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Family I
"TARRY YE HERE AND WATCH WITH
ME."
WondrouB the love of Him who. spake these words,
Wondrous the grace, to stoop so low, to ask
Of men, to tarry and to watch with Him
One hour! With Him, whose goings forth of old
From everlasting were. Whose word did form,
Whose power upholds creation's utmoBt bound.
Yes; He did stoop to crave their tarrying
E'en for one hour, to watch with Him?and yet
nt; nattea ju vuau. Aiuue ue prayea; alone
He watched. For comforters He looked, and none
l>id And. Wondrous the love of Christ! Matchless
The grace! Perfect the sympathy that flows
To, lonely ones! Tell out thy grief to Him.
He felt the same. No human breast had He
To lean upon, no voice to soothe, or speak
Of comfort to His wounded heart. Not one
To watch with Him In that drear darksome hour,
He knows it all. It was for thee, for thee
'ihou purchased one, He passed through all, and now
W ith open arms can welcome thee to come
And pour out every grief, the keenest pang
Or that too small for any ear save His.
Yes, pour out all. He can uphold, sustain,
Can comfort thee, can whisper peace, His peace
E'en in the wildest storm. Nay, more, can make
All things to work thy good, and yield to Him eternal
<Draise! ?Wv
BIBLE STUDY.
liY DAVID JAMES BUKRELiL, D. I>.# LL. D.
One of the characteristics of our time is au
iucreased interest in the study of the Scriptures.
Classes are being formed in churches
everywhere and social assemblies and colleges
and summer schools. Whether this is a mark
of spiritual progress is an open question. It
depends on the motive and method of those
who are concerned in it.
One may study the Scriptures out of mere
curiosity or a desire to acquaint himself with
its "literature." So far so good. Inasmuch
as the Bible is the "best seller" in the book
market and more talked about than any other
masterpiece in the world's literature, it is an
important part of one's elementary education?
unless he would prefer to be regarded as an
ignoramus?to know something about it. But
there is no moral advantage in the proceeding,
thus far.
Or the Book may be approached in a spirit of
prejudice and with a desire simply to confirm
opinions already formed against it. Some of
the worst men and most virulent unbelievers 1
have ever known have been thoroughly versed
in the Scriptures that way. There are so-called
"Biblical experts" who, having already made
up their minds that the Book is a fraud, find
practically nothing but falsehoods in it. As a
rule, in any pursuit, we find what we are looking
for. A child in a flower garden will go
straight to a rose bush, while a rat-terrier will
begin digging for moles. Each to his liking.
If a, man hates the Bible, to begm with, its truth
and ethics will only intensify his hatred. The
more he reads about God and morality, about
Christ and the conditions of eternal life, the
more he will rail against it.
~i?
in a jjiuic class iu connection witJi one
of the Young Men's Christian Associations in
this city where the teacher is an avowed unbeliever.
lie rejects every one of the fundamental
doctrines of the Christian religion and
takes occasion to say so. It were far better for
young people never to open the Bible at all
than to confuse their moral convictions in that
way.
PRESBYTERIAN OF THE 8 <
headings
x nave recently been asked to assist in tne
esiauiisinnent ot classes for Bible study in various
parts of tlie city. But before consenting
1 should like to know whether this movement
is controlled by friends or enemies of the truth.
y
If students of so-called "liberal'' schools of
theology are to be turned loose upon the community
to teach unbelief, 1 am against it.
Hut suppose one is a truth seeker. Suppose
ms auiia is iree from prejudice and open, to conviction
1 Then tiie entrance of God s VV ord givein
ngnt. r or nnn tnere are wonderful tilings
in tne divine law. "search the Scriptures"
saiu Jesus, "lor in tlieni ye think ye have
eternal liie and tney are they which testify of
uie." , , | ^
An old man and his wife who had lived long
in sin Happened upon a Bible and began to read,
x resentiy he said, " W ife, if these thmgs are so
we re lost.'' But they continued to read until
mey came upon the vision of Christ, whereupon
ne cried, " Wife if these things are so, we're
saved!"
Any honest student of the Bible will arrive
at Hie same conclusion. The further he reads
ine more he will want to read. The more
deeply he studies the more eager will be his
quest. The clearer its revelations, the more
fervent will lie love it. For
" Within this sacred volume lies
The mystery of mysteries:
Happiest they of human race
To whom the Lord hath given grace
To read, to tear, to hear, to pray,
To lift the latch and ope the way."
?Christian Intelligencer.
THE AET OF NOT APOLOGIZING.
If there is anything that we all need to know,
it is how to make an honorable apology graciously
and gracefully; when we are wrong, to
say so, and to say so with such heartiness, such
evident sincerity, such real sorrow at our
otfense or our error, that we win a twofold victory
: one over the friend or foe, and the other,
a much bigger one, over ourselves.
But there is an art of not apologizing which
U J ? ?
uas consiueraoie value, too. Some of us, like
the courteous Japanese, are forever deprecating
the things that belong to us. We do this partly
from a mistaken sense of courtesy, partly from
a false modesty, partly from a real modesty.
Sometimes it is a more or less conscious endeavor
to exact a compliment; sometimes it
may be superstition, imagining that "the evil
eye" or a jealous Providence is on the lookout
to spoil too lair prosperity, or punish inordinate
pride.
The housewife does it with her cats and cakes
and curios and carpets. The host does it when
the unexpected guest decries the nakedness of
the table. The singer does it when she has, or
elects to say she has, that cold which handi
caps tier so. The speaker, teacher, preacher,
does it,?either sincerely, conscious of a real
lack of preparation or material, or not so sincerely,
the better to enhance the glory of what
he is about to do. "Just a little thing I dashed
off; had no time to polish it; awfully ashamed
to present it," when he confidently expects it
to gleam as a diamond of the first water. Even
the Christian does it regarding his doctrinal
faith or his personal religion. Often it is a mere
habit; and he really means no more by it than
the swearing sailor said he meant by his oaths,
OUTH t August 28, 1912 ^
or than some people he knew meant by their
prayers.
But it is a good habit to break. The true
Christian will not apologize for his religion; it
is too great and glorious to need it. He will
not apologize for his family, or his house, or his
furniture, or his table; they are the best he can
make them.
And especially he will not apologize for his
product or his performance. If apology is insincere.
it is breeding insin<?pritv in him
other folks soon see through it, and laugh at
him iu their sleeves. A young lady of this sort
protested long that she could not sing, and
"protesting she would ne'er consent, consented."
But she fully proved her contention.
The courtly bishop who had been foremost in
the urging was equal to the occasion. With his
urbanest bow and tone, he said, "Now we know
what to think when you say you cannot sing!"
If the piece, or speech, or product, is good,
apology cannot avert criticism; what we ought
to apologize for is allowing ourselves to be persuaded
into affronting our audience by giving
something not worthy of them, and not worthy
of us.?Sunday School Times.
THE INCARNATION OF INFLUENCE.
"For none of us liveth to himself, and no man
dieth to himself."?Romans xiv. 7.
If the former part of this statement was true
in Sif Ponl 'o rJovr Kaw *y? n/?h * * A?J - ?
au uux o uuj j uvn uiuuu ti UCi 10 it tUUaj^ t
When he gave the truth this terse setting, the
ends of the earth, as compared with what they
are now, were immeasurably apart. Nothing
amid the discoveries and progressive movements
of the last half century has been more
remarkable than the fact that science has practically
annihilated space or-distance. It has so
tiooded us with a knowledge, and equipped us
with the means of close touch with places and
races, as to make the "uttermost parts of the
earth,'' hut a figure ot speech. Our telegraphs,
telephones, newspapers, and railways give us a
cognizance of human society, which is out of all
comparison with that of our fathers. We have
become conscious of a vaster world outside us
than any generation ever dreamed of before,
and we feel its impress in a way particularly
vivid. We cannot, as the Apostle reminds us,
be passive spectators of what is taking place.
As the universe narrows we must expand; we
must recognize, and learn to sympathize with, a
wider area of success and failure, joy, and sorrow.
If* thpn tlin frnfli Kof ' * -r*
, VMV VI uvu Miut HU iuaii II V Ctil UUIU
himself" is emphasized by the ever closer union
with, and inter-dependence upon, one another
the world over, it is not the less so when we
come to our personal share in this great relationship.
It has been said that the lifting of
the hand sends a shudder to the stars; and if
we accept this, not necessarily as said, but as
indicating the law of vibration, can we doubt
that something so potent as the spirit of man
sends forth impressions less sensitive or farreaching?
Every healthy soul has a worthdiscerning
faculty; and while it may have to
recognize an order or aualitv of existence it
does not create and cannot destroy, it does
recognize it. According to the nature within is
the character of our influence without. It may
wprk through actions, it may only be an atmosphere,;
it may he active or passive?it is there:
"No man liveth unto himself."
Could anything, we are told, destroy the
smallest particle of heat in one of those minutest
unseen stars, it would beget a disturbance
in the economy of the worlds no Leverrier
could compute or conceive. And when any one
of us withholds her or his gift, however humble,
from the service of the world we misuse