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168 THE PRESBYTERIA
Says Dr. Strong, far better than we can say it: "If we
can not go ourselves we are under obligation to go
by proxy. The obligations of all men rest on the same
grounds. God does not ask of any two the same
gift, because, to no two are llis gifts the same, but
He does require of every man the same sacrifice."
When we begin to realize all that is meant by these
words: "Thy Kingdom Come," we feel that we are perjuring
ourselves when we utter it, if we do no more
than pray.
The beauty fades in our beautiful things, the charm
is gone from our treasures when we realize that they
may be purchased at the expense of souls for whom
Christ died!
From the depths of the awakened heart then arises
a deeper and more fervent cry: "O God, teach us how
to pray: Thy Kingdom Come!"
S. O'H. D.
*Dr. Josiah Strong, in "Our Country."
THE STILL SMALL VOICE.
Amid the noisy whirl of life,
Its tumult and its fear
There is a soft and winning voice
Comes whispering in my ear:
I hear it in the busy day,
In the stillness of the night,
And though I flee, it follows me,
In darkness and in light:
That pleading voice, that winning voice,
Still whispering in my ear;
It makes me know my sin and woe
And shows a Saviour's near.
The thunder hath a mighty tongue,
The earthquake speaks in wrath,
And howling winds declare God's will
Along their stormy path;
But mightier than the tempest's breath
Is that soft word in stillness heard.
That pleading voice, that winning voice,
v Still whispering in my ear;
A It makes me know my sin and woe
m r And shows a Saviour's near.
On land or sea, in storm or calm,
This still small voice is nigh;
But when I hear God's holy word
It speaks most tenderly;
It tells me of my sin and guilt,
It tells of God's great love;
It hides my shame, it names that name
All other names above:
That pleading voice, that winning voice,
Still whispering in my ear;
It makes me know my sin and woe
And shows a Saviour's near.
?Minot J. Savage.
A bit of inter-denominational comity which shouldn't
be overlooked in these good times of common church
friendliness is the memorial forwarded by the Protestant
Episcopal P>oard of Missions* to President Taft,
asking him to "safeguard zealously" the interests of
the two Presbyterian missionaries in the Kongo?Drs.
Morrison and Sheppard?who are being prosecuted by
the Belgians for exposing their atrocious exploitation
of the native tribes.
Patience is as pleasing to God as the energy of active
life.
I
N OF THE SOUTH February 9, 1910.
W. EDGEWORTH BIRD, OF BALTIMORE.
A Tribute..
The Franklin Street Presbyterian Church and the
cause of the Southern Church in Baltimore, have both
received a severe shock in the death of Mr. \Y. Edge
worth Unci, who died at ins Home in Koiana rark. Daltimore.
on January 19th. He was so well known in
the South, and especially in Georgia, that a word by
way of tribute will. I am sure, be appreciated by
your readers.
He was born in Georgia in 1850. and educated at the
University of that State where he graduated in the
class of 1869. llis father, Major W'm. Edgeworth Bird,
had died in Hancock county, in 1867, and he, with his
mother and sister?now Mrs. Victor Smith?both of
whom survive him?moved to Baltimore in 1870, and he
at once entered actively into the business and social life
of the city, where his charming personality, his business
integrity and his high Christian character soon en
dcared him to people of every class. In 1878 he was
elected a deacon in Franklin Street church, and in
1888, while yet a young man, was ordained to the eldership,
and soon afterwards was made clerk of the Session,
an office which he held at the time of his death.
To say that he was faithful to every duty, wise as a
counsellor, firm and outspoken in his stand for the right,
beloved by his people, and the right hand of* his pastor.
who loved him with all his heart, gives but a faint
idea of the place he occupied?a place which no one is
left to fill?and when the sad news came that he had
passed away, a whole church, and a host of friends in
the community as well, were simply stunned by the
blow. A very large congregation assembled in the
cnurcn on tlie Sunday morning following his funeral,
and it was indeed a congregation of mourners. The
pastor, Dr. Harris E. Kirk, preached a sermon on
"Death, God's Method of Colonization," from the text,
" . . to die is gain"?a loving and eloquent tribute to
his memory; and though his name was not mentioned,
yet so very real was his presence in every heart in that
great assembly, that it was a spontaneous and genuine
memorial service at once unique and beautiful.
But after all, it was in his Christian character and
devotion to the Master's work that he shone the brightest.
As a counsellor, and in every branch of the
Church's work wic t
_ ..v, ,.?c ouic, cuicient ana laitniui, ana
to all its causes he was generous even beyond his means,
llis faith in God was sublime in its simplicity and
strength?an inspiration to those who knew and loved
him best, and to himself a shield impenetrable by any
trouble or sorrow. During the last years of his life he
was sorely tried, but whether in the loss of a son inexpressibly
dear to him, in the patient suffering of an
invalid wife, or in tenderly ministering to his mother and
his children in their pain and sickness, there was
only the one cry from his stricken heart: "It is all
right, I know it is all right, blessed be the name of the
Lord." In his last illness, which was short and desperate
from the beginning, and even when his failing
mind began to wander, his words were only those
which bore testimony to the purity of his life and the
sustaining stronMli t.:. < -?
0 ui ins iaitn. When no one was
near whom he could see, he was heard repeating to himself
those sublime words of the Shorter Catechism,.