often the partners 
 had proposed to him, and at length urgently, to enter 
 the firm. He had firmly declined. At last they applied 
 10 Mr. Cecil to use his influence with him, saying, ‘‘ We 
 are really ashamed that a man of his ability and high 
 character should occupy a subordinate position in our 
 house.” Mr. Cecil spoke to his friend on the subject. 
 He replied, My dear Sir, I find the power of the world 
 so great, and so hard to be contended with in the Divine 
 life, that I dare not consent to have it increased.” 
 Eminent Men who have risen from poverty : — 
 
 Barhers.—'^ix Richard Arkwright (the inventor of the Spin- 
 ning Jenny), a barber till he was thirty years old. Jeremy 
 Taylor (Bishop and Divine), son of a barber. Lord Tenterden, 
 Chief Justice of the Queen’s Bench, ditto. 
 
 Bricklayers . — Ben Jonson ; Thomas Croker (Martyr of Glou- 
 cester) ; Dr. Kitto. 
 
 Shoemakers . — Robert Bloomfield (Author of the “ Farmer’s 
 Boy”). Gifford (Editor of the Quarterly Review). It is nar- 
 rated of him, that when a youth, he used to work out his pro- 
 blems on a smooth piece of leather with a blunted awl. Lack- 
 \hgton (the eminent bookseller). George Fox (the chief founder 
 in England of the Quaker Society). Dr. Morrison (the 
 missionary to China, and translator of the Scriptures). Hunt- 
 ingdon (minister of the chapel in Gray’s-inn-road). Boehman. 
 
410 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINQS. 
 
 Dr. Carey (Professor of Sanscrit at Calcutta, and a devoted 
 missionary. ) 
 
 Carpenters. — Bramah (inventor of the press called by his name). 
 Dr. Hunter (afterwards the eminent surgeon). Opie (President 
 of Koyal Academy). Haydn (musician). Dr. Samuel Lee 
 (Hebrew and Arabic Professor). 
 
 * * * * 
 
 From such cases we may gather for all, and especially for 
 those in humble circumstances, many lessons of encouragement 
 to (1) industry; (2) perseverance, &c. Let none say, “I am 
 too low to rise.^’ Bemember how many have risen. 
 
 “ A COMMON device of Satan is, to present the poverty 
 and affliction of those who walk in the ways of God. 
 But remember, — 
 
 1. Though they are outAvardly poor, the}?' are in- 
 wardly rich. (Ps. xlv. 13 ; Rev. ii. 9 ; Luke xii. 32.) 
 Though saints have little in hand, they have much in 
 hope. 
 
 2. In all ages God has had some who have been 
 great, rich, wise, and honorable ; though not many wise 
 men, yet some wise men. (See M., p. 347.) 
 
 3. The spiritual riches of the poorest saints infinitely 
 transcend the temporal riches of all the wicked men in 
 the world. (John iv. 13, 14.) 
 
 4. It will be but as a day before these poor, despised 
 saints, who are God’s jewels, will shine brighter than the 
 sun in his glory ; and in that day, oh, how will the great 
 and the rich, the learned and the noble, wish that they 
 had lived and spent their days, with these few poor, con- 
 temptible creatures, in the service of the Lord ! 
 
 5. The time shall come, even in this life, when the re- 
 proach and contempt that is now cast upon the ways of 
 God, by reason of the poverty, &c., of those that walk 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 411 
 
 therein, shall be quite taken away ; by His making them 
 the head who have days without number been the tail ; 
 and by His raising them up to much outward riches, 
 prosperity, and glory, who have been as outcasts because 
 of their poverty and small number. Jer. xxxi. 12 ; Isa. 
 XXX. 23 ; Ixii. 8, 9 ; Joel ii. 23, 24 ; Micah iv. 6 ; Amos 
 ix. 13, 14; Zech. viii. 12; Isa. xli. 18, 19; Iv. 13; Ixi. 
 4, 10 ; Ixv. 21, 22 ; Ezek. xxxvi. 10. Only remember, 
 that in these times, (1) The saints’ chiefest comforts will 
 consist in their more clear, full, and constant enjoy- 
 ment of God. (2) That they shall have such abundant 
 measure of the Spirit poured out upon them, that their 
 riches and outward glory shall not be snares to them, but 
 golden steps to a richer living in God.” — Brooks, 
 
 PRAISE. — Gen. xxix. 35 (marg.) ; Exod. xv. 2, 11 ; 
 Deut. X. 21 ; 1 Chron. xvi. 36 ; Ezra hi. 11 ; Neh. ix. 
 5 ; Ps. ix. 14 ; xxi. 13 ; xxii. 23, 25 ; xxx. 1 ; xxxiii. 
 1 ; xxxiv. 1 ; xxxv. 28 ; xlii. 5 ; 1. 23 ; Ivii. 7 ; Ixv. 1 ; 
 xcv. 1; xcvi. 1; chi.; cvii. ; cxi. ; cxv. 1; cxvi. 12-14; 
 cxvih. ; cxix. 171; cxxxvi. ; cxxxviii. ; cxlv-cl. ; Isa. 
 xliii. 21; lx. 18; Ixi. 3; Hab. hi. 3; Matt. xxi. 16; 
 John xh. 13, 43; Acts ii. 46, 47 ; Rom. i. 21; Heb. 
 xih. 15; 1 Pet. ii. 9 ; iv. 11; Rev. xix. 1-7. 
 
 Should be offered through Christ, Heb. xiii. 15 ; 
 
 1 Pet. ii. 5. 
 
 “ The peace-olFering was laid upon the burnt-offering, Lev. 
 iii. 5. It is not the breath poured into the open air, but pass- 
 ing through the trumpet or some other instrument, that makes 
 it pleasing music.” — Gurnall. 
 
 • Constant, 
 
 “ Lei not thy praises be transient — a fit of music, and then 
 
412 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS, 
 
 the instl’ament hung by the wall till another gaudy day of some 
 remarkable providence makes thee take it down. God comes 
 not guest-wise to his saints’ house, but to dwell with them. Ps. 
 xxii. 3. David took this up for a lifework,— ‘ As long as I live 
 I will praise Thee.’ 
 
 Real. 
 
 Let thy praises be real. "Words, we say, pay no debts. 
 There goes more to thankfulness than a few empty praises, 
 which pass away with the sound they make. ‘ The Lord is my 
 strength and song, atid I will prepare him a habitation.’ Exod. 
 XV. 2. Ay, here it sticks, — building is chargeable ; thankful- 
 ness is a costly work. ‘ Shall I ofier to God that which cost me 
 nothing?’ saith David to Araunah. Cheap praises are easily 
 obtained; but when it comes to charges, then many grow sick 
 of the work.” — Idtd. 
 
 Obediential. 
 
 ‘•God accounts those mercies forgotten which are not written 
 with legible characters in our lives. That of Joshua is observa- 
 ble (chap. viii. 82). Dpon their victory over the city of Ai, 
 an altar is built, as a monument of that signal mercy. Now 
 mark, AYhat does God command to be writ or engraved upon 
 the stones thereof? One would have thought the history of 
 that day’s work should have been the sculpture: but it is the 
 copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the 
 children of Israel (ver. 32) ; whereby he plainly showed the 
 best way of remembering the mercy was not to forget the law.” 
 — Ibid. 
 
 Fruitful. 
 
 “ Then they are real praises when they end in acts of mercy. 
 Very observable is that place (Heb. xiii. 15), — ‘By him let us 
 ofier the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit 
 of our lips, giving thanks to his name.’ Now, mark the very 
 next words, ‘ But to do good and to communicate forget not; 
 for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.’ ” — Ibid. 
 
 ‘‘ The word rendered 'praise primarily signifies the 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERI^'GS. 
 
 413 
 
 irradiation of a luminous body. The liigh ambition of 
 a penitent soul is that of becoming a reflector, from 
 which the glories of the Sun of Righteousness may be 
 more widely diffused on the world of men and angels.” — 
 Salter, 
 
 What is praise? The rent we owe to God; and the 
 larger the farm, the greater the rent. 
 
 The Music-book. — The whole course and series of 
 Divine Providence toward the saints is like a music- 
 book, in every leaf whereof there is a song ready pricked 
 for them, to learn and sing to the praise of their God ; 
 no passage their life of which they can say, ‘Mn this 
 I receive no mercy for v/hich I should bless God.” — 
 Grurnall, 
 
 Judah. — It is not without significance, that, in the 
 armies of Israel, Judah (which means praue) went first. 
 Have not bright, praising Christians commonly led the 
 Church’s van ? Do they not recomm.end the service 
 most, and cheer their fellow-soldiers by their chastened 
 cheerfulness ? 
 
 The Psalms. — It has been well remarked that tliere 
 is no book of devotion in the New Testament correspond- 
 ing to the Psalms in the Old, — doubtless, one reason of 
 wdiich is, that none was needed. The Psalms express 
 the feelings of the Church in all ages, and may at once 
 be adapted to the experience of all God’s children always. 
 Now, there are four things observable in the Psalms. 
 1. praise abounds. Scarce a single Psalm can be 
 found without some note of joy and thankfulness inter- 
 woven. In some these words may be few ; like Psalm 
 Ixxxviii., in which we find scarce one word of hope or 
 comfort ; yet there is one which makes up for all,— 
 35 * 
 
414 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 salvation (ver. 1.) 2. How 'praise succeeds prayer. 
 
 How many Psalms begin with prayer, and end with 
 praise! 3. jjraise succeeds sorrow. We find first, 
 sighing, then singing ; weeping in the evening, and joy 
 in the morning. (Ps. xxx. 5, marg.) “I do so like the 
 ups and downs in the Psalms” (said Adelaide Newton). 
 4. Praise is a song that gains strength as it proceeds ; 
 the last Psalms (which were probably written latest) 
 abounding most. 
 
 Praise is the believer’s helper in his trials, and his 
 companion after trial. Jehoshap>had s array sang praises 
 before the battle; "And when they began to sing and 
 praise, the Lord fought for Israel.’ David sang praises 
 in the cave. (Ps. Ivii. 7.) Daniel^ when the trap 'was 
 set for his life, prayed and gave thanks three times a 
 day, as usual; and Jesus, when He would raise Lazarus, 
 first lift up His heart in thanks to the Father (John xi. 
 41) ; and before He went to supper, first sang an hymn. 
 (Matt. xxvi. 30.) So is praise also our solace after trial. 
 
 ‘ Music is sweetest when heard over rivers, where the 
 echo thereof is best rebounded by the waters ; and praise 
 for pensiveness, thanks for tears, blessing God over the 
 floods of affliction, makes the sweetest music in the ears 
 of heaven.’ ” — Fuller. 
 
 Prayer and Praise. — Great blessings that are won 
 with prayer, are W'orn wdth thankfulness. Prayer and 
 thanks are like the double motion of the lungs : the air 
 that is sucked in by prayer, is breathed forth again by 
 thanks. Eph. v. 20; Heb. xiii. 15; Ps. 1. 14.” — Good- 
 ivin. 
 
 Rising and Falling. — By an ingenious contrivance 
 near some of the collieries, and in other places where the 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 415 
 
 ground allows of it, the full and empty carriages, or 
 vessels, being connected together, those which have been 
 emptied are from time to time raised up an ascent by 
 the descending of those that have been filled. In this 
 way let the descent of God’s mercies, and the gifts be- 
 stowed out of His fullness, raise your empty vessels to 
 receive again and again from His inexhaustible treasury, 
 all that you need. ‘ Because He hath inclined his ear 
 unto me, therefore will I call upon Him as long as I 
 live.’ ” — BickerstetJi, 
 
 Hallelujah. — Mothers, listen ! Two dear children 
 were one day seen very ill in the same room ; the older 
 of the two was heard frequently attempting to teach the 
 younger one to pronounce the word ‘Hallelujah!’ but 
 without success, — the dear little one died before he could 
 repeat it. When his brother was told of his death, he 
 was silent for a moment, and then, looking up at his mo- 
 ther, said, ^Johnny can say Hallelujah” now, mother!’ 
 In a few hours the two little brothers were united in 
 heaven, singing ‘Hallelujah’ together. Mothers! many 
 of your little ones could not sing the praises of their Re- 
 deemer while resting in your arms, but they have been 
 taught the music of the Upper Temple now, and they 
 sing among the celestial choristers !” — Chruiian Treas- 
 ury. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Job xxxiii. 23-26 ; Ps. v. 3 ; x. 14, 17; xvii. 1 ; xlii. 8; Ixi, 
 2: Ixvi. 18; Ixxxviii. 2; cix. 4; cxix. 147 ; cxxvi. 5; cxli. 1, 
 2; cxlv. 18; Prov. xv. 8, 29; Isa. Iv. 6; Ezek. xxxxi. 37 ; 
 Zech. vii. 2 ; viii. 21; xii. 10; Alatt. vi. 5-13; vii. 7-11 : xviii, 
 19, 20; xxi. 22; xxvi. 41; Luke xviii. 1-14; xxi. 36; Horn, 
 viii. 26; x. 12 ; xii. 12 ; 1 Cor. xiv. 15 ; Ephes. vi. 18 ; Phil. iv. 
 
416 
 
 ILLUSTRATTVW OATT[ERINGS. 
 
 j 
 
 6 ; Col. iv. 2 ; 1 Thess. v. 17 ; 1 Tim. ii. 8 ; v. 5 ; Heb. xi. 6 ; 
 1 Pet. iii. 7; iv. 7 ; James i. 5, G ; v. 13, 16 ; Jude 20. 
 
 Encouragement to prayer, 2 Chron, vii. 14 ; Ps. iii. 4 ; xxxiv. 
 4, 15, 17 ; xxxii. 7 ; 1. 15 ; Iv. 22 ; Ixv. 2; xci. 15 ; cii. 17 ; Isa. 
 xxxvi. 19 ; ixv. 24 ; Jer. xxix. 13 ; xxxi. 9 ; xxxiii. 3 ; Zecli. xiii. 
 9; Matt. vii. 11; xxi. 22; Mark xi. 24, 25; Luke xi. 1-13; 
 Jidin xiv. 13; xv. 7 ; Heb. iv. IG ; James i. 5-7 ; iv. 8; v. 15- 
 18 ; 1 John iii. 22 ; v. 14-16. 
 
 — — - of the hypocrite and ungodly. — Job xxi. 14, 15 ; xxxv. 
 13; xxxvi. 13; Ps. x. 4; 1.16, 17; Ixxviii. 34-37; Prov. i. 
 28 ; XV. 8 xxviii. 9 ; Isa. i. 1 5 ; xliii. 22 ; lix. 1, ^ ; Jer. xi. 
 11, 14; Ezek. xxxiii. 31; Dan. ix. 13, 14; Hosea vii. 14; Mai. 
 iii. 14; Matt. vi. 5; xv. 8, 9; xxiii. 14; James iv. 2, 3. 
 
 Luke ix.'29. — ‘‘And as lie prayed, the fashion of his 
 countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and 
 glistering.’' 
 
 The times and seasons of our Lord’s especial prayers are well 
 worthy to be noticed. Christ prayed before (1) a sacred ordi- 
 nance, Luke iii. 21, and sacred ordinances are best sanctified by 
 prayer ; (2) any unusually important business. Matt. ix. 38, and 
 Jjuke vi. 12, 13 ; so do all true saints, Num. x. 35, Ezra viii. 22, 
 23 ; (3) any peculiar honor or enjoyment, Luke ix. 28. Be- 
 lievers may delight to receive especial mercies, but unless they 
 receive them with prayer, and enjoy them with prayer, they 
 need not won tier if they are soon embittered to them ; (4) any 
 time of peculiar danger, for ourselves or our friends, Ps. cix. 1 
 -4, Luke xxii. 31, 32 ; (5) approaching trouble or danger. Matt, 
 xxvi. 36, Luke xxii. 39-44 ; (G) His death, Luke xxiii. 34, 4G. 
 Now, in all these things remember — (1) Christ has left us an 
 example to follow, Phil. ii. 5 ; (2) Christ was heard in his 
 prayers, Heb. v. 7, John xi. 41, 42. But how? Matt. xxvi. 
 42 ; (3) Christ is praying still, Bom. viii. 34. 
 
 Mark v. 1-20. — The miracle of the devils aud the 
 herd of swine. 
 
 A lesson on prayer. Here are three prayers: — 1. The prayer 
 of the devils, “Send us into the swine,” and this was grant< d ; 
 2. The prayer of the Gadarenes, to “depart” out of their‘coa»is. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 417 
 
 and this was granted : 3. The prayer of the healed demoniac^ to 
 remain with Jesus, and this was denied. How strange, yet in- 
 structive I Hence learn that prayers are often answered in judg- 
 ment and denied in mercy: yet Jesus will hear all right prayers 
 in kind or in kindness. 
 
 Luke xviii. 9-14. — Two men went up into the tem- 
 ple to pray. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with 
 himself.” 
 
 What is the chief thing remarkable in the Pharise^:’s 
 “prayer?” Is it not that it was not a prayer? Prayer is a 
 petition, asking for something, yet he asked for nothing, and 
 therefore never prayed. True, he went to pray, and probably 
 thought he had prayed, and prayed well. So also do thousands 
 still. Yet, though he said much about himself, he said nothing 
 of Grod : though he told what he did, he said nothing of what 
 he wanted, and as no blessing was asked, none was received ! 
 
 We may well compare with this Luke i. 13: “Fear not, 
 Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard and James v. 17, “ Elias 
 prayed earnestly that it might not rain,” and his prayer was 
 heard. Yet we have no record in either case of any prayer being 
 offered ! 
 
 Truly, “ The Lord seeth not as man seeth ; for man looketh 
 on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” 
 (1 Sam. xvi. 7.) 
 
 % 
 
 1 Thess. Y. 17. — “Pray without ceasing.” 
 
 We know that the Infinite Hod cannot be moved or actually 
 drawn nearer to us by prayer, but prayer draws the Christian 
 nearer to God. If a boat be attached to a large vessel by a rope, 
 the person in the former does not bring the ship nearer to him 
 by pulling the rope, but he brings the boat and himself in it 
 nearer to the ship. So the more frequently we pray, the nearer 
 we bring ourselves to the Lord Host High. The Christian is, 
 therefore, enjoined to “pray without ceasing :” not that he can 
 be always engaged in the positive act, but he ought to have a 
 holy aptitude of prayer. The bird is not always on the wing, but 
 is ready to fiy in an instant ; the believer is not always on the 
 wdng of prayer, but he has such a gracious aptitude for this ser- 
 
418 
 
 ILLUSTPxATIVE GATHEKINGS. 
 
 vice, that he is prepared in an instant, when in danger or nef5<l. 
 to fly for refuge to God. 
 
 Heb. iv. 16 . — Let us therefore come boldly unto the 
 throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find 
 grace to help in time of need.” 
 
 A holy boldness, a chastened familiarity, is the true spirit of 
 right prayer. It is said of Luther, that when he prayed it was 
 with as much reverence as if he were praying to an Infinite 
 God, and with as much familiarity as if he were speaking to 
 his nearest friend. It was the good advice of McCheyne — 
 “ Study your prayers.” “A great part of my time,” he writes, 
 “is occupied in getting my heart into tune for prayer.” Few 
 Christians “ study their prayers” sufficiently, hence so often 
 arise their coldness and lifelessness. “ ’Tis harder,” says 
 Gurnall, “ to get the great bell up than to ring it when raised ; 
 and so it is with our hearts : harder work we shall find it to 
 prepare them for duty, than to perform it when they are got 
 into some order.” 
 
 Emblems. — Incense, 
 
 In which remember — 1. The censer — the renewed heart of a 
 true believer ; 2. The incense. Incense was composed of many 
 ingredients, beaten small, burnt with fire, offered morning and 
 evening — not to *be profaned by or used for any common or 
 worldly purpose. Prayer is the compound harmony of repent- 
 ance, faith, contrition, desire, and other graces ; each “ beaten 
 small,” proceeding from the “broken heart,” oflered daily, and 
 inspired by the Spirit, confined to such things as are according 
 to the will and for the glory of God. 3. The fragrance. Prayer, 
 when the unburdening of a contrite heart, is no intruder, but 
 a welcome guest before the Eternal Throne, perfumed, as it is, 
 with the sweet incense of the Saviour’s merits. (Kev. viii. 
 3, 4.) 
 
 , a hoiv drawn by the hand o? faith, 
 
 “Praver is the bow, the promise is the arrow, faith is the 
 hand which draws the bow, and^ends the arrow with the heart’s 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE CMTHERINGS. 
 
 419 
 
 message to heaven. The bow without the arrow is of no use, 
 and the arrow without the bow is of little worth, and both 
 without the strength of the hand to no purpose. Neither the 
 promise without prayer, nor prayer without the promise, nor 
 both without faith, avail the Christian anything. What was 
 said of the Israelites, ‘They could not enter in, because of un- 
 belief,* the same may be said of many of our prayers, they can- 
 not enter heaven because they are not put up in faith.”— >S'a to. 
 
 , the air by which we live. 
 
 Which fills all space, and difiuses itself as the quickening, in- 
 vigorating principle of life. Such is the spirit of prayer, inter- 
 fused with all our work, like a pleasure ever present — never 
 impeding, but sweetly animating the spiritual life of the child 
 of God. 
 
 5 the little pitcher which fetches the water from 
 
 the brook. 
 
 Break the pitcher, and the herbs will soon hang down their 
 heads and wither. 
 
 , the barometer of the soul. 
 
 Whatever storms be rising, whatever winds may howl and 
 rage, if the barometer of prayer be rising, we may look ere 
 long for calm and summer weather. 
 
 5 the tuning of an instrument. 
 
 There are 'few musicians that can take down their lute or 
 viol, and play presently upon it, without some time to tune it. 
 “A great part of my time,” says M‘Cheyne, “ is spent in get- 
 ting my heart in tune for prayer.’* (See above.) 
 
 5 the link that connects earth with heaven. 
 
 The impotence of man with the omnipotence of God. 
 
 , the gift of the knees f — the Yoruba Christians’ 
 
 phrase for prayer. 
 
420 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS, 
 
 the letter^ sent from the child on earth to his 
 
 Father in heaven/' 
 
 Scriptural Figures. — Beseeching— Calling — Crying 
 (aloud, mighty) — Drawing near — Laboring (Col. iv. 12, 
 marg., striving) — Looking up — Lifting up the soul — 
 Pouring forth the heart— Seeking — Wrestling. 
 
 Cf. the words. Litany, Liturgy, Rogation Days, ex- 
 pressive of earnestness. 
 
 ‘‘None of God's children are born dumb." — Leigh- 
 ton. 
 
 “Generalities are the death of prayer." — J. H. 
 Evans. 
 
 “When God pours out His spirit upon man, then man 
 will pour out his heart before God. The breath of prayer 
 comes from the life of faith." — Mason. 
 
 The Israelites derived their joint names from the 
 two chief parts of religion : Israelites, from Israel, whose 
 prayer was his “strength" (Hosea xii. 3), and Jews, 
 from Judah, whose name means “ praise." 
 
 “ Can I pray before beginning it ? " is a good test of 
 doubtful actions. 
 
 “ Do NOT come to me to tell me, ‘ you are fit to join 
 the Church, because you love to pray morning and night. ’ 
 Tell me what your praying has done for you, and then 
 call your neighbors, and let me hear what they think it 
 has done for you." — Beecher. 
 
 Eliot. — “Prayer and pains can do anything," was 
 the favorite motto of the venerable Eliot. 
 
 A Ministry of prayer must be a ministry of power. 
 
 A LITTLE child, a short time ago, when he had finished 
 his evening prayer, rose quietly, and turned to his father, 
 a godless man, with the unexpected (question, “Now, 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE OATHEEINGS. 
 
 421 
 
 father, I’ve said my prayers. Have you said yours ? 
 Are you too hig to pray? ” Ah, how many are tjiere 
 who think in their hearts, I am too big to pray ! ” 
 Praying Machines. — The Kev. K. Clark, in his 
 ‘^Journal of a Missionary Tour in North India,” de- 
 scribes the Buddhist praying-machines. The whole 
 road to some of the temples is lined with these machines, 
 not only the small ones turned by the hand, called skurries, 
 but great ones, a foot and more in height. But even 
 this mode of contracting for prayer seems too much 
 trouble, and they have, therefore, placed a large number 
 of these machines in a small house, where they are turned 
 round and kept in motion by a water-mill. He after- 
 W’ards found whole rows of these praying machines turned 
 by the wind, like windmills. . . . Another missionary, 
 who saw them in Thibet, found a number of persons sit- 
 ting round them, that the wind of the wheel might blow 
 upon them, and fan their faces, which would, they con- 
 sidered, bring down a blessing with it. 
 
 Steeping the Seed, — There was a farmer, who used 
 always to sow good seed, yet never had good crops. 
 Often he wondered why. One day a neighbour to whom 
 he told his troubles, asked, But do you steep your seed 
 before you sow it ?” ‘‘No,” said the man, “I never 
 
 heard that it should be steeped.” “ Yes,” said his friend, 
 “ but it should, and I’ll tell you how — in prayer.” 
 
 The Frozen Channel. — “ Scores of richly-laden 
 vessels are now lying in the river, a few miles below our 
 city, anxiously waiting to reach our wharves. Why this 
 delay ? Because the channel is closed hy the ice. Thus 
 it is with the ‘ exceeding great and precious pro- 
 mises’ of God. Not only is He willing, but waiting, to 
 36 
 
422 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 bestow them upon us. Why does He not bestow them ? 
 Alas ! our prayers are the appointed channel through 
 which the blessing flows, but the channel is not open, by 
 which for God to communicate, or for us to receive. It 
 is because we restrain prayer that ‘ the things which re- 
 main are ready to die.’ ” — H. Groves. 
 
 Examples. — During the persecutions of Scotland the 
 Presbyterians were distinguished for their fervency in 
 prayer ; of David Dickens, it is said, he used, after 
 others had spent whole nights in prayer, to continue two 
 hours still. Luther used to say, in some of his busiest 
 seasons, “ I have so much to do, that I cannot get on 
 without three hours a-day of praying.” It was the 
 praying which made him so great a doer. Sir M. Hale 
 observed, “ If I omit praying and reading a portion of 
 God’s blessed Word in the morning, nothing goes well 
 the whole day.” John Welsh spent sometimes even 
 seven or eight hours a-day in the closet, and used to keep 
 a plaid upon his bed, that he might rise at night. Some- 
 times his wife found him on the ground weeping, and, on 
 asking the cause, he would reply, “ I have 3,000 souls 
 to take care of, and how do I know how many of them 
 are prospering ?” Colonel Gardiner, Havelock, &c., 
 used to set apart two hours for devotion every morning. 
 If they had to march at six, they would rise at four, 
 sooner than lose the privilege. Dr. Payson — A lawyer, 
 who had long and intimately known him, attributed his 
 remarkable ministerial success as much to his preva- 
 lence in prayer as to the faithfulness and pungency of 
 his preaching. Spencer Thornton — It is stated in his 
 “ Life” that it was his custom to pray with nearly every 
 person who visited him in his study, and that his prayers 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 423 
 
 were remarkable for being so full of Scripture. Sir 
 Fowell Buxton attributed much of his success, and 
 happiness, and usefulness, both in public and private, to 
 prayer. It was his practice often to write his pray eis 
 for family devotion beforehand, and to make his public 
 speeches the subject of special previous prayer. 
 
 What lessons do such examples teach (and the list 
 might be amplified almost indefinitely), of the value of 
 prayer, and the deep, earnest prayerfulness of those who 
 have been the most useful Christians ! Alas, how do 
 they shame too many ! May their recollection stimulate 
 some to follow those who followed Christ! 
 
 PEEACHING.— Neh. viii. 8; Isa. xxviii. 10; 1.4; 
 Iviii. 1 ; Jer. xxiii. 28 ; Ezek. ii. 7 ; iii. 17-21 ; Jonah 
 
 iii. 2 ; Micah iii. 8 ; Mai. ii. 5—7 ; Matt. x. 7, 16 ; xi. 
 5 ; xii. 41 ; xiii. 52 ; xxviii. 18-20 ; Luke ix. 10 ; xxiv. 
 47 ; John xxi. 15-17 ; Acts v. 41, 42 ; vi. 4 ; viii. 5-8 ; 
 X. 86; xiv. 15; xvi. 13, 17, 32; xvii. 2, 3; xxviii. 24; 
 Rom. X. 15, 16 ; 1 Cor. i. 17-24 ; ix. 16, 27 ; xiv. 3 ; 
 2 Cor. ii. 12-17 ; iv.; v. 19, 20; xi. 4; Gal. i. 8; Eph. 
 ii. 17 ; iii. 8 ; vi. 20 ; Phil. i. 12-18 ; Col. i. 28 ; 1 
 Thess. ii. ; 2 Tim. ii. 15, 25 ; iv. 1-5 ; Titus ii. ; 1 Pet. 
 
 iv. 11 ; Heb. iv. 2. 
 
 of Christ. — Ps. xl. 9; Isa. xlii. 1—3 ; Ixi. 1-3; 
 
 Matt. iv. 17, 23, 24; ix. 35; Mark i. 14; Luke iv. 
 14-32. 
 
 should be — 
 
 Serious and solemn. 
 
 “ It must be serious preaching that makes men serious.’’ — 
 Baxter. 
 
 Set forth Christ crucified as the centre of all truth and 
 life. / 
 
424 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 “‘Don’t you know, young man,’ said a Welsh minister, 
 ‘that from every town, and every village, and every little 
 hamlet in England, wherever it may be, there is a road to Lon- 
 don ?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘ Ah !’ said the old divine, ‘ and so from every 
 text in Scripture there is a road to the metropolis of the Scrip- 
 .tures, that is, Christ. And, my dear brother, your business is, 
 when you get to a text, to say, “NTow, what is the road to 
 Christ ?” and then preach a sermon, running along the road to 
 the great metropolis — Christ. And,’ said he, ‘ I have never 
 yet found a text that had not a road to Christ in it, and if 
 I ever do find one that has not, I will make one. I will go 
 over a hedge and ditch, but I will get at my Master, for the 
 sermon cannot do any good unless there is a savor of Christ in 
 it.’ ” — C. H. Spurgeon. 
 
 clear and convincin 
 
 “ When I first began to preach,” said an old man, who had 
 had much experience, “I thought the great plan was to thun- 
 der at the people ; but when I became wiser, I learnt that it 
 was the lightning that rent the oak : so I determined to thun- 
 der less and lighten more !” 
 
 methodical. 
 
 “There is the same difference between a methodical sermon 
 and a loose one, as between a chess-board and a picture. In vain 
 may the frame of the chess-board be perfectly beautiful ; in vain 
 may each square be ornamented with a different little picture ; 
 you would praise the skill and industry of the workman, but if 
 any one told you that he relied upon your memory to retain the 
 arrangement and subject of these various designs, would you 
 not be considerably astonished ? Would you not say that the 
 very regularity of the plan, by preventing your fixing your 
 eye upon any one square more than another, rendered it im- 
 possible for you to carry a distinct and settled idea of each ? 
 The workman himself would probably not without difficulty 
 accomplish that which he required of you.” — Bungenefs “ The 
 Preacher and the King.'’"' 
 
 affectionate. 
 
 “ I would have every minister of the Gospel address his audi- 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 425 
 
 ence with the zeal of a friend, with the generous energy of a 
 father, and with the exuberant affection of a mother.” — Fenclon. 
 “I never seemed fit to say a word to a sinner except when I 
 had a broken heart myself.” — Payson. 
 
 plain. 
 
 “It takes all our learning to make things plain.” — Usher. 
 “ Let your preaching be plain. Painted glass is most curious, 
 plain glass is most perspicuous. Be a good crucifix to your peo- 
 ple. Preach a crucified Saviour in a crucified style. Paul 
 taught so plainly that the Corinthians thought him a dunce. 
 Let your matter be substantial, wholesome food ; God and 
 Christ, and the Gospel, faith, repentance, regeneration. Aim 
 purely at God’s glory and the salvation of souls. Study as if 
 there were no Christ; preach as if there had been no study. 
 Preach plainly, yet with novelty; preach powerfully as Micah 
 — as Paul in intention of spirit, not retention of voice. To 
 this end get your sermon into your own souls. It is best from 
 the heart to the heart. Preach prudentially as stewards, to give 
 each their portion. Get your sermons memoriter. How can 
 you expect your people should remember, and repeat, if you 
 read? Yet use caution. Our memories are not of brass, they 
 are cracked, in all, by the fall. Beware of giving occasion to 
 say, I may stay at home in the afternoon, I shall hear only the 
 same song .” — Philip Henry's Life. 
 
 f)rofitable.^ leather than pleasing. 
 
 “ Do not preach so much to please as to profit. That is tho 
 best looking-glass, not which has the most gilded frame, but 
 which shows the truest face.” — Watson. “Flowers of rhetoric 
 are like the blue and red flowers in corn-fields ; pleasing to 
 those who come for amusement, but prejudicial to those who 
 would reap the profit.” 
 
 the result of exp)erience. 
 
 “ A father of the Church one day preached a sermon on 
 Christian experience. After it was over one of the hearers 
 asked him, ‘Pray, how long has that sermon taken you in pre- 
 paring?’ ‘About twenty years,’ was the suggestive answer.” 
 36 * 
 
42G 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 loving. 
 
 *‘We want men of hot hearts,” said a converted Chinese 
 Christian, “ to come and tell us of the love of Christ.” 
 
 Remarks on Preaching: — 
 
 Augustine. — 
 
 “ Though in many conduits one be in the shape of an angel, 
 and one of a beast, the water refreshes, as it is water, and not 
 as it comes from such a conduit.” 
 
 Luther. — 
 
 Luther was particularly severe against all preachers that 
 aimed “ at sublimity, difficulty, and eloquence, and who, ne- 
 glecting the souls of the poor, seek their own praise and honor, 
 and to })lease one or two persons of consequence.” “ When a man 
 comes into the pulpit for the first time,” says he, “ he is mucli 
 perplexed at the number of heads that are before him. When 
 I stand in the pulpit, I see no heads, but imagine those who are 
 before me to be all blocks. When I preach I sink myself deeply 
 down, I regard neither doctors nor masters, of which there are 
 in the church above forty. But I have an eye to the multitude 
 of young people, children, and servants, of which there are 
 more than two thousand. I preach to them, and direct my dis- 
 course to those that have need of it. A preacher should be a 
 lo2;ician and a rhetorician ; that is, he must be able to teach 
 and to admonish. When he preaches upon any article, he must 
 first distinguish it, then define, describe, and show what it is ; 
 thirdly, he must produce sentences from the Scripture to prove 
 and strengthen it; fourthly, he must explain it by examples; 
 fifthly, he must adorn it with similitudes ; and, lastly, he must 
 rouse and admonish the indolent, correct the disobedient, and 
 reprove the authors of false doctrine.” 
 
 Baxter. — 
 
 The amount of his labors, and the success which attended 
 them, form of themselves a most interesting study for every 
 minister. The well-known lines, associated with his name, 
 were abundantly exemplified in his practice. 
 
ILLUSTllATTYE GATHERINGS. 
 
 427 
 
 “ I’d preach as though I ne’er should preach again, 
 
 And as a dying man to dying men.” 
 
 Toward the end of his days a man followed him into the pulpit 
 to prevent his falling backward, and to support him, if need- 
 ful, in the pulpit. It was feared, the last time he preached, he 
 would have died preaching. Yet such was his humility, that 
 when reminded of his labors on his death -bed, he replied, I 
 was but a pen in God’s hand, and what praise is due to a 
 pen ?” 
 
 Philip Henry. — Amongst other things recorded in 
 his life is the full union there was in his preaching of 
 doctrine and practice. 
 
 He was verj^ large and particular in pressing second table 
 duties as essential to Christianity. ^We have known those,’ 
 saith he, ‘ that have called preaching on such subjects good 
 moral preaching ; but, let them call it as they will, I am sure 
 it is necessary, and as much now as ever.’ How earnestly 
 would he press upon the people the necessity of righteousness 
 and honesty in their whole conversation ! ‘ A good Christian,’ 
 
 he used to say, ‘ will be a good husband, a good father, and a 
 good master, and a good subject, and a good neighbor, and so 
 in other relations.’ So truly did he esteem the pulpit as his 
 throne, that he used to say, ‘ he would rather go about and beg 
 all the week, if only he might he allowed to preach on the Sun- 
 day.’ ” 
 
 Whitfield. — How remarkable was he for the dili- 
 gence as well as for the fervor of his ministry ! 
 
 From a memorandum-book he kept it would seem that, from 
 the commencement of his ordination to his death (thirty-four 
 years), he preached upwards of 18,000 sermons. He often used 
 to say, at the close of his sermon, “This sermon I got when 
 most of you were asleep.” He was seldom known to preach a 
 sermon without weeping; and his were manifestly tears of 
 sincerity. 
 
 Shepherd. — 
 
 “I never preached a sermon which did not cost me prayer 
 
428 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 and strong crying and tears in the composing of it. I never 
 preached a sermon of which I had not first got some good to 
 my own soul. I always sought to pass into the pulpit as if I 
 were going to give up my account to God directly after.” 
 
 Brown of Haddington, — 
 
 Though a man of considerable theological learning, said of 
 himself, “ God hath made me generally to preach as if I had 
 never read another book but the Bible. I have essayed to 
 preach scriptural truth in scriptural language.” Of other 
 preachers, he remarked, “So far as I have observed the deal- 
 ings of God with my own soul, the flights of preachers some- 
 times entertained me ; but it was Scripture expressions which 
 did penetrate my heart, and that in a way peculiar to them- 
 selves.” 
 
 Mason (Dr. John) gives four excellent rules for the 
 preparation of sermons : — 
 
 “1. Go to the bottom of the subject, and think of all that 
 should be said upon it. 
 
 “ 2. Don’t torture the subject by saying all that can be 
 said. 
 
 “3. Don’t crowd your thoughts too thick. If you pour water 
 too fast into the funnel, it will run over. 
 
 “ 4. Don’t make your sermon too long.” 
 
 John Newton. — 
 
 When past eighty, many of his friends wished him to relax 
 his labors. His reply as to preaching was,— What ! shall the 
 old African blasphemer stop while he can speak ?” 
 
 Jay, of Bath, — 
 
 Used to recommend two simple rules: — “ Seek for such things 
 as would be likely to strike and stick.” 
 
 Dr. Bellamy. — 
 
 “ The successor of Dr. Bellamy was the Rev. Dr. Backus, 
 held in high repute, whose sermons, pervaded with striking 
 thought, clearly, concisely expressed, never failed to secure close 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE UATHEKIXGS. 
 
 429 
 
 and earnest attention. Soon after his settlement, riding one 
 evening, he overtook a colored man, a member of his Church, 
 who had long sat under the preaching of Dr. Bellamy. Con- 
 versation commenced. Perceiving he was not recognized on 
 account of the darkness, Mr. Backus ventured to ask how he 
 liked the new minister. ‘ Pretty well,’ was the answer : ‘but 
 not so well as I did Massa Bellamy.’ ‘AVhy? What is the 
 difference?’ ‘He no make G-od look so big as Massa Bellamy 
 did. Massa Bellamy he make God so great.’ A most accurate 
 and expressive comment, affording a useful hint to the young 
 minister. Said one, who often listened to his eloquent voice, 
 
 ‘ Of all the preachers I ever heard, Dr. Bellamy was the most 
 successful in making God appear great, — great in His character, 
 — great in His government.’ ” 
 
 M‘Cheyne. — The whole of his life is full of hints for 
 ministers. The following fragments are selected : — 
 
 (1.) Much of his sermons were the drawings out of what he 
 had carried to the people in visiting during the week. (2.) It 
 was his custom to keep up the remembrance of his ordination 
 to St. Peter’s, Dundee, by always preaching on the anniversary 
 on the .«ame text. (3.) The heads of his sermons were not mile- 
 stones, to remind you how near you are to the journey’s end, 
 but nails, which fixed and fastened all he said. Divisions are 
 often dry, but not so his ; they were so textual, and so feeling, 
 and brought out so clearly the spirit of the Scriptures. (4.) 
 He aimed to arrive nearer at the primitive mode of expound- 
 ing Scripture, which is too little thought of now. (5.) He 
 would generally visit someone or two of his dying parishioners 
 on the Saturday, with a view of being more stirred up for the 
 Sunday’s work, to preach as dying to dying men. (6.) He 
 would often spend several hours in visiting from house to house, 
 and then collect the people, and preach to them in the evening 
 in some one of the houses. (7.) The cry of Powland Hill is 
 often found at the end of his sermon-notes, — “ Master, help !” 
 
 'What wonder if 8uch a ministry of prayer was a 
 ministry of power ! His preaching was described by 
 
 one who heard him, as if it were a blast of the great 
 
430 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 trumpet that shall awake the dead.’’ And another said, 
 
 He appeared as if he were dying almost to have ye 
 converted.” 
 
 Chalmers, Dr. — 
 
 It is said of his sermons, by Dr. Hamilton, that they seem to 
 “ hold the Bible in solution.” 
 
 Canon Stowell. — 
 
 ‘‘ I have always felt that it is one of the chief points of wis- 
 dom, in the ministry of the AVord, that we give a due propor- 
 tion to every part of Divine teaching. Hence, in the earlier 
 days of my ministry, I hung up in my study a large board, 
 with ruled lines, and with headings, ‘Doctrinal,’ ‘Experimen- 
 tal,’ ‘ Preceptive,’ ‘ Promissory,’ and so on ; and I entered the 
 texts each Sunday, each under its proper head, so that at a 
 glance I could see whether I was giving a due proportion to 
 every part of G-od’s truth ; and when I found any part deficient, 
 I immediately added to that, feeling that I was best honoring 
 God’s Word in honoring all God’s Word. ^ When we speak of 
 preaching the Gospel, we do not mean reiterating certain truths 
 to the exclusion of all others; our duty is to present, as in a 
 great historical picture, the whole of God’s W^ord, every figure 
 in its place and proportion ; ever bearing in mind that the 
 great centre figure of the whole group, on which the whole de- 
 pends, is the Lord Jesus Christ.” 
 
 Button-makers. — ‘‘ In divinity, as in other profes- 
 sions, there are the little artists. A man may be able 
 to execute the button of a statue very neatly ; but I 
 could not call him an able artist. There is an air, there 
 is a taste, to which his narrow capacity cannot reach. 
 Now, in the Church there are your dexterous button- 
 makers. ’ ’ — JSFewton, 
 
 “ Sir, we would see Jesus. ’-^A minister, whose 
 congregation had long deplored the cold and dry style 
 of his preaching, found one Sunday morning, on enter- 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 431 
 
 ing the pulpit, a slip of paper ou the cushiou, with 
 written on it, ^‘John xii. 21” Sir, we would see 
 Jesus”). His own conscience supplied the application 
 of the text, and after much thought and self-examination, 
 he resolved, by God’s help, to preach Christ more 
 clearly; and the Sunday after took for his text John 
 XX. 20, Then w^ere the disciples glad when they saw 
 the Lord.” 
 
 The Three Sermons. — A convert at one of our Mis- 
 sion stations, when at the point of death, was visited by 
 a missionary, who inquired, ‘‘What had been the means 
 of his conversion ?” “Master missionary,” said the dy- 
 ing man, “ do you remember a sermon you preached here 
 upon the glories of heaven?” “I remember it well,” 
 said the minister. “ Master missionary, do you remem- 
 ber,” he added, “a sermon you preached upon the ter- 
 rors of hell ?” “ I remember it well,” said the minister. 
 
 “Master missionary, do you remember, once more,” 
 asked the expiring saint, “ a sermon you preached upon 
 the words of Jesus, ‘I am the Way?’ ” “I remember 
 it well,” said the minister. “And so do I,” said the 
 heir of glory ; “ and that which you said was the means 
 of my conversion.” A blessed testimony to Gospel 
 preaching. 
 
 PREJUDICE. — Jer. vi. 10; Matt. xiii. 55; Lukeix. 
 53 ; John i. 46. 
 
 John vii. 27 — “Howbeit we knoio this man whence he is” and 
 therefore they rejected Him, because He was “the carpenter’s 
 son!” 
 
 John ix. 29. — “We know that God spahe unto Moses; as for 
 this fellow, we know not from whence he i^^,” and therefore they 
 rejected Him on this ground. So that in either case, “He was 
 
432 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 despised and rejected of men.” What a strange proof of in 
 veierate prejudice! 
 
 Trade-winds. — Blind prepossessions and one-sided 
 prejudices are like the trade-winds, which, holding out in 
 one course, make compass and helm alike useless.” 
 
 When prejudice puts its hand before the eyes, that 
 hand, small as it is in itself, will hide the sun. Men 
 may have eyes, and see not. 
 
 John Newton says : “ Dr. Taylor, of Norwich, once 
 said to me, ‘ Sir, I have collated every word in the He- 
 brew Scriptures seventeen times, and it is very strange 
 if the doctrine of the Atonement you hold should not 
 have been found by me.’ I am not surprised at this ; I 
 once went to light my candle with the extinguisher on 
 it. Now, prejudice from education, learning, &c., often 
 proves an extinguisher. It is not enough that you bring 
 the candle, — you must remove the extinguisher.” 
 
 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 
 
 The Nobleman’s Fool. — A certain nobleman had a 
 fool, who one day so amused him with his wit, that he 
 gave him his cane, and told him whenever he could find 
 a greater fool than himself to bring it back to him. In 
 process of time the nobleman came to die, and, sending 
 for his attendant, bid him farewell. “ Where is your 
 Lordship going ?” asked the fool. “ I am going to an- 
 other world,” was the reply. “ And when shall you re- 
 turn ?” “ Oh, I am never to return.” “ No !” said the 
 
 man ; “ then has your Lordship made any preparation 
 for the journey ?” “ Alas ! I have not.” “ Then take 
 
 back your cane,” said the man, “for never could there 
 be folly so great as that !” — JBishop Hall. 
 
ILLfSTEATIVE GATIfERINGS, 
 
 433 
 
 C^SAR Borgia. — It is said of him, that in his last 
 moments he exclaimed, “ I have provided in the course 
 of my life for everything except death ; and now, alas ! 
 I am to die, although entirely unprepared.” 
 
 Andrew Fuller. — “ I have such a hope that with it 
 I can plunge into eternity.” 
 
 PRESUMPTION. — Gen. xi. 4 ; Ex. xxi. 14 ; Num. 
 xiv. 40-44; xv. 30; xvi. ; Deut. xvii. 12, 13; xviii. 20 
 —22 ; 1 Sam. iv. 3 ; vi. 19 ; 2 Sam. vi. 6 ; 1 Kings xiii. 
 4 ; XX. 11 ; 2 Chron. xxvi. 16 ; xxxii. 13 ; Ps. xix. 13 ; 
 cxxxi.; Prov. xii. 15; Isa. xlviii. 2-4; Jer. vii. 4-15; 
 Micah iii. 11 ; Zeph. iii. 11 ; Luke iii. 8 ; xii. 18 ; Acts 
 xix. 18, 14; Rom. ii. 17-24 ;xi. 20; 2 Thess. ii. 4 ; 
 Heb. x. 26 ; James iv. 13 ; 2 Pet. ii. 10 ; 3 John 9 ; Rev. 
 xviii. 7-24. 
 
 The Captain who would go without a Pilot 
 
 THROUGH THE NARROAV CHANNEL. 
 
 “Shall you anchor off Point, Captain ?” 
 
 asked a passenger. 
 
 “ I mean to be in the dock with the morning tide,” 
 was the Captain’s brief reply. 
 
 “ I thought, perhaps, you would telegraph for a pilot,” 
 returned the passenger. 
 
 “ I am my own pilot. Sir ;” and the captain whistled 
 contemptuously. 
 
 “ He’s in one of his daring humors, and I’ll bet any- 
 thing you like that he takes the narrow channel,” quietly 
 remarked a sailor, as he passed to execute some order. 
 
 Is it dangerous?” asked the same passenger un- 
 easily. 
 
 Very, in a gale, — and there’s one coming: on, or I’m 
 37 28 
 
434 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 no sailor,’' replied the man ; ^^but if any man can do it, 
 it’s himself. Only he might boast once too often, you 
 know.” 
 
 Evening came, and the gale was becoming what the 
 sailors call pretty stiff,” when the mate touched my 
 arm, arousing me from a pleasant reverie, in which, smil- 
 ing welcome home held a prominent place. 
 
 We are going in by the narrow channel. Sir,” said 
 he, ‘‘and, with the wind increasing, we may be dashed 
 to pieces on the sand-bank. It is foolhardiness, to say 
 the least. Cannot you passengers compel him to take 
 the safer course ?” 
 
 I felt alarmed, and hastily communicated with two or 
 three gentlemen ; and proceeding together to the captain, 
 we respectfully urged our wishes, and promised to repre- 
 sent any delay caused by the alteration of his course, as 
 a condescension to our anxious apprehensions. But, as 
 I anticipated, he was immovable. 
 
 “We shall be in dock to-morrow morning, gentle- 
 men,” said he. “ There is no danger whatever. Go to 
 sleep as usual, and I’ll engage to wake you with a land 
 salute.” 
 
 Then he laughed at our cowardice, took offence at our 
 presumption, and finally swore that he would do as he 
 chose — that his life was as valuable as ours, and he 
 would not be dictated to by a set of cowardly landsmen. 
 
 We retired, but not to rest ; and in half an hour the 
 mate again approached, saying, “We are in for it now; 
 and if the gale increases, we shall have work to do that 
 we did not expect.” 
 
 Night advanced, cold and cheerless. The few who 
 were apprehensive of danger, remained on deck, holding 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 435 
 
 on by the ropes, to keep ourselves from being washed 
 overboard. The captain came up equipped for night 
 duty, and his hoarse shout in the issue of commands was 
 with difficulty heard in the wild confusion of the ele- 
 ments ; but he stood calm and self-possessed, sometimes 
 sneering at our folly, and . apparently enjoying himself 
 extremely, surrounded by flapping sails, groaning tim- 
 bers, and the ceaseless roar of wind and wave. We 
 wished we were able to sympathize in such amusement, 
 but we supposed it must be peculiar to himself, and en- 
 deavored to take courage from his fearless demeanor. 
 But presently there arose a cry of Breakers ahead!'' 
 The captain flew to the wheel— the sails were struck ; 
 but the wind had the mastery now, and the captain found 
 a will that could defy his own. 
 
 BoatSj make ready was the next hurried cry ; but, 
 as too often occurs in the moment of danger, the ropes 
 and chains were so entangled, that some delay followed 
 the attempt to lower them, — and, in the meantime, we 
 were hurrying on to destruction. The passengers from 
 below came hurrying on the deck in terror, amidst crash- 
 ing masts and entangled rigging. Then came the thrill- 
 ing shock which gave warning that we had touched the 
 bank, and the next was the fatal plunge that struck the 
 foreship deep into the sand, and left us to be shattered 
 there, at the wild waves’ pleasure ! 
 
 It is needless to dwell upon the terrors of that fear- 
 ful night. I was among the few who contrived to man- 
 age the only boat which survived ; and scarcely had T 
 landed with the morning light, surrounded by bodies of 
 the dead and fragments of the wreck borne in by the 
 
436 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE QATHERINdS. 
 
 rising tide, ere I recognized the lifeless body of our wil- 
 ful, self-confident, presumptuous captain. 
 
 He was like one of those who, on the voyage of life, 
 refuse counsel and despise instruction ; who practically 
 recognize no will but their own ; who are wise in their 
 own conceits, satisfied with their own judgment, and 
 trust in their own hearts ; and if left to be filled with 
 their own ways, must make frightful shipwreck just where 
 they suppose themselves sure of port. And as the mis- 
 taken man was accompanied into eternity by those whose 
 lives he had endangered and destroyed, so no man lives 
 or dies unto himself, but bears with him, when all self- 
 deception ends, the aggravated guilt of others ruin, 
 through the influence of his evil precept and example. 
 Tract Magazine. 
 
 PRIDE.— Exod. xviii. 11 ; Lev. xxvi. 19 ; 1 Sam. ii. 
 3 ; 2 Kings xx. 13 ; 2 Chron. xxxii. 26 ; Job ix. 13 ; 
 Ps. X. ; xxxi. 20, 23 ; Ixxiii. 6 : ci. 5 ; cxxiii. 4 ; cxxxi. ; 
 Prov. xi. 2 ; xiii. 10 ; xiv. 3 ; xvi. 5, 18, 19 ; xxi. 4 ; 
 xxix. 23 ; Eccl. vii. 8 ; Isa. ii. 12 ; xvi. 6-14 ; xxiii. 9 ; 
 XXV. 11 ; Jer. xiii. 9, IT ; xlix. 16 ; Ezek. xvi. 49 ; Dan. 
 iv. 37 ; V. 20 ; Hosea v. 5 ; vii. 10 ; Zeph. ii. 9, 10 ; 
 Mai. iii. 15 ; iv. 1 ; Mark vii. 21, 22 ; Luke i. 51 ; xviii. 
 9-14 ; Rom. i. 30 ; 1 Cor. viii. 1 ; 1 Tim. iii. 6 ; vi. 4 ; 
 2 Tim. iii. 2 ; James iv. 6 ; 1 Peter v. 5 ; IJohn ii. 16. 
 
 “ Pride takes for its motto, Great I and little you. 
 
 “A proud heart and a lofty mountain are never 
 fruitful.” — Gurnall. 
 
 “ As the first step heavenward, is humility, so the 
 first step hellward, is pride. Pride counts the Gospel 
 foolishness, but the Gospel always shows pride to he so. 
 
ILliUSTRAflVS GATHERINGS. 
 
 437 
 
 Shall the sinner be proud who is going to hell ? Shall 
 the saint be proud who is newly saved from it ? God 
 had rather His people fared poorly than live proudly.’' 
 — Mason. 
 
 Of all troubles, the trouble of a proud heart is the 
 greatest. And therefore it is good to bear the yoke in 
 our youth ; it is better to be taken down in youth, than 
 to be broken down by great crosses in age.” — Brooks. 
 
 As man fell by pride, he rises again by humility. 
 That which overcame him at the first, is commonly the 
 last thing he overcomes. 
 
 ’Ex. Eve, Babel-builders, Pharaoh, Samson, Ahitho- 
 phel, Hezekiah, Haman, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, 
 Herod, Laodiceans, Moab, Edom, Tyre, Babylon. 
 
 PBOCBASTINATION. —Gen. xix. 15-22; Lev. xix. 
 13; Deut. xxiv. 15 ; Prov. iii. 27, 28 ; vi. 1-5 ; Eccl. 
 yiii. 11 ; Jer. viii. 20 ; Ezek. xii. 21-28 ; Hag. i. 2 ; 
 Matt, xviii. 26 ; xxii. 5 ; xxv. 1-13 ; Luke xiii. 7, 8 ; 
 xvii. 26-32 ; Acts xvii. 32 ; xxiv. 25 ; James iv. 13, 14. 
 
 Of. Ps. cxix. 59, 60 ; Isa. Iv. 6 ; Luke xix. 6 ; 2 Cor. 
 vi. 2 ; Heb. iii. 7, 8 ; Rev. ii. 21—28. 
 
 Excuses, frequent, but futile — for delaying attention 
 to serious thought. 
 
 1. “I am too young. I would sow my wild oats a little 
 longer.’’ But read Eccl. xi. 9, 10; xii. 1. Think, are you too 
 young to die? and how would it he with you if you were to die 
 as you are ? Besides, why give the world and sin the flower 
 of your days, and offer the dregs to God ? Mai. i. 6-9. 
 
 2. “ I am too hmy:^ Too busy to attend to the principal 
 business? No one believes it, not even yourself! Matt. xvi. 
 26 ; Hab. ii. 6. 
 
 3. “I cannot give up this sin just yet.” Then the sin must 
 37 * 
 
438 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERmUS. 
 
 save you, if you perish in it. If you are shipwrecked upon the 
 barren rock, you must not murmur if you perish for want! 
 Alas! Jonah ii. 8; Isa. xxviii. 17-20; xxx. 1-3. 
 
 4. God is merciful.” True. And He is righteous. Divine 
 patience is lasting, but it is not everlasting. Luke xix. 40, 41 ; 
 xiii. 7-9 ; Rev. ii. 21, 22. Matt, xviii. 26, “ Have patience 
 with me, and I will pay thee all/’ Ah ! can you ? 
 
 Truly, there is need of God’s mercy, even to the righteous. 
 Gen. xix. 18, “ And Lot said, “ Oh, not so, my Lord.” Hot so 
 far, not so fast, not so soon. But “ the Lord being merciful 
 unto him,” “ the men laid hold upon his hand, and brought 
 them forth abroad,” and said, “ Escape for thy life.” It was 
 long-suffering mercy that spared ‘‘ righteous Lot !” “ If the 
 
 righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the 
 sinner appear ?” (1 Peter iv. 18.) 
 
 Augustine, before his conversion, used, he confessed 
 in after-life, to pray, “Lord, give me chastity and con- 
 tinency, hut not yetJ' 
 
 Alexander, on the contrary, when one asked of him 
 how he had conquered the world, gave the answer — “ By 
 not delaying.'’ The same was eminently true of C^sar, 
 Napoleon, and other great warriors. 
 
 “Time and tide wait for no man,"— but how many 
 are amusing .themselves with gathering shells and peb- 
 bles on the shore, even within the hearing of the signal 
 bell ! What wonder if such are left behind ? 
 
 A Swiss Village. — “ A Swiss traveler," says a 
 writer in the “ Edinburgh Review," “ describes a village, 
 situated in the slope of a great mountain, of which the 
 strata shelve in the direction of the place. Huge crags 
 directly overhanging the village, and massy enough to 
 sweep the whole of it into the torrent below, have be- 
 come separated from the main body of the mountain in 
 the course of ages by great fissures, and now scarce 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 439 
 
 adhere to it. When they give way, the village must 
 perish ; it is only a question of time, and the catastrophe 
 may happen any day. For years past engineers have 
 been sent to measure the width of the fissures, and re- 
 port them constantly increasing. The villagers, for 
 more than one generation, have been aware of their 
 danger ; subscriptions have been once or twice opened to 
 enable them to remove ; yet they live on in their doomed 
 dwellings, from year to year, fortified against the ulti- 
 mate certainty and daily probability of destruction by the 
 common sentiment, ^ Things may last their time and 
 longer.' ” What a mournful illustration does such dis- 
 regard of danger furnish of the blindness of impenitent 
 sinners ! 
 
 Rev^ a. Paterson, the Missionary of Kilmany. — 
 Amongst the persons he visited was a female comfort- 
 able in circumstances, but with no time, as she thought, 
 to spare for her soul. When visiting the district in 
 which she lived, he always called, but never got admit- 
 tance. One day, after he had spoken to her very 
 Tjolemnly at the door, warning her of the danger of 
 dying without Christ, he was going upstairs to visit 
 another family, when she came out and cried after him. 
 
 Oh ! be sure and not be long in coming back again, for 
 I do wish to see you.” In a few days he called. I’m 
 sorry,” she said, the moment she opened the door, 
 have no time to receive you to-day ; I’ve a friend come 
 from London, and I’ve to go out with him.” 
 
 ‘‘ Well, you will have time to die, whether you’re pre- 
 pared or not. . So you’ve no time just now?” ‘^No, 
 not to-day.” 
 
 ‘^Well, let me say this to you, in case you and I 
 
440 
 
 ILLtrSTKATIVE GA f HERlJTGSf. 
 
 never meet again, ‘ Behold, now is the accepted fiine, 
 noiv is the day of salvation. To-day, if ye Vfill hear his 
 voice, harden not your heart.’ ‘ Turn at my reproof, 
 and I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and make 
 known my words unto you but observe what follows : 
 — ‘ But because I called, and ye refused ; I have stretched 
 out my hand, and no man regarded ; ye would none of 
 my counsels, and despised all my reproofs ; I will also 
 laugh at yonr calamity, I will mock when your fear 
 cometh.’ Oh ! think of these things, lest I never see 
 you again.” She thanked him, and he went away. 
 
 That night she and her brother went to the theatre, 
 she “ took ill” while she was in it. She came home, 
 grew worse, and was in eternity by five o’clock the next 
 morning. , 
 
 “ The thing,” said Mr. Paterson, “ so impressed me 
 that I resolved, if God spared me, to labor by His grace 
 more diligently than ever.” 
 
 “Can a Sinner Eighty Years Old be Saved?” — 
 
 “In January 1825, Mr. H , of S , New York,” 
 
 says a clergyman, “ came to me, and said, ‘ Sir, can a 
 sinner of eighty years old be forgiven?’ ” The old man 
 who made the inquiry wept much while he spoke, and on 
 the minister inquiring into his history, gave this account 
 of himself : — “ Sir, when I was twenty one, I was awak- 
 ened to know that I was a sinner, but I got with some 
 young men who tried to persuade me to give it up.’ Af- 
 ter a while I resolved I would put it off for ten years. 
 I did. At the end of that time, my promise came to my 
 mind, but I felt no great concern, and I resolved to put 
 it off ten years more. I did ; and since then the reso- 
 lution has become weaker and weaker, and now I am 
 
ILLTTSTRATITE GATHEREiTGS. 
 
 441 
 
 lost !” After talking to him kindly, the minister prayed 
 with him, but he said, ‘‘ It will do no good. I have 
 sinned away my day of grace and in this state he soon 
 after died. 
 
 Every Year less Likely. — An accurate examination 
 into the periods of life in which those whose life of god- 
 liness gave evidence of true religion, first began to be 
 followers of Christ, furnishes an amazing demonstration 
 of the folly and danger of delay. The probability of 
 conversion diminishes rapidly as every year rolls on. 
 
 “ Take a congregation of 1,000 Christians ; divide 
 them into five classes, according to the ages at Avhich 
 they became Christians. Of these 1,000 Christians there 
 would be probably, — hopefully converted, — 
 
 Under 20 years of age 
 
 
 . 548 
 
 Between 20 and 30 years 
 
 of age . 
 
 . 337 
 
 “ 30 and 40 “ 
 
 . • 
 
 . 96 
 
 “ 40 and 50 “ 
 
 • • 
 
 . 15 
 
 “ 50 and 60 “ 
 
 • 
 
 3 
 
 Here are your five classes. 
 
 But you 
 
 complain of me. 
 
 You ask, ‘Why stop at sixty years old?’ Ah, well, 
 then, if you ivill have a sixth class, — 
 
 Converted between 60 and 70 years of age . 1 
 “ I once made an actual examination of this sort, in 
 respect of 253 hopeful converts to Christ, who came 
 under my observation at a particular period. Of these 
 there were converted, — 
 
 Under 20 years of age . . . 138 
 
 Between 20 and 30 years of age . . 85 
 
 “ 30 and 40 “ . . .22 
 
 “ 40 and 50 “ . . .4 
 
442 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 Between 50 and 60 years of age . 
 
 60 and 70 . 
 
 What an appeal this is to the unconverted of every 
 age !” — Dr. Spencer. 
 
 PROFESSION, WITHOUT Practice. — Num. xxii. 18; 
 Jer. xii. 1, 2; Ezek. xxxiii. 31, 32; Matt. xv. 7-9 (cf. 
 John i. 47) ; xxi. 28-31 ; Luke ix. 57, 58, 61, 62 ; Acts 
 viii. 21. . 
 
 Emblems. — Blighted buds — failing fountains — tinsel 
 toys — shells which contain no kernels— lilies, fair in show, 
 but foul in scent — Scribes and Pharisees, Matt. vi. 1- 
 7 ; xxiii. 2-7 ; — tares among wheat, Matt. xiii. 24-30 ; 
 — foolish virgins, Matt. xxv. 1-13 ; — the man without 
 the wedding garment. Matt. xxii. 11 ; the mirage. 
 
 The crusaders of old used to bear a painted cross 
 upon their shoulders. It is to be feared that many 
 amongst ourselves take up crosses which sit just as 
 lightly, — things of ornament, passports to respectability, 
 a cheap substitute for a struggle we never made, and a 
 crown we never strove for.” — D. Moore. 
 
 Profession is a swimming down the stream. Con- 
 fession is a swimming against the stream. Many may 
 do the first, like dead fish, that cannot swim against the 
 stream with living fish.” 
 
 The profession of many is like 
 
 The Snowdrift, when it has leveled the churchyard 
 mounds, and, glistening in the cold winter sun, lies so 
 pure, and white, and fair, above the dead that fester and 
 rot below. A plausible profession may wear the look of 
 innocence, and conceal from human eyes the foulest 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 443 
 
 heart's corruption. The grass grows green upon the 
 sides of the mountain that hides the volcano in its bowels. 
 Behind the rosy cheek and lustrous eye of beauty, how 
 often lurks the insidious disease that eats away the life 
 within ! 
 
 PROMISES, The. — Numb, xxiii. 19 ; Deut. vii. 9 ; 
 Joshua xxiii. 14 ; 1 Kings viii. 56 ; Ps. Ixxvii. 8 ; cv. 42 ; 
 Isa. Iv. 10, 11 ; Luke i. 45 ; Acts ii. 39 ; xxvii. 23-25 ; 
 Rom. i. 2 ; iv. 13, 20, 21 ; 2 Cor. i. 10, 20 ; vii. 1 ; Gal. 
 iii. 21 ; Eph. ii. 12 ; vi. 2 ; 1 Tim. iv. 8 ; 2 Tim. i. 1 ; 
 ii. 13 ; Titus i. 2 ; Heb. iv. 1 ; vi. 12-28 ; viii. 6 ; ix. 
 15; X. 23, 36; xi. 9, 11, 13, 33; James i. 12; 2 Peter 
 i. 4 ; iii. 9 ; 1 John ii. 25. 
 
 Emblems. — The staff for the hand of faith to grasp. 
 
 “ Every promise is a staff — able, if we have faith to lean upon 
 it, to bear our whole weight of sin, and care, and trouble.” — 
 Rev. C. Bridges. 
 
 — The bond given us by God, under His own hand 
 and seal. 
 
 — The cordial to cheer our fainting hearts. 
 
 — Letters, God’s letters to His beloved children. 
 
 I 
 
 Observe both the direction and the writing. All the promises 
 are marked for certain persons ; as, e.y., ‘-They that wait upon 
 the Lord shall renew their strength,” (Isa. xl. 31) ; “ All things 
 work together for good to them that love God^'^ &c. (Rom. viii. 
 28.) Let Christians observe these marks, to see if the promises 
 are addressed to them. 
 
 — The steps in the Slough of Despond, which Chris- 
 tians often miss, until ‘‘Help” comes to point them out. 
 
 — The key that opened every door in Doubting Castle. 
 (See “Pilgrim’s Progress.”) 
 
444 
 
 ILLUSTKATtVE (^ATHERtKaS* 
 
 ‘‘ Every promise is happiness couched in a single sen- 
 tence/’ — Hophins^ 
 
 ‘‘ A CHILD of God may fall Very low, but he can never 
 fall below the promises/’ 
 
 People often err in trying to hasten the promises, 
 confounding precepts with promises,— --breaking the pre- 
 cept to fulfil the promise. 
 
 God may sometimes delay His promise, but He will 
 not deny it. He may sometimes change it, but He will 
 not break it.” — Watson. 
 
 The promises often lose their sweetness because we 
 have been eating the grapes of Sodom. Our taste is at 
 fault. The promises are sweet and rich as ever. 
 
 ‘‘Every promise is built upon four pillars. God’s 
 justice and holiness, which will not suffer Him to de- 
 ceive ; His grace or goodness, which will not suffer Him 
 to forget ; His truth, which will not suffer Him to change ; 
 His power, which makes Him able to accomplish.” — 
 Salter. 
 
 “ When I first amused myself with going out to sea, 
 when the winds arose, and the waves became a little 
 rough, I found a difficulty to keep my legs on the deck, 
 but I tumbled and tossed about like a porpoise on the 
 water ; at last I caught hold of a rope that was floating 
 about, and then I was enabled to stand upright. So 
 when in prayer, a multitude of troublous thoughts invade 
 your peace, or when the winds and waves of temptations 
 arise, look out for the rope, lay hold of it, and stay your- 
 self on the faithfulness of God in His covenant with His 
 people, and in His promises. Hold fast by that*'rope, 
 and you shall stand.” — Salter. 
 
 “God’s promises were never meant to ferry our lazi- 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 445 
 
 ness. Lite a boat, they are to be rowed by our oars ; 
 but many men entering forget the oar, and drift down 
 more helpless in the boat than if they had stayed on 
 shore. There is not an experience in life by whose side 
 God has not fixed a promise. There is not a trouble so 
 deep and swift running, that we may not cross safely over 
 if we have courage to steer, and strength to pull.”— 
 Beecher. 
 
 God’s promises are dated, but with a mysterious 
 character; and for want of skill in God s chronology, we 
 are prone to think God forgets us, when, indeed, we lor- 
 get ourselves in being so bold to set God a time of our 
 own, and in being angry that He comes not just then to 
 us.” — G-urnall. 
 
 Dr. Judson. — Few saints have been more remarkable 
 for their firm belief in the Divine word ; it never ap- 
 peared to him possible, for a moment, that it could fail. 
 During his visit to Boston, the late venerable James 
 Loring asked him, “ Do you think the prospect bright 
 of the speedy conversion of the heathen ?” As bright,” 
 he replied, as the promises of God.” 
 
 T and P. — A clergyman visiting a poor Christian wo- 
 man found her Bible marked here and there with the 
 letters T and P. Wondering what the letters stood for, 
 he inquired of her their meaning. ‘‘Oh,” said she, 
 “ those are the promises in my precious Bible. There 
 are many of them, you see, I have tried, so I marked 
 them T ; and many I’ve proved, and I know" that they 
 are true, so I marked them P.” 
 
 PROSPERITY.— Gen. xxiv. 40, 56 ; Num. xiv. 41 ; 
 Deut. vi. 10, 12 ; viii.; xxviii. ; xxxii. 15 ; Joshua i. 7 ; 
 
 88 
 
446 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 Jobviii. 16-19; Ps. i. 3; X.: xvii. 8-15; xxxv. 27- 
 xxxvii. 1, 7, 8; Ixxiii. ; xc. 17; xcii. 7, 12; Prov. i! 
 32 ; xxyui. 13 ; xxx. 8 ; Eccl. vii. 14 ; Jer. v. 28 ; xii! 
 1; xxxm. 9; Hosea x. 1; xiii. 6; Zech. i. 17; Matt. 
 V. 45; Luke vi. 20, 24; xii. 16-21 ; xvi. 19-30. 
 
 Ps. xxx. 6, 7.— “And in my prosperity I said, I shall 
 never be moved. Lord, by thy favor thou hast made 
 my mountain to stand strong.” 
 
 “He does not look upon it as his heaven (as worldly people 
 do, who make their prosperity their felicity), only 
 
 It IS earth Still, only raised a little higher than the common 
 i6vg1. — Matthew Henry. 
 
 “It is the bright day that brings out the adder.” 
 
 “Too much sail is dangerous.” 
 
 “ Too much sunshine weakens the nerves ; a degree 
 of seasonable opposition, like a fine dry frost, strengthens 
 and invigorates and braces.’’ 
 
 A coat too richly embroidered, only encumbers the 
 wearer. 
 
 '' No SOONER does the warm aspect of good fortune 
 shine, than all the plans of virtue, raised like a beautiful 
 frost-work in the winter season of adversity, thaw and 
 disappear.” — Warhurton, 
 
 It is one of the worst efiects of prosperity to make 
 a man a vortex instead of a fountain; so that instead 
 of throwing out, he learns only to draw in .” — Beecher 
 “ Prosperity (says Lord Bacon) is the blessing of 
 the Old Testament.” How many eminent saints, from 
 being poor grew rich, as Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, David, 
 Daniel ! “ Adversity is the blessing of the New;” as 
 
 we see in the Apostles Peter, James, John, Paul, &c 
 The Eailway Lamp._“ When the traveler starts by 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 447 
 
 the railway, on a bright summer day, his attention is 
 drawn to the friends who stand to bid him good-by ; and 
 as the train moves on more and more rapidly, the mile, 
 and half, and quarter-mile posts seem racing past him, 
 and the objects in the far distance appear rapidly to 
 change their places, and to move off the scene almost as 
 soon as they have been observed upon it. Now the long 
 train, like some vast serpent, hissing as it moves swiftly 
 along, plunges under ground. The bright sun is sud- 
 denly lost, but the traveler’s eye observes, for the first 
 time, perhaps, the railway carriage lamp ; and though it 
 was there all the while, yet, because the sun made its 
 light needless, it was not observed, 
 
 God’s promises are like that railway light. The 
 Christian traveler has them with him always, though 
 when the sun is shining, and prosperity beaming upon 
 him, he does not remarh them. But let trouble come, 
 let his course lie through the darkness of sorrow or trial, 
 and the blessed promise shines out, like the railway lamp, 
 to cheer him, and shed its gentle and welcome light 
 most brightly when the gloom is thickest, and the sun- 
 shine most entirely left behind.” — Gharrvpneys Floating 
 Lights, 
 
 “ What shall I come to, Father !” said a young 
 man, ‘‘if I go on prospering in this way?” “To the 
 grave^'' replied the father. 
 
 PROVIDENCE. — 1 Sam. ii. 6-10 ; Job i. 21 ; Ps. x. 
 12-18 ; xxiii. ; xxxi. ; xxxvi. 6 ; xxxvii. ; Ivii. 2 ; 
 Ixxiii. ; Ixxv. 6, 7 ; Ixxxix. 14 ; xcvii. 1, 2 ; cxxvii. ; 
 cxlv. ; Prov. iii. 5, 6 ; xvi. 1-4, 9 ; xx. 24 ; xxi. 30, 81; 
 Eccles. V. 8, 14; Isa. xxvii. 3 ; Ivii. 18 ; IIos. ii. 8, 9 ; 
 
448 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHEIITNUS. 
 
 Amos iii. 6; Dan. iv. 25, 35; v. 23 ; Matt. vi. 25-34; 
 X. 29-31 ; Luke xxi. 18 ; xxii. 35 ; Rom. viii. 28 ; 
 xi. 33. 
 
 Like Jacob's ladder^ connecting earth with heaven, on 
 which the angels ascended and descended. 
 
 pillar of cloud and fire in the wilderness. 
 
 the ivheels in Ezekiel’s vision. 
 
 — speckled horses in Zech. i. 8-11. 
 
 cup mixed by a Father’s hand. 
 
 — - — path marked out by Divine Omniscience. 
 
 — the loom in which a skillful weaver employs cross 
 
 threads. 
 
 the rudder by which the pilot guides the ship. 
 
 The Church is the apple of God’s eye, and the eye- 
 lids of His providence continually defend it. 
 
 The chariot of God’s providence runneth not upon 
 broken wheels.” — Rutherford, 
 
 The SMITH often uses crooked tools. 
 
 Believers only can decipher the short-hand of God’s 
 providence. 
 
 Duties are ours ; events are God’s. 
 
 ‘‘We should providence,. and not attempt to 
 force it, for that often proves best for us which was least 
 our own doing.” — Henry, 
 
 “ There are three ways that Satan takes to bring dis- 
 tress upon the minds of believers — 1. By obscure Scrip- 
 tures ; 2. By nice questions of experience ; 3. By dark 
 providences. ’ ’ — Gurnall, 
 
 “ God draws straight lines, but we think and call them 
 crooked. ’ ’ — Arrowsmith, 
 
 One MINUTE sooner than God’s time would not be His 
 people’s mercy. 
 
ILLUSTPwATIVE GATHERING*^. 
 
 449 
 
 May be viewed as gniding^ — preserving — overruling. 
 
 Guiding. — ISTations, Churches, Individuals, (see Gruid- 
 a?i^e), — Gen. xxiv. 27 ; 1 Sam. vi. ; ix. ; 2 Kings v. 2-4; 
 Ps. xxii. 28; xxxii. 8; cvii. 7; cxliii. 8; Prov. viii. 15, 
 16 ; Ezek. xxvi. 3 ; Acts xvi. 6—10 ; Rev. ii. 26 (cf. the 
 pillar of cloud, Kum. ix. 16-23 ; wheels, Ezek. i. 15-21 ; 
 a father, his children ; a shepherd, his flock ; a pilot, the 
 ship). 
 
 Preserving.— 1 Sam. xxiii. 26 ; Ps. xcL ; civ. ; 24- 
 28; cxxvii. 1, 2; cxl. 7; cxlv. 20; Prov. xxi. 31; 
 Matt. X. 29, 30 ; Acts xxiii. 16. Cf. the burning bush, 
 Exod. iii. 1-5 ; father bearing his son, Deut. i. 31 ; 
 eagle caring for her young, Deut. xxxii. 11, 12; father 
 of the fatherless, and judge of the widow, Ps. Ixviii. 5; 
 a shield, Ps. Ixxxiv. 11 ; birds hovering over their young, 
 Isa. xxxi. 5 ; ivall of fire, Zech. ii. 5 ; apple of the eye, 
 Zech. ii. 8. 
 
 The history of the Church in all ages abounds with 
 examples of a preserving Providence. 
 
 In Scripture — the histories of Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, 
 Moses, Job, Ruth, Jeremiah, Daniel, the three Hebrew 
 children, Mordecai, David, Elijah, Esther, Peter, Paul. 
 
 The Church in the wilderness. 
 
 Manna.— It is calculated that there was wanted 94,4CG 
 bushels every day, or 1,370,002,600 bushels in the whole 40 
 years of the children of Israel’s sojourn in the wilderness. Yet 
 when did the supply fail one single day ? 
 
 In later times — 
 
 Luther was one day walking with his brother, when a vio- 
 lent storm of thunder and lightning overtook them. His bro- 
 ther was struck dead upon the spot, and the future Reformer 
 spared. — Bunyan enlisted as a soldier, but when the time to 
 leave home came, he got some person to go for him as his sub* 
 
 38 ^ 90 
 
450 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 stitute. The man was shot, and Bunyan spared ! — Doddridge 
 when born was so weakly an infant, that it was thought he was 
 dead ; but a nurse, standing by, fancied she saw some symptoms 
 of life, and the feeble spark was saved from being extinguished. 
 — Wesley when a child, was only just preserved from fire. 
 Almost the moment after he was rescued, the roof of the house 
 fell in. Philip Henry had a similar escape. — Dr. Adam 
 Clarke was narrowly recovered from being drowned when a 
 boy. — Charles of Bala put his saddle-bags into a wrong boat, 
 as he thought, but the boat in which he intended to go was lost, 
 and every hand drowned. The originator of the Bible Society 
 was preserved. 
 
 A CONVERTEB INDIAN was One day attacked by a sav- 
 age, who presented a gun to his head, exclaiming, ^Now, 
 I’ll shoot you, for you speak of nothing but Jesus!’ 
 The man replied, ‘ If Jesus does not permit it, you can- 
 not shoot me.’ The savage was struck with the answer, 
 dropped his gun, and went home in silence.” — Cope, 
 Overruling. — Gen. 1. 10 ; Exod. xv. 9-11 ; 1 Sam. 
 XXV. 32, 33 ; 1 Kings xxi. 34 ; Ps. xciii. ; Rom. viii. 28 
 work together” — like the warp and woof in the same 
 web, or the different ingredients in the same mixed cup) ; 
 Phil. i. 12. 
 
 The Wells of Scripture illustrate God’s overruling 
 providence. 
 
 Isaac, Jacob, and Moses found wives there ; the woman of 
 Samaria found Jesus there. 
 
 The Prisoners of the Church, how often have they 
 been like palaces of the saints — 
 
 Joseph, Jeremiah, John the Baptist; the Apostles, Acts v. ; 
 Peter, Acts xii. ; Paul and Silas, Acts xvi. 
 
 Luther was violently carried off and confined in Wartburg 
 Castle, and there he translated the Scriptures, and wrote upon 
 the Galatians, &c., and preached ever}" Sunday in the Castle. 
 Bunyan was twelve years in Bedford Jail, and wrote the “Pit- 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 451 
 
 grim’s Progress.” Rutherford in Aberdeen Castle wrote his 
 beautiful “ Letters.” John Welsh in Blackness Castle — Madame 
 Guion in the Bastile, where she remained for ten years, and 
 wrote some of her sweetest poetry — the prisons of the Inquisi- 
 tion ^ — “the day” only can reveal their silent sorrows and pa- 
 tient courage. The inscriptions on the walls alone are a glorious 
 witness! The Tower of London^ &c., &c. 
 
 JouBNETS. — B ooks. (See under these heads.) 
 Casual Circumstances. — 
 
 Bunyan, when, in the midst of his convictions, his mind 
 had been greatly awakened, but was still dark, overheard three 
 pious women talk in the street one day about regeneration, and 
 beginning to frequent their company, such an entire change 
 took place in his sentiments and feelings that he could scarce 
 keep his thoughts on his secular work. 
 
 Toplady, when a lad of sixteen, strolled into a barn, where 
 an illiterate layman was preaching reconciliation by the death 
 of his Lord. Toplady’s attention was excited, and from that 
 time his thoughts began to flow in a new and a deeper chan- 
 nel. 
 
 Hewitsoist at Leamington met one day with a young man at 
 the mineral spring, whose appearance attracted him. He fol- 
 lowed him down the hill, and entered into conversation, and 
 discovered that he was sitting at the feet of one who could teach 
 him more of the truth than ever he had learned before. The 
 student was stricken by the arrow of God, and adored the provi- 
 dence which thus led the blind by a way that he had not 
 known. 
 
 Thus is the glorious truth confirmed, ‘‘ the Lord 
 reigneth.” In the storm and the tempest every drop of 
 water is as obedient to the laws of nature as if it were 
 laying calmly in the bosom of the tranquil lake ; and in 
 the world of mind, ‘‘man proposes, God disposes.” The 
 plan adopted by Dr. Doddridge as regards his own per- 
 sonal history, is one strongly to be recommended to all 
 God’s children, to keep a register of the most remark- 
 
452 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. , 
 
 able providences in our life, and often to review it, to 
 kindle a sense of gratitude and praise to the God and 
 Lord of providence for His guiding, preserving, and 
 overruling mercies. 
 
 PUNISHMENT OF SIN.— Gen. iv. 13 ; Lev. xxvi. ; 
 Num. xxxii. 23 ; Deut. xxviii. ; xxxii. 35-43 ; Ezra ix. 
 13-15; Neh. ix. 33; Job iv. 8; xi. 6; xiv. 17 ; xv. 20 
 -35 ; xxi. 17, 18 ; xxxiv. 21-23 ; xxxvi. 18, 19 ; Ps. 
 ix. 16, 17 ; 1. 21, 22 ; Ixiv. 7-9 ; Prov. v. 11, 22 ; xi. 
 21; xiii. 21; xxii, 8; Eccles. viii. 11; Isa.iii.il; xxviii. 
 17 ; xlvii. 3; Jer. ii. 17-19, 26; iv. 18; vi. 19; Lam. 
 iii. 39 ; Dan. ix. 14 ; Hosea x. 13 ; Haggai i. 2-11 ; 
 Matt. vii. 22, 23; xxv. 46; Mark ix. 42-60; Luke xii. 
 45-48; Acts v. 1-11 ; Kom. ii. 5, 8, 9 ; vi. 21-24 ; Gal. 
 vi. 7, 8; Heb. x. 26-32; 2 Pet. ii. 9; Rev. xvi. 5; xxi. 
 8 ; xxii. 11. 
 
 Figures : — Dashing in pieces like a potter’s vessel ; treading 
 down (as the mire of the streets, as ashes, or as straw for the 
 dunghill); grinding to powder; shooting at suddenly and un- 
 expectedly ; consuming as smoke ; melting as a snail ; breaking 
 off as a decayed tree. Job xxiv. 20; burning as a furnace, or 
 oven, stubble, or chaff ; cutting through as easily and as often 
 as the swimmer cuts through the waters ; hell (darkness, un- 
 quenchable fire, never-dying worm, gnashing of teeth, shame, 
 destruction, eternal death.) 
 
 If no sin were punished here below, there would be 
 no providence; if all sin were punished, where would 
 be the need of future judgment ? 
 
 Punishment is the recoil of crime, and the strength 
 ^f the back-stroke is in proportion to the original blow.” 
 ^ Trench. 
 
 It was an ancient proverb, The feet of the avenging 
 
ILLITSTKATIVE GATHERINGS, 
 
 453 
 
 deities are shod with wool.” Punishment is lame, but 
 it will come in the end, though it be long on the way. 
 
 Delayed. — How many examples have we in Scripture 
 of punishment delayed long after the sin committed ? 
 Of. Reuben’s incest forty-three years after it was com- 
 mitted, Gen. XXXV. 22, and xlix. 3,4 (b. c. 1732-1689); 
 Joseph’s brethren, twenty-two years, Gen. xxxvii., xlv. 
 (b. c. 1729-1707) ; Amalek, for waylaying Israel in the 
 way, 411 years, Exod. xvii. and 1 Sam. xv. (b. c. 1491- 
 1079) ; Saul slaying the Gibeonites, 2 Sam. xxi. 1 ; sup- 
 posed to be forty-one years after 1 Sam. xxii. 18, 19; 
 Joab for killing Abner, thirty-four years, and for killing 
 Amasa, nine years, 2 Sam. iii. 29, 30 ; xx. 9, and 1 
 Kings ii. 28-34 (b. c. 1048 and 1023-1014); Jeroboam 
 for burning incense upon the altar at Bethel, 351 years, 
 1 Kings xiii. 1, 2 ; 2 Kings xxiii. 15, 16 (b. c. 975- 
 624). 
 
 QUARRELIXG. — Gen. xiii.; xxvi. 20; xxxi. 36- 
 55; Exod. ii. 11-15; 2 Sam. xix. 41; 2 Kings v. 7; 
 Prov. iii. 30 ; xv. 1 ; xvi. 28 ; xvii. 1, 14 ; xviii. 19 ; 
 xxiii. 29, 30 ; xxvi. 17-28 ; Acts xv. 36-41 ; Rom. xii. 
 18-24 ; 1 Cor. iii. 3 ; Gal. v. 20 ; Col. iii. 13 ; Jas. iii. 
 16 ; iv. 1 ; 1 Pet. ii. 1, 2. 
 
 The quarrels of professors are often the reproach of 
 their profession.” — Henry, 
 
 “ I NEVER love those salamanders that are never well 
 but when they are in the fire of contentions. I will 
 rather suffer a thousand wrongs than ofier one. I have 
 always found that to strive with a superior, is injurious ; 
 with an equal, doubtful; with an inferior, sordid and 
 base ; with any, full of unquietness.” — Bishop Rail. 
 
454 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 ‘‘ I THINK I have generally observed that the quarrels 
 of friends in the latter part of life are never fully recon- 
 ciled. A wound in the friendship of young persons, like 
 a wound in the bark of young trees, may be grown over, 
 and it leaves no scar. The case is different with old 
 persons and old trees ; the reason of which may be ac- 
 counted for from the decline of the usual patience, and 
 the prevalence of spleen, suspicion, and rancor, toward 
 the latter part of life.” — Shenstone. 
 
 RAINBOW.— Gen. ix. j Ezek. i. 18; Rev. iv. 3; 
 X. 1. 
 
 A sign of the covenant of mercy. 
 
 (1) God gave no promise of no more rain, but of no 
 more flood. (2) A bow without an arrow. (3) A bow 
 pointed against heaven, not earth. (4) A sign only to 
 be seen by day — looked for in vain at night, and requir- 
 ing two joint causes to produce it, the cloud and the 
 sun, and the sun shining upon the cloud ; so is it spirit- 
 ually. 
 
 REGENERATION. — Deut. x. 16 : xxx. 6 ; Ps. li. 
 10 ; Isa. xliii. 19-21 ; Jer. iii. 19 ; iv. 4, 14 ; Ezek. 
 xviii. 30-32 ; John i. 13 ; iii. 3-8 ; Rom. ii. 28, 29 ; 1 
 Cor. iv. 15; 2 Cor. v. 17; Gal. v. 6; vi. 15; Col. ii. 
 11 ; iii. 9, 10 ; Tit. iii. 5 ; Jas. i. 18 ; 1 Pet. i. 3, 23. 
 
 1 John iii. 14. — We know that we have passed from 
 death unto life.” 
 
 How ? Here and in oilier parts of this Epistle St. John gives 
 us the most clear and decisive tests of true regeneration, or be- 
 ing horn again. One who is born of God, he tells us— (1) Does 
 not commit sin, ^.e., habitually, willingly, willfully, ch. iii. 9; 
 V. 18 ; cf. i. 8, and John viii. 34. (2) Believes that Jesus is the 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 455 
 
 Christ, the true and only Saviour, ch. v. 1. (3) Doth right- 
 
 eousness, Le. , brings forth the fruits of righteousness, ch. ii. 29 j 
 V. 3. (4) Overcomes the world, the fear of the world, and the 
 
 love of the world, ch. v. 1. (5) Keepeth himself, ch. v. 18, is 
 
 very careful of his own soul, feareth always, Drov. xxviii. 14. 
 (6) Loves the brethren, ch. iii. 14; v. 1, 2. 
 
 Reader, are these marks in you ? 
 
 Figures.— A new creation, 2 Cor. v. 17 ; a resurrec- 
 tk.n — life from the dead, John v. 25 ; Rom. vi. 13 ; Eph. 
 ii. 1 ; awaking from sleep, Eph. v. 14 ; a transformation, 
 Rom. xii. 2 ; putting off the old man, and putting on the 
 new, Eph. iv. 22-24 ; passing from darkness to light, 
 and from the power of Satan to God, Acts xxvi. 18 ; re- 
 ceiving a new heart, Ezek. xi. 19 ; a heart of flesh, Ezek. 
 xxxvi. 26 ; a circumcised heart, Deut. xxx. 6 ; washing 
 and being made clean, Ps. li. 2, 7, 10 (cf. the water 
 of separation,” Numb, xix.) 
 
 Like the re-tuning of an instrument, (See Flavel^ p. 
 
 201 . 
 
 clothing the body, when washed, with new gar- 
 ments. 
 
 ‘‘The early Christians have told us that in the first ages of 
 the Gospel, when an adult came to be baptized, he put otf his 
 old clothes before he went into the water, and put on new and 
 clean raiment when he came out of it; to signify that he had 
 put off his old and corrupt nature, and his former bad princi- 
 ples and corrupt practices, and become a new man. Have I 
 ‘put off the old man V Alas ! I lament that there is so little of 
 the spirit of the virtues of Christ about me. It shall not be al- 
 ways thus. Though we have lien among the pots, we shall ap- 
 pear as doves whose wings are covered with silver, and their 
 feathers with yellow gold.” — Salter. 
 
 ^ tree,, through which its nature 'is 
 
 changed and improved, and the old stock is made to bear 
 good fruit. 
 
456 ILLUi^TRATlVK GATI1KUIN«^. 
 
 metal figures cast in a mould. Rom. vi. 17 , 
 
 “ That form of doctrine into which ye are delivered,” 
 (marg.),— alluding to melted metal poured into a mould, 
 and thereby being put to a new use, and taking a new 
 form. So the “ vessels of wrath” are formed into “ves- 
 sels of mercy,” 
 
 “ A CHILD, as soon as born (having all its limbs), is a 
 perfect man as to parts, though they are not yet at their 
 full growth and size ; so the new man, or gracious prin- 
 ciple, infused in regeneration, is a perfect new man as to 
 parts, though, as yet, not arrived to the measure of the 
 stature of the fullness of Christ.” — Dr. Gill 
 
 A MINER, who had lived in “ a deep mine in Hungary, 
 never having seen the light of the sun, may have received 
 accounts of prospects, and, by the help of a candle, may 
 have e.xamined a few engravings of them ; but let him be 
 brought out of the mine and set on the mountain, what a 
 difference appears !” — Newton. 
 
 is not baptism. “Do thy beloved sins still 
 
 lodge with thee, and keep possession of thy heart? 
 Then art thou still a stranger to Christ and an enemy to 
 God, The word and seals of life are dead to thee, and 
 thou art still dead in the use of them all. Know you not 
 that many have made shipwreck on the very rock of sal- 
 vation ? — that many who were baptized as well as you, 
 and as constant attendants on all the worship and ordi- 
 nances of God as you, yet have remained without Christ, 
 and have died in their sins, and are now past recovery ? 
 Oh, that you would be warned ! There are still multi- 
 tudes running headlong that same course, tending to de- 
 struction, through the midst of all the means of salvation ! 
 the saddest of all to it, througli words and sacraments, 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERTNaS. 
 
 457 
 
 id all heavenly ordinances, to be walking hellwards ! 
 Jhristians, and yet no Christians ; baptized, and yet un- 
 baptized. As the prophet takes in the profane multitude 
 of God’s own people with the nations ‘ Egypt and Edom, 
 all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of 
 Israel are uncircumcised in heart;’ thus, thus, the most 
 of us are unbaptized in heart.” — Leighton. 
 
 is not reformation. A man may be reformed in 
 
 his habits, and yet not be transformed in his heart. 
 When the icicles are hanging in winter from the eaves of 
 % cottage, will it suffice that the inhabitant should take 
 his axe and hew them down one by one till the fragments 
 are scattered in powdery ruin upon the pavement be- 
 neath ? Will the work so done be done effectually? 
 Surely a few hours’ warm shining of the sun would doit 
 in a far better and much shorter way. It is not by the 
 habits being changed, but by the heart being changed, 
 that we are born again. If a watch have a magnetized 
 or defective mainspring, we may keep altering the regu- 
 lator day by day, but it never can be made to keep true 
 time. 
 
 If it were possible for those who have been for ages 
 in hell to return to the earth (and not to be regenerated), 
 I firmly believe that, notwithstanding all they have suf- 
 fered for sin, they would still love it, and return to the 
 practice of it.” — Ryland. 
 
 Mere reformation differs as much from regenera- 
 tion, as whitewashing an old rotten house differs from 
 taking it down and building a new one in its room.” — 
 Toplady. 
 
 The last Cardinal ever seen in England. — Bishop 
 Hall says, when a skilful astrologer pretended to tell him 
 39 
 
d58 
 
 ILLTOTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 about the future, from the calculation of his nativity, he 
 returned the wise answer, “Such, perhaps, I was born; 
 but since then I have been born again, and my second 
 nativity has crossed my first,” 
 
 EEMNANT, God’s people a. — Gen. xlv. 7 (marg.) ; 
 1 Kings xviii. 22 ; xix. 10, 14 ; xx. 27 ; 2 Chron. xiv. 
 11 ; Ezra ix. 8 ; Neh, i. 3 ; Isa, vi, 13 ; x. 20-22 ; xi. 
 11, 16; xli. 14 (marg.), 15; Jer. xxxi. 7; 1. 45; Ezek. 
 vi. 8-10 ; ix. 8 ; xii. 16 ; xiv. 22 ; Joel ii. 32 ; Micah 
 ii. 5 ; Hag. i. 14 ; Rom. ix. 27 ; xi. 4, 5 ; 1 Cor. ix. 24. 
 
 Figures of the paucity and poverty of God’s people. — 
 A remnant, Jer. xxiii. 3 ; a cottage in a vineyard (a frail 
 tent — soon blown down), Isa. i. 8 ; a handful, Ps. Ixxii. 
 16 ; a tithe, Isa. vi. 13 ; the gleaning of the vintage, 
 Jer. vi, 9; jewels, rare as they are costly, Mai. iii. 17; 
 a little flock, Luke xii. 32, 
 
 The History of the Church. — The Scripture re- 
 cords that in every age God has had “ a remnant accord- 
 ing to the election of grace.” The Church has always 
 been, as yet, a “ light flock.” 
 
 In the days of 
 
 JVbak, eight only were saved in the ark : and of 
 these afterwards. Ham was cursed, 
 
 Abraham, one family only was called out of Ur. 
 
 Lot, not ten righteous persons could be found in five 
 cities ; four only escaped destruction ; and of 
 these, one looked back, and suffered immediate 
 judgment. The other two so sinned that their 
 posterity were cut off from the true people of the 
 Lord. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATiUERTlilGS. 
 
 458 
 
 The Church in the wildernesSy — of all that left Egypt, 
 two entered Canaan. ^ 
 
 The tribes of Israel, the Levites were the smallest 
 in number. When the people were numbered in 
 the wilderness, Levi numbered 22,300 ; whilst 
 the tribe of Judah numbered 74,600. (Num. hi. 
 39 ; ii. 4.) 
 
 David^ ^‘the faithful were minished.’’ (Ps. xii. 1; 
 liii. 1.) 
 
 Ahah^ the children of Israel were like two little 
 flocks of kids ; but the Syrians filled the country.” 
 (2 Kings XX. 27.) 
 
 Isaiah^ ‘‘ the daughter of Zion was left as a cottage 
 in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucum- 
 bers, as a besieged city.” (Isa. i. 8.) 
 
 Jeremiah^ scarce one could be found who walked up- 
 rightly. (Jer. V. 1.) 
 
 Ezekiel^ a few hairs saved out of many. (Ezek. v.) 
 
 Micah^ no cluster left, only a few poor gleanings of 
 the summer fruit. (Micah vii. 1.) 
 
 Jesus himself, a little flock (Luke xii. 32), one- 
 fourth of the seed sown bringing forth good fruit. 
 (Matt, xiii.) 
 
 Apostles^ ‘‘a remnant” saved (Kom. xi. 5); ‘‘s^few 
 names in Sardis.” (Rev. hi. 4.) 
 
 So it is now (Matt. vh. 14 ; xx. 16 ; Rom. xi. 5) ; and 
 BO it will be when the Master comes. (Luke xvih. 8.) 
 
 Yet, nevertheless, — 
 
 Small and despised as the Lord’s people may be, they 
 are still, — 
 
 1. The remnant according to the election of 
 grace.” (Rom. xi. 5.) 
 
460 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE QATHERINOS, 
 
 2. If few in number, noble and mighty; “the 
 precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold” 
 (Lam. iv. 2) ; despised by the world, they are the 
 Lord’s “jewels.” 
 
 3. If weak in themselves, mighty in the strength of 
 Jehovah. The barley-cake of Gideon overthrew 
 the tent. (Cf. 1 Sam. xiv. 6.) 
 
 4. If humble now, yet soon they shall be exalted, 
 and become part of the “great multitude” (Rev. 
 vii. 7), which shall be as the stars of heaven, and 
 the sands of the sea, and the dew of the morning. 
 God will yet bring “ many sons to glory.” (Heb. 
 ii. 9 ; Rev. xiv. 1.) 
 
 REPENTANCE. — Lev. xxvi. 40-42; Deut. xxx. 1- 
 8, 6 ; 2 Sam. xii. 1-14 ; 1 Kings xxi. 27-29 ; Job xlii. 
 5, 6 ; Ps. xxxii. ; li. ; Prov. xxviii. 13 ; Isa. xxvii. 9 ; 
 Iv. 6, 7; Jer. iii. 12-14; viii. 6; xxxi. 18-20; Ezek. 
 xiv. 6; xviii. 30-82; Dan. iv. 27; ix.; Joel ii. 12-18; 
 Jonah iii.; Zech. xii. 10-14; Matt. iii. 2, 8; iv. 17; xi. 
 20-24 ; Mark i. 14, 15 ; Luke v. 8 ; xiii. 1-5 ; xvi. 30- 
 31 ; xxiv. 47 ; Acts ii. 38 ; iii. 19, 26 ;. v. 31 ; viii. 22 ; 
 xvii. 30 ; xx. 21 ; xxvi. 18, 20 ; Rom. ii. 4 ; 2 Cor. vii. ; 
 Rev. ii. 5, 21 ; iii. 3, 19 ; ix. 20, 21 ; xvi. 9. 
 
 , “the TEAR dropped from the eye of faith.” 
 
 “ consists in attrition (as when a rock is broken 
 in pieces), and contrition (as when ice is melted into 
 water). The former is the work of the Law, the latter, 
 of the Gospel ; the one is like a hammer, the other like dew. 
 
 . . . The Greek word for repentance signifies after- 
 wisdom, the Hebrew word {Nicham) to take comfort. 
 (John xvi. 21.)” — Watson. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 461 
 
 “I BELIEVE it will be found that the repentance of 
 most men is not so much sorrow for sin as sin, or real 
 hatred of it, as sullen sorrow that they are not allowed 
 to sin.” — Adam's Private Thoughts, 
 
 Broken, but not Melted. — There is many a wounded 
 conscience that is wounded like a sheet of ice shivered 
 on the pavement, which yet is stiff and cold. But let the 
 sun shine forth, and the ice is melted, and melted com- 
 pletely ; so is it with legal and evangelical repentance. 
 
 Heart-work must be God’s work. The great heart- 
 maker alone can be the great heart-breaker. 
 
 True and False Repentance : the difference between 
 ‘‘ is as great as that between the running of water in the 
 paths after a violent shower, and the streams which flow 
 from a living fountain.” — Venn, 
 
 Late repentance should be carefully distinguished from 
 delaved repentance. True repentance is never too 
 late, but late repentance is seldom true.” The penitent 
 thief’s was late repentance, but we have no evidence that 
 it was deferred repentance. 
 
 ‘‘ Many persons who appear to repent are like sailors, 
 who throw their goods overboard in a storm, and wish for 
 them again in a calm.” — Mead, 
 
 Augustine. — It is recorded of him that he had Psalm 
 li. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken and contrite 
 spirit,” &c.) written over his bed in large letters, that 
 he might have it before his eyes, and meditate often 
 upon it. 
 
 Repent now. — Rabbi Eliezer said to his disciples, 
 ‘‘ Turn to God one day before your death.” “But how 
 can a man,” replied they, “ know the day of his death V 
 “True,” said Eliezer; “therefore you should turn to 
 39 * 
 
462 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 God to-day ; perhaps you may die to-morrow. Thus 
 every day will be employed in returning.’' 
 
 The NAILS are gone^ hut the 7narks are left. ‘‘A. lit- 
 tle boy, whose father desired to see him a good child, 
 was told one day that a nail would be driven into a post 
 whenever he should do an act that was wrong, and when 
 he should do a good deed, he might pull one out. The 
 little fellow tried to be good; and though there were a 
 number of nails driven into the post, after a little while 
 not one remained. How happy must ‘ Benny’ have been 
 when he saw the last nail disappear from the post ! His 
 father was greatly pleased, and Tvas congratulating his 
 son, when he wras surprised to see that he was weeping. 
 And very touching was the remark he made, ‘ Ah, the 
 nails are all gone, but the marks are there still.’ ” Was 
 not this contrition ? 
 
 RESIGNATION. — Numbers ix. 17-23; Job xi. 6; 
 xviii. 4 ; xxxiv. 29-33 ; Psalms xxxvii. ; xxxix. ; xlii. ; 
 xlvi. 10; Iv. 22; Ixxvii.; xciii. xcvii. 1,2; Prov. xix. 3; 
 Isa. viii. 17 ; Lam. iii. 22—41 ; Amos hi. 6 ; Micah vii. 
 
 9 ; Matt. xi. 27 ; John xiii. 7 ; xviii. 11 ; Acts xi. 17 ; 
 Heb. xii. 4-13; 1 Pet. iv. 12, 13; v. 7. 
 
 Ps. xxxix. 9, I was dumb, and opened not my mouth ; 
 because thou didst it.” 
 
 1. It is our duty to be resigned. Murmuring and rebellion are 
 tbe marks of the ungodly. (Cf. Isa. li. 20.) Believers honor 
 God and benefit themselves by calm acquiescence in the Divine 
 will. 2. It is our What can we get by fretting? 
 
 Prov. XIX. 3. 3. It was the habit of Christ, Ps. xxxviii. 11— 14j 
 
 Isa. 1.6; liii. 7; Matt. xxvi. 39, 42; John xii. 27; xviii. 11. 
 
 4. “ The Lord reigneth” has comforted God’s saints in all ages. 
 (Cf. Job — Aaron — Eli — David — Hezekiah— Paul, <&c.) 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 463 
 
 Matt. vi. 10, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in 
 heaven.’' 
 
 A Sabbath-school teacher, questioning his children upon the 
 Lord’s prayer, asked them as to this verse, — “ My dear children, 
 what is to be done?” “The will of God.” “ And where ?” 
 “On earth.” “And how?” “As it is in heaven.” “And 
 hcfw,” said he, do you think the angels and the happy spirits 
 do the will of God in heaven, as they are to be our pattern?” 
 The first child answered, “ Immediately.” The second, “ They 
 do it diligently.” The third, “ They do it always.” The fourth, 
 “ They do it with all their heart.” The fifth, “ They do it al- 
 together.” Here a pause ensued, and no other of the children 
 appeared to have any further answer. But after some time a 
 little girl arose, and said, “Why, Sir, they do it without asking 
 any questions. 
 
 P. Henry. — ‘‘Fit us to leave or be left,” was one of 
 his constant prayers. 
 
 Taylor. — “ I thank God that every blessing of 
 worldly comfort that I prayed for, the longer He has 
 kept it from me, and the more I prayed for it, I found 
 it the greater comfort in the end.” 
 
 John Brown, of Haddington. — “No doubt I have 
 met with trials, like others ; but yet, so kind has God 
 been to me, that I think, if God were to give me as 
 many years as I have lived in the world, I would not 
 desire one single circumstance in my lot changed, except 
 that I wish there had been less sin. It might be written 
 on my coffin, ‘ There lies one of the cares of Providence, 
 who early lost both father and mother, and yet never 
 wanted for the care of either.’ ” 
 
 Dr. Arnold’s sister, during twenty years of con- 
 tinued sickness, made it a point never to allude to her 
 Bufferings to others. 
 
464 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 True Submission. — There was a good woman, who, 
 when she was ill, being asked whether she was willing to 
 live or die, replied, “Which God pleaseth.” “But,” 
 said some one standing by, “ if God were to refer it to 
 you, which would you choose ?” “ Truly,” said she, “ if 
 
 God were to refer it to me, I would even refer it to Him 
 again.” 
 
 A Scotch Minister, when asked if he thought him- 
 self dying, gave the calm and submissive answer — “ Re- 
 ally, friehd, I care not whether I am or not ; for if I 
 die, I shall be with God ; and if I live, God will be with 
 me.” 
 
 Ex. Jacob, Gen. xliii. 11-14 ; Aaron, Lev., x. 8 ; Job, 
 Job i. 21; ii. 10; Eli, 1 Sam. iii. 18; David, 2 Sam. 
 xii. 23 ; xv. 26 ; xvi. 10 ; Shunammite, 2 Kings iv. 26 ; 
 Hezekiah, 2 Kings xx. 19 ; John the Baptist, John iii. 
 26-30; Stephen, Acts vii. 59; Paul, Acts xxi. 13; 
 Jesus, Isa. 1. 6; liii. 7; Matt. xxvi. 39, 42; John xii. 
 27 ; xviii. 11. 
 
 RESPONSIBILITY.— Ex. xviii. 23-26 ; Lev. iv. 4, 
 14 (the sin-offering for the high priest was the same as 
 for the whole congregation) ; Deut. xxvii. 14-26 (1.) ; 
 Ezek. ii. 5 ; xxxiii. 33 ; Luke x. 10-16 ; xii. 47, 48 ; 
 xix. 13; John ix. 41; xv. 22-24; Rom. ii. 27; iii. 12; 
 Gal. vi. 5 ; James iv. 17. 
 
 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20, “ Ye are not your own, for ye are 
 bought with a price : therefore glorify God in your body, 
 and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 
 
 A man of wealth and worldliness was walking at leisure, and 
 thinking within himself, “ I am a happy man : with a large 
 fortune, all of which I have acquired myself, so that I am de- 
 
ILLUSTRATIYE aATHERIXaS. 
 
 4«5 
 
 pendent on no one. It is all my own.” Just then a thunder- 
 storm drove him for shelter into the open door of a ehurch. As 
 he entered, the preacher was announcing his text, “ Ye are not 
 your own : ye are bought with a price.” At the sound of words 
 so opportune the rich man started ; and as he listened, he saw 
 his folly, and became henceforward, taught by the Spirit, a 
 wiser and humbler man. 
 
 EESURRECTION.— Job xix. 25-27 ; Ps. xlix. 14, 
 15; Isa. XXV. 8; xxvi. 19; Ezek. xxxvii. 1-14; Dan. 
 xii. 2; Matt. xxii. 23-33; Luke xiv. 14; xx. 36; John 
 V. 25-29; vk 39, 40, 44; xii. 24; Acts iv. 2; xvii. 18, 
 32 ; xxiv. 15 ; xxvi. 8 ; Rom. vi. 5 ; viii. 11, 23 ; 1 
 Cor. XV. ; 2 Cor. iv. 14 ; Phil. hi. 10, 11, 21 ; Col. hi. 
 3, 4 ; 1 Thess. iv. 13-16 ; 2 Tim. in 18 ; Heb. vi. 1, 2 ; 
 xL 35 ; Rev. xx. 5—13. 
 
 Acts iv. 2, They taught the people, and preached 
 through Jesus the resurrection from the dead."^ 
 
 Mr. Moffatt was once preaching upon the resurrection^ when 
 a chief, Macaba, notorious for being the terror of his enemies, 
 was present. “ Whatl’^ said he, starting with surprise, ‘-what 
 are those words about the dead? The dead arise?” “Yes,” 
 said the missionary, “all the dead shall arise.” “ Will my 
 father arise ?” “Yes,’ answered the missionary. “Will all 
 the slain in battle arise?” “Yes,” answered the missionary. 
 “ Will all that have been killed and eaten by lions, tigers, and 
 crocodiles arise ?” “ Yes, and come to judgment.” “ Hark I” 
 
 shouted the chief, turning to the warriors, “ye wise men, did 
 your ears ever hear such strange and unheard-of news? — 
 did you ever hear such news as this ?” turning to an old man, 
 the wise man of his tribe. “ Never !” answered the old man. 
 The chief then turned to the missionaiy, and said, Father, I 
 ■ love you much, but the w’ords of a resurrection are too great 
 for me. I do not wish to hear about the dead rising again. The 
 dead cannot rise; the dead shall not rise I” 
 
 “ Tell me, my friend, why not?” said the missionary, “ I 
 have slain my thousands: shall they arise?” The thought 
 completely overwhelmed him. 
 
 30 
 
466 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINOS. 
 
 It is a great and terrible thought, that we must meet again 
 all whom we have neglected, injured, or destroyed 
 
 Figures : Awaking out of sleep, Isa. xxvi. 19 ; morn- 
 ing after night, Ps. xlix. 14, 15 ; a tree cut down, and 
 sprouting again, Job xiv. 7-14; corn of wheat rising 
 through death, John xii. 24; transformation of insects; 
 old, broken, and battered silver, melted and moulded 
 into a new and glorious pattern ; spring bursting out of 
 winter ; Israel’s deliverance through the Red Sea, 
 Exod. xii. 
 
 We are not so sure to rise out of our beds, as we 
 are out of our graves.” 
 
 The Paper-mill. — A visit to a paper-mill suggested 
 the following thoughts : — And so paper, that article so 
 useful in human life, that repository of all arts and 
 sciences, that minister of all Governments, that broker 
 in all trade and commerce, that second memory of the 
 human mind — takes its origin from vile rags. The rag 
 dealer trudges on foot, or drives his cart through towns 
 and villages, and his arrival is the signal for searching 
 every corner and gathering every old and useless shred ; 
 these he takes to the mill, and there they are picked, 
 washed, mashed, shaped, and sized, in short, formed into 
 a fabric beautiful enough to venture, unabashed, into the 
 presence of rnonarchs and princes. This reminds me of 
 the resurrection of the body. When deserted by the 
 soul, I know not what better the body is than a worn and 
 rejected rag. Accordingly it is buried in the earth, and 
 there gnawed by worms, reduced to dust and ashes. If, 
 however, man’s art and device can produce so pure and 
 white a fabric as paper from filthy rags, what should 
 hinder God, by His mighty power, to raise from the 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE UATHERINGS. 
 
 467 
 
 dead this vile body of mine, and fashion and refine it 
 like the glorious body of the Lord Jesus Christ?’' — 
 Giotthold. 
 
 RESURRECTION of CHRST— Foretold.— Ps. ii. 
 7 ; xvi. 10 ; Isa. xxvi. 19 ; Hosea vi. 2 ; Matt. xvi. 21 ; 
 xvii. 23; xx. 18, 19; Mark viii. 31; ix. 9, 10; Johnii. 
 
 19- 22; X. 17, 18. 
 
 Matt, xxvii. 63-66 ; xxviii. ; Mark xvi. ; Luke xxiv. ; 
 John XX. 21 ; Acts ii. 24-32 ; xiii. 30-37 ; xvii. 31 ; 
 Rom. i. 4 ; iv. 25 ; vi. 4-11 ; viii. 11, 34 ; 1 Cor. xv. ; 
 2 Cor. V. 15 ; Phil. iii. 11 ; Col. iii. 1-4 ; 2 Tim. ii. 8 ; 
 Heb. xiii. 20; 1 Pet. i. 3, 21; iii. 18-21. 
 
 Cf. Isaac received back from the dead. Heb. xi. 19. 
 Joseph raised from the prison to the throne. Gen. 
 xli. 41-44. 
 
 Firstfruits offered the day after the Passover Sabbath, 
 as the pledge of the whole harvest. Lev. xxiii. 9-14. — 
 The very first employment of Israel in Canaan was 
 preparing the type of the Saviour’s resurrection, and 
 their first religious act was holding up that type of a 
 risen Saviour.” — Bonar, 
 
 The bird set loose after the cleansing of the leper. 
 Lev. xiv. 53. 
 
 Jonahy three days and three nights in the whale’s 
 belly. Matt. xii. 40. 
 
 RETRIBUTION. — 1 Sam. ii. 30 ; Ps. ix. 15 ; xviii. 
 
 20- 26 ; Ivii. 6 ; Iviii. 10, 11 ; xciv. 23 ; Prov. i. 31-33 ; 
 V. 22 ; xi. 5, 8 ; xiii. 6, 7 ; xxvi. 27 ; Isa. xxxiii. 1 ; 
 Mai. ii. 9 ; (marg.) ; Matt. vii. 2 ; Gal. vi. 7 ; Rev. 
 xiii. 10. 
 
468 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINOS. 
 
 He that rolls the stone of reproach upon others, let 
 him expect that it will roll back upon himself/’ (‘‘Ashes 
 flj back in the face of him who throws them.”} 
 Examples, — 
 
 Jacob deceived his father, and was in turn deceived by his 
 own sons. The EgyptiansViWedi the Hebrew male children, and 
 God smote the first-born of Egypt. Sisera, who thought to de- 
 stroy Israel with his iron chariots, was himself killed with an 
 iron nail, stuck through his temples. Adoni-bezek, Judges i. 5-7. 
 Gideon slew forty elders of Succoth, and his sons were murdered 
 by Abimelech. Abimelech slew seventy sons of Gideon upon 
 one stone, and his own head was broken by a piece of millstone 
 thrown by a woman. Samson fell by the “ lust of the eye,” and 
 before death the Philistines put out his eyes. Agag, 1 Sam. xv. 
 S3. Saul slew the Gibeonites, and seven of his sons were hung 
 up before the Lord, 2 Sam. xxi. 1-9. Da-vid, 2 Sam. xii. 10-14. 
 Ahab, after coveting isTaboth’s vineyard, 1 Kings xxi. 19, ful- 
 filled, 2 Kings ix. 24-26. Jeroboam^ the same hand that was 
 stretched forth against the altar was withered, 1 Kings xiii. 1- 
 6. Joab having killed Abner, Amasa, and Absalom, was put 
 to death by Solomon. DanieVs accusers thrown into the lions’ 
 den meant for Daniel. Haman hung upon the gallows designed 
 for Mordecai. Judas purchased the field of blood ; and then 
 went and hanged himself. 
 
 So in the history of later days, Bajazet was carried about by 
 Tamerlane in an iron cage, as he intended to have carried Tam- 
 erlane. Mazeniius built a bridge to entrap Constantine, and was 
 overthrown himself on that very spot. Alexander VI. was poi- 
 soned by the wine he had prepared for another. Charles IX, 
 made the streets of Paris to stream with Protestant blood, and 
 soon after blood streamed from all parts of his body in a bloody 
 sweat. Cardinal Beaton condemned George Wishart to death, 
 and presently died a violent death himself ; he was murdered 
 in bed, and his body was laid out in the same window from 
 which he had looked upon Wi sharps execution. 
 
 RICHES. — Gen. xiii. ; Heut. viii. 7-20 ; 1 Sam. ii. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 469 
 
 7 ; 1 Kings iii. 5-15 ; 1 Chron. xxix. 12, 28 ; 2 Chron. 
 xvli. 5, 6 ; xviii. 1 ; Job i. ; xxvii. 13—23 ; xxxi. 24—28; 
 xxxvi. 18, 19; xlii. 10-^17; Ps. xvii. 14; xxxvii. 16; 
 xxxix. 6 ; lii. 7 ; Ixii. 10 ; Ixxiii. ; cxii. 3 ; Prov. iii. 16 ; 
 X. 15, 22 ; xi. 4 ; xiii. 7, 22 ; xiv. 2iT, 24 ; xv. 6, 27 ; 
 xxli. 2, 4 ; xxiii. 4, 5 ; xxvii. 24 ; xxx. 7-9 ; Eccles. ii. ; 
 iv. 6; V. 10-13; vin 14; Jer. ix. .23, 24; xvii. 11; 
 Hos. ii. 8; Hab. ii. 6, 13; Matt. vi. 19-21; xiii. 22; 
 xvi. 26 ; xix. 21-26 ; xxvii. 57, 58 ; Mark x. 24 ; xii. 
 41-44; Luke i. 53; vi. 24; xii. 16-34; xiv. 12-14; 
 xvi. ; xviii. 18-30 ; xix. 2, 3; 1 Tim. vi. 6-10, 17-19 ; 
 James i. 9—11 ; ii. 1-7 ; v. 1—6 ; 1 John iii. 17 ; Rev. ii. 
 9 ; iii. 18 ; vi. 15-17 ; xviii. 
 
 Figures of the vanity of, a burden (the Hebrew has 
 the same word for riches and weight, golden weights 
 draw rich men down”); wages put in a bag with holes. 
 Hag. i. 6 : the eagle disturbed and flying from her nest, 
 Prov. xxiii. 5 ; garments laid up to be moth-eaten, and 
 gold and silver cankered, Jas. v. 1-3 ; a snare, ship- 
 wreck, piercing through, 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10 ; thorns chok- 
 ing the good seed. Matt. xiii. 22; food vomited. Job xx. 
 15 ; the flower of the grass fair, but soon fading or cut 
 down. Jam. i. 10 ; (many times the flower is gone while 
 the stalk remaineth ; so man seeth all that he hath been 
 gathering long, cut off, and he remains a withered stalk, 
 cf. Job xxiv. 24 ;) as one lading himself with thick clay, 
 Hab. ii. 5, 6 ; a spider’s web, spun from its own bowels 
 with the utmost skill and industry, yet how soon and 
 suddenly blown away or swept away in an unlooked-for 
 moment ! 
 
 “ In this world it is not what we take up, but what we 
 give up, that makes us rich.” — Beecher, 
 
 40 
 
470 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 Very few men acquire wealth in such a manner as 
 to receive pleasure from it. Just as long as there is the 
 enthusiasm of the chase they enjoy it; but when they 
 begin to look around, and think of settling down, they 
 find that that part by which joy enters is dead in them. 
 They have spent their lives in heaping up colossal piles 
 of treasure, which stand, at the end, like the pyramids 
 in the desert sands, holding only the dust of kings.'' 
 ^Ibid, 
 
 True riches consist in wanting no necessaries, and 
 desiring no superfluities. 
 
 We see what a man Tias^ and therefore we envy him; 
 did we see how little he enjoys, we should often pity 
 him." — Seed. 
 
 “ If RICHES have been your idol hoarded up in your 
 coffers, or lavished out upon yourselves, they will, when 
 the day of reckoning comes, be like the garment of pitch 
 and brimstone, which is put on the criminal condemned 
 to the flames." — Hervey. 
 
 ' How MUCH IS HE WORTH ?' — A Common question 
 which generally receives a wrong answer. A man is 
 worth precisely just so much as he has capacity and in- 
 clination to be useful with. He is to be estimated by the 
 good he attempts or accomplishes. Not the tax-gatherer, 
 but the Word of God can decide his true value. Neither 
 polished marble nor lying epitaph can preserve the 
 memory, or ennoble the life of him, who, dying, leaves 
 behind no monument of mercy, and no remembrance of 
 generous and benevolent worthiness ." — Christian Intel- 
 ligencer. 
 
 ‘'He left a very Large Property."— T he closing 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 471 
 
 sentence of a recent obituary. How many reflections it 
 suggests ! 
 
 What a pity he was ohliged to leave it! He had taken 
 great delight in collecting it. It was well and fairly 
 earned, it was all the fruit of his own energy, industry, 
 and good judgment, yet he had to leave it, and went out 
 of the world as poor as he came in. 
 
 He might have taken it with him , — rather he might 
 have sent it forward in advance of him. Every dollar 
 that he had given in humble faith to assist in carrying 
 the glad tidings of salvation to the ends of the earth, 
 every cup of cold water given to a disciple, every tear 
 of pious sympathy for the suffering, every gift of kindly 
 charity to the needy, would have added to the store of 
 durable riches. 
 
 How much move blessed is it to go to, than to leave a 
 lavge' ^Topevty I The man who is poor in this world s 
 goods, but rich in faith, closes his eyes on this life, and 
 goes to take possession of a large property. He owned 
 not a foot of land on earth, but for him, 
 
 “ Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood, 
 
 Stand drest in living green.” 
 
 His food here was scarce and scanty, but there he will 
 eat freely from the “tree of life.” His garments here 
 were poor and plain, but there he shall be “ clothed in 
 white robes,” fair and clean. He associates here with 
 those who are despised of men, but there his companions 
 will be “an innumerable company of angels,” and 
 the “ Church of the Firstborn, which are written in 
 heaven.” 
 
 Golden Weights. — “ When the Washington steamer 
 
472 
 
 ILLUStR ATI G'ATII ERINfi'?, 
 
 was burnt, one of the passengers, on the first alarm of 
 fire, ran to his trunk, and took from it a large amount 
 of gold and silver coin, and loading his pockets, ran to 
 the deck, and Jumped overboard. As a necessary con- 
 sequence, he ^Yent down immediately. His treasure was 
 his ruin. ’ Was his an uncommon case? 
 
 Baxter.— “I never knew how it was,” said he, “ but 
 I always seem to have the most come in, when 1 gave the 
 most away.” 
 
 Cecil. “ I had been known,” says one, “as an occa- 
 sional hearer at St. John’s, and by asking his advice 
 when commencing master of a family ; but some years 
 had passed since I enjoyed the pleasure of speaking to 
 him, when he called at my house, and desired to see me. 
 After the usual salutations, he addressed me thus : ‘ I 
 understand that you are very dangerously situated !’ He 
 then paused. I replied that I was not aware of it. He 
 answered, ‘ I thought it was probable you were not, and 
 therefore I called on you. I hear you are getting rich. 
 Take care, for it is the road by which the devil leads 
 thousands to desti'uction.’ This was spoken with such 
 solemnity and earnestness that the impression will remain 
 for ever on my memory.” 
 
 ROCK, God a. — Exod. xxxiii. 21 ; Deut. xxxii. 4, 
 31 ; Ps. xviii. 31 ; xxxi. 2, 3 ; xlii. 9 ; Ixi. 2 ; Ixii. 2 ; 
 Ixxviii. 35 ; 1 Pet. ii. 8 ; 1 Cor. x. 4. 
 
 “ Men who stand on any other foundation than the 
 Rock Christ Jesus, are like birds who build their nests 
 in trees by the side of rivers. The bird sings in the 
 branches, and the river sings below, but all the while the 
 waters are undermining the soil about the roots, till, in 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERlX^^S. 
 
 473 
 
 some unsuspected hour, the tree falls witli a crash into 
 the stream, and then the nest is sunk, the home is gone, 
 and the bird is a ^vanderer. But birds that hide their 
 young in the clefts of the rocks are undisturbed, and 
 after every 'winter, coming again they find their nests 
 awaiting them, and all their life long brood in the same 
 places, undisturbed by stream or storm.” — Beecher. 
 
 SABBATH, THE.— Gen. ii. 3; Exod. xx. 8-11; 
 xxxi. 12-17 ; Lev. xix. 3, 30 ; xxiii. 32 ; xxv. 1-22 ; 
 xxvi. 34, 35 ; Xum. xv. 32-36 ; Deut. v. 12-15 ; 2 
 Chron. xxxvi. 21 ; Xeh. x. 28-31 ; xiii. 15—22 ; Ps. xcii. 
 (title) ; cxviii. 24 ; Isa. i. 13 ; Ivi. 2-7 ; Iviii. 13, 14 ; 
 Ixvi. 23; Jer. xvii. 19-27 ; Lam. i. 7 ; ii. 6 ; Ezek. xx.; 
 xxii. 26; Hos. ii. 11; Amos viii. 5; Matt. xii. 1-13; 
 xxviii. 1 ; Mark ii. 23-28 ; Luke iv. 16 ; xiii. 10-17 ; 
 xxiii. 54; John v. 10-18; vii. 23; xx. 19, 26; Acts 
 XX. 7 ; 1 Cor. xvi. 2 ; Heb. iv. 9; Eev. i. 10. 
 
 Figures : — The Lord’s day ; the day of rest ; the pearl 
 of days. God’s enclosure, “ as if a segment of the eter- 
 nal Sabbath had been inserted in the days of earth, and 
 men wondered at their own happiness.” — Hamilton. 
 Called by the Jews, the day of light ; by the Africans, 
 ossa-day, the day of silence ; by the Creek Indians, the 
 praying day ; by the early Christians, the queen of days. 
 
 Sin keeps no Sabbaths. 
 
 Years of Sabbaths. — In every forty years of a man’s 
 life he has spent nearly six years of Sabbaths ; in every 
 seventy years, ten. How little do we consider our so- 
 lemn, vast responsibility ! 
 
 Wet Sundays. — “ It was ascertained by a weather 
 table, accurately kept for a period of ten years, that the 
 40 * 
 
474 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 average of rainy days for that space of time in each 
 year was fifty-seven ; to which may be added the days 
 on which it snowed, and the average will be at least 
 seventy. The average number of days in the year, in 
 which either rain or snow, or both fell, is found to be 69 |^, 
 and seventy may be regarded as the average number. 
 Now, as we know not that the Sabbaths are more exempt 
 than other days, there wdil be at least ten stormy Sab- 
 baths in each year. It may, therefore, be expected that 
 at least every fifth Sabbath will be of this description. 
 And if any one make it a practice to neglect the worship 
 of God whenever it rains or snows, he will lose in five 
 years fifty Sabbaths, or about a whole year of Sabbaths ; 
 and in forty years eight whole years of public worship.” 
 — Cottage Magazine, 
 
 Champs-Elysees. — The Sabbath, it has often been 
 said, is the simplest and most palpable type we have of 
 heaven ; and one of the best ways of spending the Sab- 
 bath well, is to try and realize the eternal heavenly rest ; 
 as, vice versd^ one of the ways of realizing heaven is the 
 pure enjoyment of a well-spent earthly Sabbath. But 
 what a Sabbath is that of the lover of pleasure ! There 
 is a place in Paris,” wrote M‘Cheyne, when in France, 
 called the Champs-Elysees, or the plain of heaven, a 
 beautiful public walk, with trees and gardens. It is the 
 chief scene of their Sabbath desecration, and an awful 
 scene it is ! Oh, thought I, if this be the heaven the 
 Parisian loves, he will never enjoy the pure heaven that 
 is above.” 
 
 Philip Henry used to say of a well-spent Sabbath, 
 If this be not the way to heaven, I know not what is.” 
 WiLBERFORCE. — “ Oh, what a blessing is Sunday, in- 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE aATHERIXGS* 
 
 475 
 
 terposed between the waves of worldly business like the 
 divine path of the Israelites through Jordan. There is 
 nothing in which I would advise you to be more strictly 
 conscientious than in keeping the Sabbath holy. I can 
 truly declare that to me the Sabbath has been invalu- 
 able.” 
 
 It was to his unvarying observing of the day of rest, that he 
 ascribed his continued ability to attend to business so long. 
 Once (in 1800), when Parliament was fixed to meet on Monday, 
 January 16, as soon as he heard of it, he immediately wrote a 
 protest to Mr. Percival, remonstrating against the Sunday trav- 
 eling which would thus be occasioned, and the day was imme- 
 diately altered, through his intervention, to Thursday, the 19th. 
 
 Coleridge once said to a friend on Sunday morning, 
 I feel as if God had, by giving the Sabbath, given fif- 
 ty-two springs in every year.” 
 
 First Sabbath of the Pilgrim Fathers. — The 
 spot of all places in North or South America to my mind 
 the most hallowed, is the island where the fatigued, de- 
 solate, almost perished pilgrims spent their first Sabbath. 
 Within half an hour's sail of the coast — nay, within ten 
 minutes’ sail, if the wind and tide favored — of the place 
 where they were to abide all the rest of their pilgrimage, 
 they moored at the island, and w’onld not again set a 
 sail that day, or take an oar in hand, or do aught of 
 worldly work, because it was the Lord’s day. And there, 
 upon that desolate island, frost-bound, habitationless, be- 
 neath a snowy sky, or what was worse, a freezing sleet, 
 they dedicated the hours of the Sabbath to the worship 
 of God. There is no spot in all the scene, on which the 
 vision rests with so solemn and thrilling an interest as 
 that.” — Dr. Clieever.' 
 
 Aaron and Hur Societies. — I have been endeav- 
 
476 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINOS. 
 
 oring,” Dr. Payson writes to his mother, “to establish 
 among us what are called Aaron and Hur Societies : i.e., 
 little collections of four or fiv'e, or more persons, who 
 meet before service on Sabbath morning, to spend an 
 hour in prayer for a blessing on the minister and the or- 
 dinances. They began on New Year’s Day, and we 
 seemed to have an immediate answer, for the Meeting 
 was unusually solemn, and we have reason to hope that 
 the Word was not preached in vain.” 
 
 SCOFFING. — Gen. xxi. 9; 2 Kings ii. 23, 24; Neh. 
 iv. 1-9 ; Ps. i. 1 ; Ixix. 7 ; cxxiii. 4 ; Prov. iii. 34 ; ix. 
 7, 8; xiii. 1: xv. 1, 12; xxix. 8; Isa. v. 18, 19; liii. 
 3; Jer. xvii. 15; Lam. i. 7 ; iii. 14, 61-63; iv. 2; Matt. 
 T'. 10-12; ix. 24; xxvii. 28—31, 39-44; Luke xvi. 14; 
 xxii. 63, 64 ; xxiii. 11 ; Acts ii. 13 ; xvii. 82 ; 2 Pet. iii. 
 3, 4 ; Jude 18. 
 
 Luke xiii. 3 : “ Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise 
 perish.” ^ 
 
 In the days of Whitfield, Thorpe, one of his most violent 
 opponents, and three others, laid a wager who could best imi- 
 tate and ridicule Whitfield’s preaching. Each was to open the 
 Bible at random, and preach an extempore sermon from the 
 first verse that presented itself. Thorpe’s three competitors each 
 went through the game, with impious bufibonery. Then, step- 
 ping upon the table, Thorpe exclaimed, “ I shall beat you all.” 
 They gave him the Bible, and by God’s inscrutable providence 
 his eye fell first upon this verse, Except ye repent^ ye shall all 
 likewise perishE He read the words, but the sword of the Spirit 
 went through his soul in a moment, and he preached as one 
 who scarce knew, what he said. The hand of God laid hold 
 upon him, and intending to mock, he could only fear and trem- 
 ble. When he descended from the table, a profound silence 
 reigned in the company, and not one word was said concerning 
 the wager. Thorpe instantly withdrew, and after a season of 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERIXQS. 
 
 477 
 
 the deepest distress, passed into the full light of the Gospel, and 
 
 became a most successful preacher of its grace. 
 
 ‘‘The Lord sent it, if the Devil brought it.” — 
 Old Granny Bender was a poor widow, full of prayers 
 and faith. One night, as two young lads were returning 
 from the town with a couple of baker’s loaves, said one, 
 “ Tom, suppose we have a little fun with Granny Ben- 
 der ?” “Agreed,” $aid Tom. They went up to her 
 cottage to reconno*>re, and, listening at the door, found 
 old Granny praying for food. The thought struck them 
 to throw their two loaves down the chimney ; so up they 
 clambered, and down the loaves tumbled. 
 
 When they reached the window, they found the old 
 woman still on her knees, thanking God for having an- 
 swered her prayers. 
 
 “Well, really; is the old woman so simple as to be- 
 lieve that the Lord answered her prayer, and sent her 
 two loaves of bread down the chimney ?” 
 
 “ No doubt of it.” 
 
 “ Hallo, Granny !” said I, “ is it possible that you be- 
 lieve that bread came down from heaven ? Why, I threw 
 it down the chimney.” 
 
 The old woman’s face was turned fully toward me, 
 and I could see the tears of thankfulness as I felt her 
 keen rebuke, while she said, “ Well, all I know is, the 
 Lord sent it, if the devil brought it."' 
 
 You may be sure I vanished instantly. 
 
 A Poor Man, who had heard the preaching of the 
 Gospel, and to whom it had been greatly blessed, was 
 the subject of much profane jesting and ridicule among 
 his fellow-workmen and neighbors. On being asked if 
 these daily persecutions did not sometimes make him 
 
478 
 
 ILLUSTKAXIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 ready to give up liis profession of attachment to Divine 
 truth, he replied, ‘‘ No ! I recollect our good minister 
 once said in his sermon, that if we were so foolish as to 
 permit such people to laugh us out of religion, till at last 
 we dropped into hell, they could not laugh us out again.” 
 
 SCRIPTURES. — Deut. vi. 6-9 ; xvii. 18—20 ; xxx. 
 11-14; Josh. i. 8; Neh. viii. ; Job xxxiii. 12; Ps. i. 2; 
 xii. 6 ; xvii. 4 ; xix. 7-11 ; xxxvii. 31 ; cxix. ; Prov. vi. 
 23 ; XXX. 5 ; Isa. viii. 20 ; xxxiv. 16 ; xl. 8 ; Jer. xv. 
 16; xxxvi.; Dan. ix. 2; x. 21 ; Matt. iv. 4; xxi. 42; 
 xxii. 29 ; Mark vii. 9-13 ; Luke xxiv. 27, 45 ; John ii. 
 22 ; v. 39 ; x. 35 ; xii. 48 ; xvii. 17 ; xx. 30, 31 ; Acts 
 xvii. 11, 12; xviii. 24; xxiv. 14 ; Rom. iii. 2; xv. 4; 
 xvi. 26 ; 1 Cor. ii. 13 ; 2 Cor. ii. 17 ; Gal. iii. 22 ; Col. 
 iii. 16 ; 2 Tim. i. 13 ; iii. 14—17 ; Heb. iv. 12 ; James i. 
 
 18, 21—25; 1 Peter i. 23; ii. 2, 8; iv. 11; 2 Peter i. 
 
 19, 21 ; iii. 16 ; Rev. xxii. 18, 19. 
 
 Ps. xix. 1 : — “ Moreover by them is thy servant 
 warned.” 
 
 “A certain Jew had formed a design to poison Luther, but 
 was disappointed by a faithful friend, who sent Luther a por- 
 trait of the man, with a warning against him. By this, Luther 
 knew the murderer, and escaped his hands. Thus the Word 
 of God, O Christian, shows thee the face of those lusts, which 
 Satan employs to destroy thy comforts and poison thy soul !’* 
 
 John V. 39. — ‘^Search the Scriptures.’’ 
 
 It is recorded of M‘Cheyne,— “His family devotions were 
 full of life, full of gladness, to the end. Indeed, his very man- 
 ner of reading the chapter reminded you of a man poring into 
 the sands for pieces of fine gold, and from time to time holding 
 up to you what he delighted to have found. ‘One gem,’ said 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 479 
 
 he once, ‘ from that ocean is worth all the pebbles from earthly 
 streams.’ ” 
 
 Eph. vi. 17. — The sword of the Spirit, which is the 
 Word of God.” 
 
 It is reported of a great person, that being desirous to see the 
 sword wherewith Scanderbeg had done so great exploits, when 
 he saw it, he said that he saw no such great matter in that 
 more than any other sword. “ It is truth,” said one standing 
 by, “ you see the sword, but not the arm that wielded it.” So, 
 when we look upon the Scriptures, we find them the same as 
 other writings, but when w^e remember the arm that wields the 
 sword, — when we look upon the operation of God’s Spirit 
 working thereby, — we no longer wonder at the mighty effects. 
 
 are a letter from the ‘‘Father of mercies” to His 
 
 children at school. 
 
 a banquet^ where all are bidden “ come and 
 
 welcome.” 
 
 — a booh in cipher^ which none but believers can 
 
 decipher. 
 
 a prisra^ which only glistens when held to 
 
 the light. 
 
 — a portrait.^ from which the eye of some dear, 
 
 entreating friend seems to follow us which- 
 ever way we turn. 
 
 a stone of the mountain covered with moss. 
 
 Put it under the microscope, and what 
 wonders are revealed ! 
 
 — the magazine and storehouse of the Christian 
 
 soldier, wFerefrom he must gather all his 
 weapons. 
 
 — the spiritual barometer to discern the heart's 
 
 true state. 
 
480 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE OATflERIXaS. 
 
 — the telescope^ revealing the glories of the 
 
 upper world. 
 
 the map and chart of the celestial city. 
 
 The Price of a Bible in the time of Edward I. was 
 The hire of a laborer then was three-halfpence a 
 day ; so that it would have taken such a person the earn- 
 ings of 4,800 days, or thirteen years and fifty-five days 
 to obtain one ; or, excluding the Sundays, more than fif- 
 teen years and three months of constant labor. 
 
 Contrast with this the Bible in the present day 
 The British and Foreign Bible Society alone have 
 spread directly or indirectly, during the last fifty years, 
 no less than 46,000,000 copies of the Word of Life, of 
 which the greatest part have been circulated among 
 English readers ; and from their press six copies are now 
 issued every minute of the day (of ten hours), or 3,600 
 daily ; and this at a price so low, that the poorest may 
 afford it. 
 
 Illuminated Bibles. — Before the art of printing, old 
 monks used to take immense pains in illuminating Bibles, 
 tracing the letters in silver, and gold, and brilliant co- 
 lors. It has been suggested that a Bible might be printed 
 in a similar manner, if every Christian reader could 
 make bright those passages which have stirred or strength- 
 ened him. Hoiv many illuminated Bibles would the 
 Church possess ! Take a few who would mark the texts 
 which first brought them to the feet of Jesus : — 
 
 The Ironside Soldier, in whose Bible the bullet stopped at 
 Eccles. xi. 9, 10. There would be his brightest illuminated 
 text. 
 
 Augustine. — Rom. xiii. 13. — There was his. 
 
ILLUSTP.ATIVE GATIIERINaS. 481 
 
 Earl of RocheHer, “ the wit, the sinner, und the penitent.” — 
 Isa. liii. 
 
 The martyr Bilney — 1 Tim. i. 15. 
 
 Alexander Henderson — Juhn x. 1 (page 62.) 
 
 Jonathan Edwards — 1 Tim. i. 17. 
 
 Rev. Thos. Adam (author of “ Private Thoughts”) — Rom. i. 
 
 Cowper — Rom. iii. 26. 
 
 D' Auhiyn6 — Eph. iii. 20; read at an inn at Kiel. 
 
 * 
 
 ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ i!i 
 
 Reader, what texts would stand brightest in your Bible, if \y 
 laminated thus ? 
 
 Expanded Texts.— •• The boy holds his ball of twine 
 in his hand, and thinks it is not much, he can clasp it so 
 easily ; but when he begins to unroll it, and his wind- 
 borne kite mounts higher and higher, till at length that 
 which, on the ground was taller than he, is now no bigger 
 than his hand, he is astonished to see how long it is. So 
 there are little texts, which look small in your palm, but, 
 when caught up upon some experience, they unfold them- 
 selves, and stretch out until the’re is no measuring their 
 length.” — Beecher. 
 
 Cromwell’s Soldiers’ Bible. — By the especial com- 
 mand of Cromwell, every man in his army carried a 
 “ Soldiers Pocket Bible” with him, wearing it generally 
 near his heart. It was a single sheet, of sixteen pages, 
 containing selections from Scripture, in eighteen chap- 
 ters, each with an appropriate heading ; as, e.g ., — 
 
 A soldier must not doe wickedly. 
 
 A soldier must pray before he goe to fight. 
 
 A soldier must love his enemies, as they are his enemies; and 
 hate them, as they are God’s enemies. Matt. v. 44 ; 2 Chron. 
 xix. 2; Ps. cxxxix. 21, 22. ^ 
 
 It is certainly remarkable that the success of Crom- 
 
482 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 weirs army commejiced immediately after the publication 
 of ‘‘The Pocket Bible;” and, after they began to use 
 it, they never lost a single battle. 
 
 The Road-book. — “ The Bible the religion of Prote- 
 stants.” This was well illustrated by an Irish peasant, 
 whom a Romish priest was trying to persuade to give up 
 hi^ Bible. “Supposing,” said the priest, “you were 
 goiiig to Dublin, and came to that spot where four roads 
 meet, and did not know the Avay ; and one person told 
 you to go to the right, and a thousand to take the left; 
 which would you listen to ? In other words, — should 
 you mind what Luther, a single heretic says, or what the 
 Pope, and the Cardinals, and all the doctors of the 
 Catholic Church teach you?” “Why,” answered the 
 poor man, “ if I had a road-book in my pocket I would 
 not mind any of them. Now (producing his Bible), I 
 have such a book here, and I must follow it, God helping 
 me, in spite of the Pope, and Cardinals, and doctors.” 
 The priest soon left the man, in manifest self-confusion. 
 
 “What warrant have you to read the Bible for your- 
 self?” was the demand of another priest of a new con- 
 vert to the true faith. “ Och !” was the answer, “IVe 
 a sarch warrant.” John v. 39. 
 
 The History of a Text-book. — A few years ago, a 
 little boy had a small text-book given him by his grand- 
 mother ; it was bound in red leather, and had his name 
 written in it. One day he went to Lynn mart, however, 
 and lost it, to his no small regret. 
 
 About a year afterwards, the Rev. R C , the 
 
 clergyman of W — — (a parish about eight miles from 
 Lynn), was sent for to see the wife of a man well known 
 as a notoriously bad character ; the medical man, who 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 483 
 
 brought the message, adding, You will find the lion 
 become a lamb.*' 
 
 What had been the cause ? The woman’s child had 
 picked up the text-book, and carried it home. Curiosity, 
 or rather the Spirit’s guiding power, led her to read it ; 
 and her understanding was opened, and she received the 
 truth. She died soon after, full of joy and hope. Isa. 
 Iv. 11. 
 
 Dr. Harris, in all his wills, renewed this legacy : — 
 
 Item, I bequeath to my children, and to my children’s 
 children, each of them a copy of the Bible, with this in- 
 scription upon it, ‘None hut Christ.' (Col. hi. 16.)” 
 
 A Fitting Resolve. — ‘‘ At a Missionary Meeting in 
 Mangaia, after the whole Bible had been received in 
 their own language, an aged disciple rose up to exhort 
 the people to read the whole Bible through. Lifting his 
 own new Bible before the congregation, he exclaimed, 
 “ My brethren and sisters, this is my resolve : the dust 
 shall never cover my new Bible, the moths shall never 
 eat it, the mildew shall never rot it ! My light, my 
 
 joy 
 
 Neglected Treasure. — A traveler one day called at 
 a cottage to ask for a draught of water. Entering, he 
 found the parents cursing and quarreling, the children 
 trembling, crouched in a corner ; and wherever he looked 
 he saw only marks of degradation and poverty. Greet- 
 ing the inmates, he asked them, Dear friends, why do 
 you make your house like hell ?” 
 
 ‘‘Ah, Sir,” said the man, “you don’t know the life 
 and trials of a poor man, when, do what you can, every- 
 thing goes wrong.” 
 
 The stranger drank the water, and then said softly, (as 
 
484 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATUERII^GS. 
 
 he noticed in a dark and dusty corner a Bible), ‘‘ Dear 
 friends, I know what would help you, if you could find 
 it. There is a treasure concealed in your house. Search 
 for it.^’ 
 
 And so he left them. 
 
 At first the cottagers thought it a jest, but, after a 
 while they began to reflect. When the woman went out, 
 therefore, to gather sticks, the man began to search, and 
 even to dig, that he might find the treasure. When the 
 man was away, the woman did the same. Still they 
 found nothing ; — increasing poverty brought only more 
 quarrels, discontent, and strife. 
 
 One day, as the woman was left alone, she was think- 
 ing upon the stranger’s word, when her eye fell on the 
 old Bible. It had been a gift from her mother, but since 
 her death had been long unheeded and unused. 
 
 A strange foreboding seized her mind. Could it be 
 this the stranger meant ? She took it from the shelf, 
 opened it, and found the verse inscribed on the title-page, 
 in her mother’s handwriting. ‘‘ The law of thy mouth 
 is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.” It 
 cut her to the heart. ^^Ah !” thought she, this is the 
 treasure, then, we have been seeking.” How her tears 
 fell fast upon the leaves ! 
 
 From that time she read the Bible every day, and 
 prayed, and taught the children to pray ; but without 
 her husband’s knowledge. One day he came home, as 
 usual, quarreling, and in a rage. Instead of meeting 
 his angry words with angry replies, she spoke to him 
 kindly and with gentleness. Husband,” said she, we 
 have sinned grievously. We have ourselves to blame for 
 all our misery, and we must now lead a different life.” 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 485 
 
 He looked amazed. “What dost thou say?’’ was his 
 exclamation. She brought the old Bible, and, sobbing, 
 cried, “ There is the treasure. See, I have found it !’’ 
 
 The husband’s heart was moved. She read to him of 
 the Lord Jesus, and of His love. Next day she read, 
 and again and again ; she sat with the children round 
 her, thoughtful and attentive. 
 
 Some time went on. 
 
 It was after a year that the stranger returned that 
 way. Seeing the cottage, he remembered the circum- 
 stances of his visit, and thought he would call and see 
 his old friends again. He did so, but he would scarcely 
 have known the place ; it was so clean, so neat, so well 
 ordered. He opened the door, and at first thought he 
 was mistaken, for the inmates came -to meet him so 
 kindly, with the peace of God beaming upon their faces. 
 “ How are you, my good people ?’’ said he. Then they 
 knew the stranger, and for some time they could not 
 speak. “ Thanks, thanks, dear Sir ; we have found 
 your treasure. Now dwells the blessing of God in our 
 house, — His peace in our hearts!” So said they, and 
 their entire condition, and the happy faces of their chil- 
 dren, declared the same more plainly. 
 
 SELF-EXAMINATION.— Neh. iii. 10, 23, 30 ; Ps. 
 iv. 4 ; Ixxvii. 6 ; cxix. 59 ; cxxxix. 23, 24 ; Lam. iii. 
 40 ; Haggai i. 6 ; 1 Cor. xi. 28, 31 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 5 ; Gal. 
 vi. 3-5. 
 
 First examine how you examine yourself. When a 
 tradesman is about to weigh his goods, he must first of 
 all adjust the scales. 
 
 41 ♦ 
 
486 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 ‘‘ For one look at self, take ten looks at Christ.” — 
 M^Cheyne. 
 
 At Munich the custom is said to prevail that every 
 child found begging in the streets is arrested, and carried 
 to a charitable establishment. The moment he enters, 
 and before he is cleaned, and gets the new clothes in- 
 tended for him, his portrait is painted in his ragged 
 dress, and precisely as he was found begging. When 
 his education is finished, this portrait is given to him, 
 and he promises by an oath to keep it all his life, that 
 he may be reminded of the abject condition from which 
 he has been rescued, and of the gratitude he owes the 
 establishment which raised him from misery, and taught 
 him how to avoid it for the future. Let the Christian 
 often compare thus his former condition, as a sinner un- 
 saved, with his state as a renewed believer, that his love 
 and gratitude may be excited, and his affections drawn 
 to Him who has wrought the change. 
 
 SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS.— Deut. ix. 4 ; 2 Kings 
 V. 12 ; Prov. xx. 6 ; xxi. 2 ; xxx. 12, 13 ; Isa. xxviii. 
 20; xxx. 1; Ivii. 12; lix. 6; Ixiv. ^6; Ixv. 5; Jer. ii. 
 32-37 ; hi. 23 ; vii. 3-15 ; ix. 25, 26 ; Hosea xii. 8 ; 
 Micah hi. 11 ; Matt. v. 20 ; vi. 1-8 ; ix. 11-13 ; Luke 
 X. 29 ; xi. 39 ; xvi. 14, 15 ; xvih. 9-14 ; John ix. 39- 
 41; Rom. ii. 17-24; hi. 27 ; ix. 30-33; x. 3, 4; Phil, 
 hi. 4-9. 
 
 Phidias, the great sculptor, was employed by the 
 Athenians to make a statue of the Goddess Diana, and 
 he succeeded so well as to produce a chef d' oeuvre. But 
 the artist became enamored of his own work, and was so 
 anxious that his name should go down to posterity that 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 487 
 
 he secretly engraved his name in one of the folds of the 
 drapery ; which, when the Athenians discovered, they 
 indignantly banished the man who had polluted the 
 sanctity of their goddess. So would self-righteous sin- 
 ners act with the pure spotless robe of Him who knew 
 no sin ! Let them beware ! 
 
 SIN. — Gen. vi. 5; xxxix. 9; Numb. xvi. 38; xxxii. 
 23 ; 1 Sam. ii. 25 ; 1 Kings viii. 46 ; Job i. 5, 22 ; vii. 20 ; 
 ix. 30, 31 ; xiii. 23 ; xv. 11, 14-16 ; xxv. ; xxxiii. 27 ; 
 Ps. iv. 4; xix. 12; Ixxviii. 17 ; xcvii. 10; cxix. 11, 53, 
 136, 158 ; cxxxix. 23, 24 ; Prov. xiii. 21 ; xx. 9 ; Eccl. 
 vii. 20 ; Isa. i. 18 ; v. 18 ; xxx. 1 ; lix. 1, 2 ; Jer. ii. 
 13, 22-35 ; v. 25 ; xvii. 1-15 ; Ezek. xviii. 20, 30-32 ; 
 Hab. ii. 10; John i. 29; viii. 7, 34; xvi. 8, 9; Acts 
 vii. 60; Rom. i.-viii. ; 1 Cor. xv. 56; 2 Cor. v. 21; vii. 
 8-12 ; Gal. hi. 22 ; 1 Thess. v. 22 ; 2 Tim. ii. 19 ; Heb. 
 hi. 13; iv. 15; xi. 25; xh. 4; James i. 13-15; h. 10; 
 V. 20; 1 Pet. iv. 18; 1 John i. 8-10; hi. 4, 5; Rev. 
 xxii. 11. 
 
 What is Six? Cf. 1 John hi. 4; Rom. xiv. 23; 
 James iv. 17 ; Prov. xxiv. 9. 
 
 Figures : — 
 
 Sin is like a burden, Ps. xxxviii. 9. 
 
 ^ a debt of ten thousand talents (Matt, xviii. 
 
 24 ; vi. 12) ; more than a poor bankrupt 
 sinner can ever hope to pay. 
 
 scarlet dyed stain, Isa. i. 18. 
 
 leprosy ,, — defiling, loathsome, separating, 
 
 infectious, incurable. 
 
 a dream^ — and oh, how many awake too 
 
 late ! 
 
488 
 
 ILLtJSTRATIVE GATHERINGfS. 
 
 the mound of a poisoned arrow. The only 
 
 cure for sin's deep-festering wound is to 
 extract the poison ; but men shrink, and 
 would rather conceal it than have it probed 
 and healed. 
 
 an inclined plane. 
 
 Sin is commonly gradual ; cf. 2 Kings xvi. 10-16; Ahaz (1) 
 first an idolatrous altar at Damascus; {2)^ admired ii; 
 (3), he copied it; (4), he worshiped on it; (5), he commanded the 
 people to do the same ; (6), he removed God's altar. 
 
 a vampire^ sucking the life-blood of the 
 
 victim it has fanned to sleep. 
 
 a volcano^ silent at times, yet boiling within. 
 
 There are green vineyards and white cot- 
 tages on the sides of Vesuvius, and men 
 inhabit them without fear ! 
 
 a rope. Sin, in its beginnings, is like a 
 
 silken • thread, but it thickens every day, 
 till it becomes a mighty cable. Isa. 
 V. 18. 
 
 apples of Sodom^ — beautiful and ruddy, but, 
 
 when opened, full of acrid and bitter 
 dust. 
 
 a potsherd covered with silver. Prov. xxvi. 
 
 23. 
 
 Fossil Rain. — The great stone-book of nature re- 
 veals many strange records of the past. In the red 
 sandstone, there are found in some places marks which 
 are clearly the impressions of showers of rain, and these 
 so perfect that it can even be determined in which direc- 
 tion the shower inclined, and from what quarter it pro- 
 ceeded ; and ^his, ages ago ! So sin leaves its track 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 489 
 
 behind it, and God keeps a faithful record of all our 
 gins. 
 
 There is no sin we can be tempted to commit, but 
 we shall find a greater satisfaction in resisting than in 
 committing.’’ — Mason. 
 
 There are three things a true Christian desires with 
 respect to sin : 1st, Justification, that it may not con- 
 demn. 2d, Sanctification, that it may not reign. 3d, 
 Glorification, that it may not be. 
 
 Our own. — A missionary, addressing a school, ob- 
 served that there is nothing that we can properly call our 
 own, and put the question, Can you think of anything 
 that you can call your own ?” “ Yes, Sir,” said one of the 
 
 heathen girls ; ‘‘ there is, I think, one thing, is there 
 not? our sins are our own!” 
 
 SPIRIT, HOLT, The. — Gen. vi. 3; Ex. xxxi. 3; 
 Num. xi. 17, 26 ; xxiv. 2 ; xxvii. 18 ; Judges xiii. 25 ; 
 1 Sam. X. 10 ; xi. 6 ; xix. 23 ; 1 Chronicles xii. 18 ; 2 
 Kings ii. 9; 2 Chron. xv. 1 ; Ps. cxxxix. 7; cxliii. 10; 
 Cant. iv. 16; Isa. xlviii. 16; lix. 19; Ixiii. 10; Ezek. 
 1 . 20 ; xi. 24 ; Dan. iv. 8 ; Micah iii. 8 ; Zech. iv. 6, 7 ; 
 Matt. xii. 31, 32 ; xxviii. 19 ; Luke i. 15, 16 ; ii. 26, 
 27 ; xi. 13 ; John iii. 5; iv. 23; xiv. 16; xx. 22; Acts 
 ii. ; V. 3, 32; vii. 51 ; Rom. v. 5 ; viii. ; xv. 13 ; 1 Cor. 
 ii. 14 ; vi. 19 ; xii. 3-13 ; 2 Cor. iii. 3, 17, 18 ; Gal. v. 
 16-25; vi. 8; Eph. ii. 18; iv. 30; v. 9; vi. 17 ; Phil, 
 i. 19; 1 -Thess. v. 19; Jude 19; Rev. i. 10 ; xxii. 17. 
 
 Operatio>'S of, creation, Geo. i. 3; Job xxvi. 13; Ps. ciT. 
 
 30 ; — honoring Christ, Isa. xlviii. 16 ; Ixi. 1 ; Matt. iii. 16 : iv. 
 
 I ; Luke i. 35 ; iv. 14 ; John iii. 34 ; Eom. viii. 11 ; I Pet. iii. 
 
 II ; — inspiring the Word, Acts i. 16; xxviii. 25; £ph. vi. 17 ; 
 
490 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 2 Pet. i. 21 ; — convincing of sin, John xvi. 7-14 ; — regenerating, 
 John iii. 5 ; — guiding, Ezek. iii. 22-27 ; John xvi. 13 ; Acts viii. 
 29; X. 19; xi. 28; xiii. 2; xvi. 7 ; xxi. 4; — teaching, Keh. ix. 
 20; John xiv. 26; xvi. 14, 26; 1 Cor. ii. 10-16; xii. 8 ;— 
 sealing, John vi. 27 ; Rom. iv. 30 ; 2 Cor. i. 22 ; Eph. i. 13 ; iv. 
 30 ; — anointing, Ps. xlv. 7 ; Acts x. 38 ; 1 John ii. 20, 27 ; — 
 witnessing, John xv. 26 ; Rom. viii. 16 ; Heb. x. 15; -comforting, 
 John xiv. 16, 17, 26; xv. 26; Acts ix. 31; Gal. v. 22]— sancti- 
 fying, Rom. XV. 16 ; 1 Cor. vi. 11 ; 1 Pet. i. 2, 22 indie elling, 
 
 John xiv. 16, 17 ; 1 Cor. iii. 16; Eph. v. 18; — quickening, Ps. 
 cxliii. 10, 11 ; John vi. 63; Rom. viii. 11 ; — helping in prayer, 
 Zech. xii. 10; Rom. viii. 26, 27; Eph. vi. 18; Jude 20; — bap- 
 tizing the Church, Prov. i. 23 ; Isa. xxxii. 15 ; xliv. 3 ; Ezek. 
 xxxvi. 26; xxxvii. 9, 14 ; Joel ii. 28, 29 ; Zech. xii. 10 ; Matt. 
 
 iii. 11 ; Luke xxiv. 49 ; Acts i. 5 ; ii. 39 ; viii. 17 ; xi. 16 ; xix. 
 1 - 6 . 
 
 Titles.— G en. i. 2; iSreh. ix. 20; Ps. li. 11, 12; cxliii. 10; 
 Isa. iv. 4 ; xi. 2 ; Ixi. 1 ; Zech. xii. 10 ; Matt. x. 20 ; Luke i. 
 35 ; John iii. 6 ; xiv. 16, 17, 26 ; Acts i. 4; Rom. i. 4; viii. 2, 
 9-16; Gal. iv. 6; Eph. i. 13, 17 ; iv. 30; Heb. ix. 14; 1 Pet. 
 
 iv. 14 ; Rev. i. 4 ; xix. 10. 
 
 Emblems Water^ John vii. 38, 39 ; Fire^ Matt. iii. 
 11 ; 1 Thess. v. 19 ; Wind^ John iii. 8 ; Cant. iv. 16 ; 
 Oz7, Heb. i. 9; Isa. Ixi. 1; Rain and Rew^ Hos. xiv. 5; 
 Joel ii. 23; A dove^ Matt. iii. 16; A. seal^ Eph. i. 13 ; 
 John vi. 27; Eph. iv. 30; A guide^ John xvi. 13; An 
 earnest of our inheritance, Eph. i. 13 ; The heart of the 
 Church. Though Christ be the Head^ yet is the Holy 
 Ghost the heart of the Church, from whence the vital 
 spirits of grace and holiness are issued out unto the 
 quickening of the body mystical.’' — Heylin.'] 
 
 Cf. the many expressions in Scripture, — “ praying in the Holy 
 Ghost,” “the comfort of the Holy Ghost,” “the power of the 
 Holy Ghost,” “the communion of the Holy Ghost,” “the love 
 of the Spirit,” filled with the Spirit,” (applied by Zecharias, 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE UATHERIXUS. 
 
 491 
 
 John the Baptist, Peter, Stephen, Barnabas, Paul, &c.), pour- 
 ing out of the Spirit,” &c., &c. 
 
 Cf. the types ; the altar and the laver before the tab- 
 ernacle, the divers washings^ the anointings, of the tab- 
 ernacle, Exod. xl. 9-11 ; of the priests, Exod. xl. 13-15; 
 of kings, 1 Sam. x. 1; xvi. 13, &c. 
 
 Welding Cold Iron. — Suppose a blacksmith were 
 sent for to mend a number of old broken iron vessels, 
 and told that he must do it without fire, what would he 
 say to the proposal? Yet sinners’ hearts are as hard 
 and cold! and just as foolish are they who think that all 
 that is needed is to begin and go on hammering at them, 
 and that will convert them. No ! heat the iron, and it 
 may be mended and remoulded. Melt the soul with the 
 spirit of burning, or we are without hope of seeing any 
 saving change. 
 
 Oil FOR THE Baptism of Fire. — ‘‘Suppose we saw an 
 army sitting down before a granite fortress, and they 
 told us that they intended to batter it down. We might 
 ask them, how? They point us to a cannon-ball. Well, 
 but there is no power in that ! It is heavy, but not 
 more than a hundredweight, or half a hundredweight. 
 If all the men in the army were to throw it, that would 
 make no impression. They say, No, but look at the 
 cannon. Well, but there is no power in that ; it is a 
 machine, and nothing more. But look at the powder I 
 Well, there is no power in that; a child may spill it, a 
 sparrow may pick it up. Yet this powerless powder, and 
 this powerless ball, are put into this powerless cannon ; 
 one spark of fire enters it, and then, in the twinkling of 
 an eye, thaf powder is a flash of lightning, and that 
 cannon-ball is a thunder-bolt, which smites as if it had 
 
492 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGSi 
 
 been sent from heaven. So is it with our church ma- 
 chinery of the present day. We have our instruments 
 for pulling down the strongholds, but oh! for the baptism 
 of fire.” — Rev, W, Arthur. 
 
 TEMPER. — Gen. iv. 6-8; xxxi. 1; Num. xi. 10-15; 
 XX. 10; Judges xii. 1-6; 1 Sam. xviii. 6-12; xxv. 10- 
 17 ; 1 Kings xxi. 4; 2 Kings v. 11, 12; 2 Chron. xvi. 
 10; Esther v. 9-14; Ps. xxxvii. 8; cxli. 8; Prov, vi. 
 34 ; xiv. 16, 29 ; xvi. 18, 32 ; xix. 3 ; xxv. 28 ; Cant, 
 viii. 6; Jer. xx. 14-18; Dan. hi. 19; Jonah iv. ; Mark 
 vil. 21—23 ; Rom. xii. 21 ; Epb. iv. 26. 
 
 “ If religion has done nothing for your temper, it has 
 done nothing for your soul.” — Clayton. 
 
 “Many Christians,” says Newton truly, “who bore 
 tbe loss of a dear child, or of all their property, with the 
 most heroic Christian fortitude, are entirely vanquished 
 by the breaking of a dish, or the blunders of a servant.” 
 
 WiLBERFORCE.— “A friend once found him in the 
 greatest agitation, looking for a despatch he had mislaid, 
 for which one of the Royal Family was waiting. At 
 the moment, as if to make it still more trying to his tem- 
 per, a disturbance was heard in the nursery overhead. 
 ‘Now,’ thought the friend, ‘surely for once his temper 
 will give way.’ The thought had hardly passed through 
 his mind, when Wilberforce turned to him, and said, 
 
 ‘ What a blessing it is to hear those dear children ! only 
 think what a relief, among other hurries, to hear their 
 voices, and to know they are well.” — Christian Keep- 
 sake, 1836. 
 
 TEMPTATION.— Gen. Hi.; xxii . ; xxxix. 7-9 ; Josh, 
 vii. 21 ; Num. xxii. 17 ; 2 Sam., xi. ; xii. ; 1 Chron. xxi. 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 493 
 
 1 ; 2 ChroR. xxxii. 31 ; Job i. : Ps. xvii. 4, 5 ; Prov. i. 
 10; iv. 14, 15; xvi. 29; Dan, vi.; xii. 10; Zech. xiii. 
 9 ; Matt. iv. 1-11 ; vi. 13 ; xxvi. 41 ; Mark xiv. G6-72 ; 
 Luke viii. 13; xxii. 28-32; John xiv. 30; xvii. 15; 
 Acts XX. 19 ; Ptom. xvi. 20 ; 1 Cor. x. 13; 2 Cor. ii. 11; 
 xi. 14 ; xii. 1—10 ; Eph. vi. 16 ; 1 Thess. iii. 5 ; 1 Tim. 
 vi. 9, 10; Heb. ii. 18; iv. 15; James i. 2—4, 12-15; 1 
 Pet. i. 6, 7 ; iv. 12, 13; v. 8, 9 ; 2 Pet. ii. 9; 1 John 
 V. 18 ; Rev. iii. 10. 
 
 Is said to be from Satan ; but, alas I we some- 
 times tempt Satan almost as much as he tempts us. 
 
 “ Temptations are instructions. He is over wise that 
 goes out of God’s way to escape a cross. A Christian 
 who lives here among his enemies, should never stir 
 abroad without his guard. If you follow Satan, you will 
 find the tempter prove a tormentor ; if you follow the 
 Spirit, you will find the Counselor prove a Comforter.” 
 — Mason, 
 
 Oh, such beautipul plowers,/?/^^ wUfiin the railings ! 
 A theme for children at school to write upon. 
 
 ‘‘Every good parmer will take care of his fences” 
 else his own cattle would wander out, and his neighbor’s 
 wander in. 
 
 Set double guard upon that point to-night, was 
 an officer’s command, when an attack was expected. 
 
 THIE^TES.— Jer. ii. 26; Joel ii. 9; Luke xii. 33; 
 John X. 1, 10. 
 
 Providence.— Ps. Ixxvi. 10. The Rev. Thos. Brad- 
 bury was once engaged at family prayers, when the ser- 
 vants, in their haste, had forgotten to shut the area door. 
 
 Some men passing, one of them entered the house and 
 42 
 
494 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 crept up stairs, intending to rob the house. To his sur- 
 prise he heard a gentleman praying, at the very instant, 
 that God would protect them from thieves ; and so thun- 
 derstruck did he feel at the sin he was intending to en- 
 gage in, that he soon after went and told Mr. B. the cir- 
 cumstance, and became an attendant on his ministry. 
 
 TEUST IN GOD.— 1 Sam. xvii. 88, 39 ; Job xiii. 15 ; 
 Ps. XX. 7 ; xxxii. 10 ; xxxvi. 7 ; Ixii. 8 ; Ixv. 5 ; Ixxi. 
 5; xci. 4; cxii. 7 ; cxxv. 1; Prov. iii. 5; xiv. 26; xvi. 
 20 ; Isa. xxvi. 3, 4 ; 1. 10 ; Jer. xvii. 7, 8 ; Dan. iii. 28 ; 
 Nahum i. 7 ; Zeph. iii. 12; 2 Cor. i. 9, 10; Eph. i. 12; 
 1 Tim. iv. 10. 
 
 not in man.— Ps. xliv. 6 ; Isa. ii. 22 ; xxx. 1, 2; 
 
 xxxvi. 6, 15; Jer. ii. 36, 37; xvii. 5, 6; Dan. iv. 12; 
 Hosea v. 13 ; Micah vii. 5. 
 
 Angels know the happiness of power ; we the hap- 
 piness of weakness.” — Lady Power scourt. 
 
 Abelard, Duke of Wurtemberg. — “ Several German 
 princes were once extolling the glory of their realms. 
 One boasted of his excellent vineyards ; another of his 
 hunting-grounds ; another of his mines ; at last he took 
 up the subject, and said, ‘ I own that I am a poor prince, 
 and can vie with none of these things ; nevertheless, I 
 too possess a noble jewel in my dominion; for, were 
 I to be without attendants, either in the open country or 
 wild forests, I could ask the first of my subjects whom I 
 met to stretch himself upon the ground, and confidently 
 place my head upon his bosom, and fall asleep without 
 the slightest apprehension of injury.’ Was not this a 
 precious jewel for a prince ? I, however, have something 
 better ; for I can rest my head and heart in the lap of 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 495 
 
 God’s providence, and upon the bosom of Jesus Christ 
 mj Lord, with a perfect assurance that neither man nor 
 devil can touch me theve.” —aotthoM s Emblems. 
 
 ^ ^ USEFULNESS. — Gen. iv. 9; xviii. 19; Neh. ii. 10; 
 iii.; Ps. li. 7-13; Prov. x. 21; xi. 30; Eccles. xi. l’ 
 6 ; Isa. xxxii. 20 ; Dan. xii. 3 ; Matt. v. 13-16 ; x. 7, 
 32 ; Mark xiv. 8 ; John i. 40, 42 ; iv. 29, 36 ; Acts viii! 
 4 ; X. 38 ; xiii. 36 ; xxvii. 24 ; Eom. xiv. 7, 8 ; xvi. 2, 
 12 ; 1 Cor. ix. 19 ; 2 Cor. viii. 5, 12 ; Gal. vi. 20 ; Phil, 
 ii. 4, 15, 16; James i. 27 ; v. 19, 20; 1 Pet. ii. 9. 
 
 The vertical power of religion in the heart is the truest 
 measure of its horizontal power in the world. 
 
 “ He who waits to do a great deal at once, will never 
 do anything.” — _Z)r. Johnson. 
 
 Our power to benefit others will just be in proportion 
 to our personal holiness. “ Speak for eternity,” says 
 M‘Cheyne, “ but, above all, cultivate your own spirit. 
 A word spoken by you, when your conscience is clear 
 and your heart full of God’s Spirit, is worth ten thousand 
 words spoken in unbelief and sin. This was my great 
 fault in the ministry. Eemember it is not man, but God, 
 that must have the glory. It is not so much speaUnq as 
 faith that is needed/' 
 
 Lessons of Usefulnjjss.— How they abound in the 
 Church’s records ! We may well consider. 
 
 What many in humble life have done: 
 
 ^ Thomas Cranfield. the tailor, laboring among the bricklayers 
 in Sunday and Infant schools, and other good works. John 
 Pounds, the cobbler, the founder of Eagged-schools. Harlan 
 Page the joiner; one of whose chief rules was to aim at doing 
 good to mdimduals. Out of I2-5 of his Sabbath scholars at Cov- 
 entry, 84 gave evidence of true piety, and six became preachers 
 
496 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE GATHERINGS. 
 
 of the Gospel ; of 100 young women employed in the Tract 
 and Bible houses, 60 were brought to Christ. Many sheets of 
 the Word of God and tracts, as they were folded and stitched, 
 were moistened with the tears from broken hearts : besides many 
 others he heard of brought to God through his instrunxentality. 
 Samh MgLrtm^ the dressmaker at Yarmouth, visiting first in the 
 workhouses and .afterward in the jail. Thomas Dakin, the 
 Greeliwich^oensioner and tract distributor : for nearly twenty 
 3 ’^ears he frequently distributed 150,000 a year, which were gra- 
 tuitously furnished by the Tract Society : he was called to leave 
 the world at last without a moment’s warning, when a conside- 
 rable number of the handbills, “ Are you prepared to Die ?” 
 were found in his pockets. His happy and useful life supplied 
 the answer. 
 
 What many in active life have done : — 
 
 Luther and Calvin the Reformers. Wesley and Whitfield. John 
 Howard, the philanthropist, upon whose grave in Russia was 
 engraved the motto, “ He lived for others.” Clarkson, Wilber- 
 force, and Buxton, the Statesmen. The Thorntons, merchants. 
 Mrs. Fry, the merchant’s wife. Robert Raikes, the founder of 
 Sunday-schools. David Nasmith, a clerk in Glasgow, the foun- 
 der of City Missions in Glasgow, Ireland, America, Paris, Lon- 
 don; and also the originator of the Monthly Tract Society, 
 Pemale Mission, and other benevolent institutions. Nettleton, 
 the preacher, under whose ministry, during a revival in 
 America, it is believed, directly and indirectly, 30,000 persons 
 were brought to Christ. James Crabbe, the missionary among 
 the gipsies. 
 
 What many in affliction and solitude have done : — 
 
 Sarah Price, the invalid of Hammersmith, who was reduced 
 by rheumatism to such helplessness as to be unable to raise her- 
 self from her couch. Conveyed to Percy Chapel, where the 
 late Rev. J. H. Stewart ministered, her heart was stirred up to 
 circulate his tracts. She formed a plan of sending a copy to 
 seventy clergymen on Hew Year’s Day. 700 were sent. The 
 work grew, and in less than a fortnight 14,000 were circuhiL rl. 
 Thousands more of his tracts were issued, though nearly tlie