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February 28, 1912 ] THE!
me die, since I have seen thy face, and thou art
yet alive." "We both burst into a perfect tempest
of tears and sobs from sheer relief of mind.
I seem to hear, too, my father's familiar voice,
as I sat upon his knee, listening, with eager,
breathless interest, while he related to me, in
tenderest tones, the old, old story of Bethlehem's
Babe, of Calvary's cross, of Olivet's risen Lord.
No other teaching of my parents ever made so
deep an impression upon my mind. No other literature
so molded my character, filling me with
such high asperations and ideals.
Not only their charm as narratives, but my
firm belief in their truth, contributed to this profound
influence. Children weary, at an early
age, of the fairy story and the myth, and demand
something to which they can pin their
faith. Did you never have a little child ask you,
"Is it a really, truly story?"
Let who will question the truth of Bible
stories. Had he been fed upon them from infancy,
as was I, his doubts would never have existed.
To me the Bible is, as Sir Walter Scott
laid upon his death-bed, "the Book."
A third essential element which recommends
them for children, they are written in language
easy to be understood. Why is Bunyan's Filfrim's
Progress unexcelled in the classic lore of
childhood. The author was an ignorant thinker,
with no pretensions to learning. Prom whence,
then, comes the charm which clothes his narrative?
From the Bible. That was the one Book
? with which he was familiar, and that Book was
his teacher. The Pilgrim's Progress has the same
simplicity of language, the same glowing imagery,
the same rapid movement?a panorama of
pictures?the same intense coloring that are
found in the stories of the Bible.
Another secret of their value is their character
studies. The delineations of human nature are
simply wonderful, embracing a wide diversity of
subject. For stories of adventure, do the Crusades
possess more of romantic interest than the journeyings
of the children of Israel and their con.
' quest of the Holy Land? Or the life of Richard
the Lion-hearted than that of Moses,the beautiful
babe found hidden in an ark of bulrushes, reared
in a king's palace, and afterward the great Jewish
leader and lawgiver?
Does not the address of the Scottish king immortalized
by Burns, remind us of the oftrcpeated
charge which God gave to Joshua, "Be strong
and of a good courage?"
For feats of physical strength and prowess, so
admired by the average American boy, can Hercules
win the prize from Samson? Does Alexander
the Great not find a counterpart in Saul, so
kingly in person, but unable to withstand the intoxication
of power? Can Robinson Crusoe or
Ivanhoe compare with David the Shepherd boy,
who reached a kingly throne? Or are Damon
. " and Pythias more shining examples of genuine
friendship than David and Jonathan? "And it
came to pass?that the soul of Jonathan was knit
with the soul of David; and Jonathan loved him
as his own soul?and they two made a covenant
before the Lord." "And David said unto Mepf
hibosheth, Fear not, for I will surely shew thee
kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake."
If you want pictures of home life, from which
moral lessons may unconsciously be learned,
what can he better than the stories of Esau and
Jacob, and of Jacob's twelve sons, showing the
disasterous consequences of parents' partiality,
and of jealousy among brothers? "While the
strength which withstands temptation, and the
final reward of virtue is clearly brought out in
the remarkable character of Joseph.
Surely a sweeter pastoral never was written
than the Story of Ruth, the Moabitess, which, like
the fairy stories, ends with the assurance that
Ruth and Boaz "were married and lived happy
PRESBYTERIAN OF THE SO
ever afterward," a fitting reward for her constancy
of affection toward Naomi, her mother-inlaw,
expressed in the oft-quoted words, "Entreat
me not to leave thee, nor to return from following
after thee; for where thou goest, I will go;
where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall
be my people; and thy God, my God."
Or turn to the GosDels. and read of the Beth
any home, where Jesus loved to go; or to the Acts
of the Apostles, and catch a glimpse of the home
of Aquila and Priscilla, the friends of Paul.
Do the children crave the supernatural?
Study with them the ten plagues sent upon the
Egyptians; many incidents of the forty years'
wandering in the wilderness; the battle against
the Amorites, when the sun stood still over the
city of Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of
Ajalon; Gideon and his fleece; Saul's visit to the
witch of Endor; Elijah and the chariot of fire;
Elisha raising the Shunamite's son to life; the
nauuwriuijg on xne wan at tne least 01 i3eishazzar;
and the miracles of our Lord and some
of his disciples.
Do you desire to impress tales of heroism, of
sublime fortitude, of marvelous courage? Tell
of Esther, the Jewish maiden, exalted to the
throne of an oriental despot, who, by her brave
self-surrender and obedience to duty, was made
the instrument for the salvation of her own people.
Or the three ITebrew children, Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego, cast into a burning, fiery
furnace, but saved by a miraculous deliverance.
Or Daniel in the lions' den. "But God sent his
angel, and shut the lions' mouths." You will
find nothing in all the realm of biography more
thrilling than these stories.
The magnanimity shown by Stephen toward
his murderers as he cries, "Lord, lay not this sin
to their charge," is unsurpassed in the annals of
human history except by that of his divine
Master.
The life of Paul, the great apostle to the Gentiles,
is grandly heroic. Introduced as Saul, the
persecutor; consenting unto Stephen's death;
making havoc of the Church, until, arrested by
the light from heaven and the voice divine, he
proved "obedient unto the heavenly vision;"
and on through the years of suffering and service,
when, in persecution and distress, he finally
reaches the end, passing, with the shout of a
victor, to his doom, and wins a martyr's crown.
The figure of St. John the Beloved, as he looms
up in his utter isolation against the sombre background
of the lonely Isle of Patmos, is full of the
pathos and grandeur of the hero. Persecuted by
man, but honored of God, he was permitted to
look into the mysteries of the unseen and the
eternal. Scenes celestial and glorious burst upon
his enraptured vision, strains of heavenly
music filled his ears, and lie heard "a crrent vniep
as of a trumpet."
Tragedy teaches that when the wickedness of
the world triumphs over the good, it always
brings sorrow, and here again the Rook does not
fail us. We have the story of Cain and Abel;
the flood; Absalom's rebellion; or turn again to
the pages of New Testament history, and you
will find them, as well as the TTebrew, glowing
and burning with tragedy. The slaughter of the
innocents will not fail to excite indignation and
pity. The death of John the Raptist is full of
intense interest. No school boy can turn from
the story of Arnold's treachery with greater disgust
and loathing than he feels for the archtraitor,
Judas Tseariot, and whether you have
among your pupils, Jew or Gentile, Pagan or
Christian, their hearts cannot hut be touched
with that trage'dv of tragedies which was enacted
upon Mt. Calvary, when the veil of the
temnle was rent hy unseen hands, and the sun
hid his face, and there was a great earthquake,
and the rocks were torn asunder, and the dead
U T H " " ~ (295) 5
arose from their graves, because the Man of Sorrows
hung bleeding upon the cross, put to death
by cruel hands! How like a burst of triumphant
music after a funeral dirge, follows the story
of the resurrection and ascension.
"But time would fail me to tell of all those?
of whom the world was not worthy," and in
closing I can only express the longing that parents
and teachers may come to understand and
apreciate more fully the resources of these wonderful
Bible stories. They will find them a constant
source of delight and instruction; a treasure
house of inexhaustible wealth; an art gallery
of paintings, a symphony of divinest music.
?United Presbyterian.
ALONE WITH JESUS.
Alone with Jesus! "What a sweet and holy
spot! What a blessed refuge to which the soul
may betake itself from the charges of Satan, the
accusation of the world, and the sorrows of life!
Sweet spot for the heart to unfold itself, to tell
its hidden tale in the ear of infinite love, tenderness
and compassion! Alone with Jesus! IIow
different a front would Christianity present to
the world if the Lord's people were oftener
there! What humility and gentleness and love
would characterize all their dealings! What
holiness stamped on the very brow, that all
might read! What few judgments passed on
others, how many more on ourselves! What
calmness and resignation and joyful submission
to all the Lord's dealings! Be much alone with
Jesus! Then will the passage to glory be one of
sunshine, whether it be through the portals of the
grave or through the clouds of heaven.?Frederink
Whitfipld
WHAT MUST I DO TO BE LOST?
A certain evangelist is using a card on one
side of which is the question, ""What must I do to
be saved?" and following it are the Scriptures
which point out the way of salvation. On the
other side of the card is the question, "What
must I do to be lost?" and the answer follows,
"Nothing."
The reply is simple but wonderfully impressive.
Many think that in order to be lost they
must run the long gamut of vices and be aggressively
bad. Not so. We are all bad enough to
miss the kingdom in spite of the good points we
may have.
Life is an active, constructive force. It is likened
unto a living temple or unto a vine. It
must therefore be built up, and unless there is
activity there i3 no character, and unless there
is character there is no salvation.?Ex.
WHY LICEYSE THE SALOOXt
(Continued from page 3).
why, in the name of sound sense and common humanity,
should we license it T
"Who gets the license feet The city? The
State! The Government at "Washington ? Then,
by that token, they become co-partners in the
business. Our public functionaries clasp hands
with the bar-keep! In permitting an evil thing
to be done, and a nuisance to continue, in this
manner, under cover of law, the fee can only be
nnr?etrno/1 oo VtnoV?_mnnotr a? o KhiKa
v nv.u ao iinnii-iiiuutj v/t a ui 111c iui aui.
If the saloon had to stand on it3 own merits it
would die to-morrow; but it lives on the license
fee. It lives because some people say it reduces
taxes. And every day it lives it corrupts, more
and more, the currents of our social life.
What is the remedy? Cut out the license fee!
Let us have free rum or no rum. If the saloon
is right, let is have the sanction and benediction
of the powers that be; if wrong, no consideration
in dollars and cents can excuse them or us for
permitting it.?Christian Intelligencer.