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December 22, 1909. THE PRESBYTERI
would take away the breath of the average newspaper
or magazine reader who gets his 'facts' as to American
male Christendom from the secular press instead
of investigating for himself on the right side of the
Church door." .
FRANKLIN'S MOTION FOR PRAYERS.
I have lived for a long time (eighty-one years), and
the longer I live the more convincing proofs I see in
tllic frnfll fViof 1 ~ f * *
kiui.ii, kuav uuu guvti lis in me aiidirs oi man. /\tlQ
if a sparrow can not fall to the ground without his
notice, is it probable that an empire can rise
without his aid? We have been assured in the sacred
writings, that "Except the Lord build the house, they
labor in vain that build it." I firmly believe this; and
I also believe that without his concurring aid we-shall
proceed in this political building no better than the
builders of Babel; we shall be divided by our little,
partial, local interests; our prospects will be confonnrlprl
anrl uro mircol.rao -I"-" 1 1
? , .... v. .. v. siicui uciuuic a reproacn
and a by-word to future ages. And what is worse,
mankind may hereafter, from this unfortunate instance
despair of establishing government by human
wisdom, and leave it to chance, war, or conquest. I
therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers,
imploring the assistance of heaven and its blessing
on our deliberations, be held in this assembly every
morning before we proceed to business.?Ben Franklin,
in Convention, 1789.
THE TESTS OF EVERY DAY RELIGION.
Addressing a big Methodist camp meeting, Bishop
Quayle a few days ago informed his audience how to
discern a Christian by street-car manners. This is
the odd, but forceful, way ifi which the bishop made
his points: "If you are hanging on a strap in a crowded
street car," he said, "and the conductor calls out 'Step
forward, please,' and there is no place in front where
you can step forward, the way you act will be a test
of your religion. If you are a woman, and a man gives
you his seat, and you act as if you thought it was your
right and not his kindness that gave you the seat, the
way you act will test you more than answering questions
in theology. It is not how you treat some bie
body, but how you treat a little urchin, dirty in tears,
that tests your religion. What you do when you are
off duty?that's what counts. What if the people who
see us at church and at weddings should see us in the
betweens? What we Christians do ofttimes kills faith
in the Church. Anybody can see a rose garden in the
? ? - - - -
vcLyume, uui we can aiso smell it in the dark. What
we do when nobody sees us ought to be as beautiful
as what we do in the open." Bishop Quayle spoke the
truth. A religion which is only paraded on Sunday
like a Sunday suit is not of much practical use. The
need of the world is for every-day religion of the sweet,
helpful sort. True religion will reflect itself without
any effort or consciousness on the oart of the nn?pc.
sor. It is a religion of love, kindness, justice, truth
and respect for the rights of others. It will shine in
the rush of business and travel even more brightly
than it does in church. And it will go far toward
bringing others under its influence, leading them to
the same sort of life.
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4 * # 4
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AN OF THE SOUTH. 9
Quiet Hour
immnnuumtmmummmuummtnu; manmmmttu
PRAY without rcAcino
.. . . ..WW I vunoniu.
Margaret E. Sangstsr.
Pray, not alone for gift and grace
To crown mine earthly dwelling place,
Nor yet for wealth and worldly store,
And bounties clustered at thy door;
Pray for thy brother's soul and thine,
A?J
aiiu ue uie cross tny strength and shrine.
Pray for the heathen folk that grope
In midnight mirk, with little hope;
Pray for the heedless near thy side,
Who r?orn * V* ?-* *. ci ?-1 ** *
? v, ?.v?i mttL me ortviour aiea;
Pray for the poor whose meager crust
And houses gray with mould and rust
Are ever round thee in the land;
Pray, and then open wide thy hand.
Pray with a deepful thankfulness
To him who lives thy lot to bless;
Pray, rounding every prayer with praise
Tn that aroot T ?'J ? ?
?D.v.? uvic iuai guiucs iuy ways;
Pray, telling all the little things
Just as the bird at morning sings;
Pray to thy Lord who hears thy cry,
And sends thee answers from on high.
PRAYER.
Unto Thee, O Christ, who for our sins hast suffered
and risen again for our felicity, unto Thee be
honor and glory, now and evermore. As Thou hast
vanquished death, make us partakers of Thy risen and
ptprnal 1!f? * ? '1
ij.v.1^ us iu overcome, tnat we may be
joined with Thee in love and patience and that our
lives also may be for world's help. From the death
of sin, from selfish hopes and vain endeavors, bring
us forth, O Thou who canst, into the clear sunlight
of Thy eternal day! Give us obedient hearts to follow
Thy commandments with a perfect love. Lead us
from faith to service, from fear of death to full assurance
of our heavenlv Father's carp Show nc ti,v.
?- * "J
self in all experience, Thou Hope and Expectation of
the world, till our hearts overflow with song. So let
Thy kingdom come, in us and all men, to the honor
of Thy name. Amen.
THE GREAT SECRET.
Loving God is the secret which reconciles all. This
is the secret of beine- occnnipd with intnr?t k
o 1- ? V..V.OI, ... HIV.
things of earth, without ceasing to love the things of
heaven. But ye divided hearts, who have dreamed of
a compromise between heaven and earth, and have appeared
tormented with fears and scruples, now know
the cause of your condition: Ye fear God, but ye do
not love him. Love had speedily cut the difficulty;
everything for God, nothing for self, is its motto. Everything
for God, provided God is mine. Then let him
enrich or impoverish my life, let him extend or limit
my activity, let him gratify or oppose my tastes; if I
have my God, I have all things at once.?Alexandre
R. Vinet.
If VOU do not raw for m*n mA "??-? ??
- ? ? ?*. v-oic LU tdic, you
cannot speak the word with power.