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Supplement to Berean Lessons.
BY JOSEPH LONOKINO.
Fourth Quarter. Lesson VII. Saul’s
Early Ministry. Aetsix, 19-30. Nov. 12.
19. When he] Saul. See last
verse of last week’s lesson. Had
received meat ] This was the third
day of fasting. He was strength
ened] Spoken of the strength re
ceived from partaking food—physi
cal strength. Then was Saul cer
tain days with the disciples ] Mixing
with them in a social intercourse as
one of them, and especially wor
shiping with them. The worship
was in part —perhaps not alto
gether that of the synagogues.
20. Straightway ] Immediately :
on his first beginning to associate
with them. lie preached in the
synagogues] This shows that these
believers in Christ did not separate
themselves from their Jewish breth
ren. On the contrary, we may
readily suppose they were among
the most devout and constant in
their attendance on the stated wor
ship. This “preaching” was, doubt
less, after the usual manner of the
synagogue teaching: the reading of
the Old Testament Scriptures—
probably, the prescribed lesson of
the day—and the delivery of such
remarks as the speaker thought
proper to make. See Luke iii, 16—
22; Acts xiii, 14—17, etc. Christ ]
llather, Jesus: which is now- gen
erally received as the true reading.
That he is the Son of Cod] The
partaker of bis own nature; and
that in a sense in which it could be
said of none other. It was the
apostles’ object to show that Jesus
was a divine personage.
21. All that heard him were
amazed] Greatly wondered, as ap
pears from the next clause, that he
should preach the doctrine that he
did. Said , Is not this he, etc.] —
The original is said to embody the
question as a doubt; as, “Surely
this is not (is it?) he,” etc. These
wonderers were evidently not the
believers in Christ, but the non
believing Jews, together, it may be,
with some Gentiles. Destroyed]
Wasted, whether by causing them
to be put to death, or otherwise in
juring them. The word is properly
used of the 'ravages caused by an
invading foe. Called on his name]
Prayed to Jesus as God. This trait
especially distinguished his early
followers, and did much to affix to
them his name —Christians. We
fear the Church suffers loss by not
more frequently and directly ad
dressing theix petitions to him now,
instead of so much to flatter ufc
the name of, or for the sake of, our
blessed Savior. Came hither for
that intent] Namely, the “intent” to
take,” bound to Jerusalem,” to an
swer for their defection from the
Jewish faith as commonly under
stood, such as had embraced the
new religion. There is no evidence
that Paul used the letters given to
him by the high priest at the time,
or made known their existence.
The knowledge of them thus men
tioned was, probably, obtained from
his late fellow-travelers.
22. Saul increased the more in
strength] We understand this of the
increased depth of his conviction
that Jesus was the Son of God, of
the greater breadth of his religious
knowledge, and of the consequently
more marked energy or boldness
which he displayed in his teachings
and disputations with the non-be
lieving Jews. Confounded the Jews]
Rather, perplexed them. His rea
sonings appear to have thrown
them into that confused state of
mind produced by the unexpected
disproval of long-entertained views
and expositions which, though
proved false, are still tenaciously
clung to, but which they had become
unable to support by solid argument
and clear reasoning. Proving]
Literally, the combining of various
prophecies, and showing their ful
fillment, thus producing demonstra
tion. Many distinguished critics
here insert Paul’s statement, rec
orded Gal. i, 17, etc., which see, of
bis going into Arabia, and his sub
sequent return to Damascus.—
There is nothing in the record to de
termine the exact time of this visit
to Arabia.
23. After mang days] Supposed
to include the time of his sojourn in
Arabia, and the period he passed in
Damascus after his return to that
city. We have no other clew to its
length than that stated Gal. i, 18,
that it was before his going to Jeru
salem, three years after his con
version. The Jews took counsel to
kill him] He must then, have again,
and perhaps more signally than be
fore, “confounded them,” and thus
have again excited their anger.
Their purpose to destroy him was,
as they supposed, known only to
the parties concerned in the plot.
24. But their laying await] Or,
as we should say, lying in wait —
watching for him, that they might
seize a favorable opportunity to
slay him. Luke here speaks only
of the Jews who were engaged in
this plot; but Paul tells us (2 Cor.
xi, 82—33) that the governor of the
city was also in league with them,
and “kept the city with a garrison,
desirous to apprehend” him. Was
known of aSW] How he learned
this we are not informed; perhaps
by immediate revelation. Being
made aware, however, of his danger,
Paul and his friends made secret
provision for his escape.
25. By night] At which times
the gates of the city being closed,
disciples. Let him down by] Rather,
VOL. VIII.
and probably guarded on the inside,
all felt sure. We may suppose the
darkness aided the enterprise of the
through; such is the import of the
original. The wall] That is, outside
the wall. The house in which Paul
was at the time may have stood on,
or partly projecting over, the wall.
Such is often the case. “But an
other explanation,” says Hackett,
“may be the correct one. A few
steps to the left of Bab-es-Shurkeh,
the gate on the east side of Damas
cus, I observed two or three win
dows in the external face of the
wall, opening into the house on the
inside of the city. If Saul was let
down through such a window,
(which belongs equally to the house
and the wall,) it would be still more
exact to interchange the two ex
pressions; that is, we could say, as
in the Acts, that he escaped
‘through the wall,’ or, as in the
Epistle to the Corinthians, that he
escaped ‘through a window through
the wall.’ ” In a basket] “Such is
the sort of vehicle which people
employ there now if they would
lower a man into a well or raise
him into the upper story of a house.”*
26. When Saul was come to Je
rusalem] Some three years after his
conversion. Gal. i, 18. He assayed
to joined himself to the disciples]
Desired and endeavored to mix with
them as a fellow-disciple. The lan
guage implies that he did not suc
ceed in his endeavor. Afraid .. .
believed not he was a disciple] Had
Saul spent most of the last three
years at Damascus it can hardly be
deemed possible that he would be
so unknown to the Jerusalem Church
as he appears to have been. Os his
supposed conversion and early zeal,
they had doubtless heard somewhat;
but he appears to have been lost sight
of, and hence, probably, the rumor of
his conversion came to be doubted;
and now that he came among them
suddenly and without introduction,
we do not’esteem their caution and
fear unnatural. His cold reception
favors the idea of most of his time
since his conversion having been
spent in comparative obscurity.
27. Barnabas took him] The in
spired record furnished of this good
man up to this time is very brief,
but greatly to his commendation.
He was a foreign-born Jew, and is
first brought to notice in Acts iv, 36,
37. And brought him to the apostles]
To Peter, and James, and John,
(Gal. i, 18, 19,) probably the only
apostles then at Jerusalem. It would
seem that probably up to this intro
duction Paul had no interview with
any of hur-oprretles. What Barnabas
said of Saul, as narrated in the fol
lowing part of the verse, we pre
sumed he learned from Saul’s own
lips.
28. He was with them] Appar
ently “with” the apostles, not
merely as a guest but as one recog
nized by them as an apostle , and
therefore uniting in their labors.
His stay, however, was short; being
limited, as we learn from Gal. i, 18,
to “fifteen days.”
29. He spoke boldly , etc.] Liter
ally, freely and fully. And disputed
against the Grecians] These “dis
putations” were a sort of religious
debate, held in the presence of, and
among, these Grecians, or foreign
Jews, of whom Saul was himself
one: and were not so much “against,”
as to or with them. They went about
to slay him] The last bad argument
—the use of violence. The expres
sion of the text denotes that they
sought or attempted thus to do.
30. Which when the brethren knew]
Having learned, probably from
Paul’s own lips, of his danger,
founded on a revelation to him by
Christ himself, as narrated in Acts
xxii, 17-21. They brought him
down to Cesarea] Not Cesarea
Philippi, but a city on the Mediter
ranean. It was here the Roman
governor chiefly resided after Judea
had been taken from the Herods,
and annexed to Syria. And sent him
forth to Tarsus] Probably by sea.
Tarsus, in Cilicia, to which place
Saul is now sent, was his birth-place.
See chapter xxii. Here the narra
tive leaves Saul for the present. He
appears to have remained at Tarsus
until Barnabas went there for him
to accompany him to Antioch, as
stated chap, xi, 25.
*“llere,” says Thomson, (Land and Book,
vol. 1,) “is an illustration of the same kind.
Your boy has just let down a basket through the
window by the wall, to get oranges from the
garden outside the city. [Sidon.] Certainly
this illustration ,is entirely to the point, and
there are seventeen windows of our house on
the wall of jthe city, from any one of which
we also could easily escape, as Paul did, if
the governor of Sidon should watch the gates
of the city to apprehend us.”
We Come and Go.
If you or I
To-day should die,
The birds would sing as sweet to-morrow:
The vernal Spring
Her flowers would bring,
And few would think of us with sorrow.
Yes, he is dead,
■Would then be said;
The corn would floss, the grass yield hay,
The cattle low,
The Summer go,
And few would heed us pass away.
How soon we pass!
How few, alas!
Remember those who turn to mould!
Whose faces fade
With Autumn’s shade,
Beneath the sodded church-yard cold!
Yes, it is so—
We come, we go—
They hail our birth, they mourn us dead;
A day or more,
The Winter o’er,
Another takes our place instead.
The plants look up to heaven,
from whence they receive their
nourishment.
Death of Rev. John P. Durbin, D. D.
Death always comes with a sur
prise. Though long expected, yet
sudden is his appearance. We
journey through a tedious lane,
knowing we shall meet him, and
watching for him; yet when we
step before the corner where be is
actually ambushed, he confronts us
like anew [creation. Thus the
death of Rev. John Price Durbin,
D. D., surprised us last week. He
died at his residence on Twenty
third-street in this city, on Thurs
day, October 19th.
Some men are lifted into appa
rent greatness by the favoring cir
cumstances] of their death, while
others are great in spite of their
death. Senator Douglass was se
cured to grateful remembrance by
dying in the nick of time, when at
the summit of a supreme spasm of
greatness. Dr. Durbin lived a great
life, on and on, year after year,
till he removed from his greatness
every factitious circumstance, leav
ing the Church to take his measure
without the exaggerations that
come from the mists of sorrow.
We are, perhaps, as well prepared
to-day as we ever shall be to cor
rectly estimate his worth and work.
Opinions and impressions will not
need modifying by maturer reflec
tion. They may be greatly im
proved by better judgment; but the
case is now rested. The verdict
can be rendered in the presence of
all the facts. The weight of years
and the peculiarities of his disease
removed him from the activities of
his great work, so that the ma
chinery of the Church, created by
his genius and vitalized by bis
spirit, has adjusted itself about the
vacuum caused by his absence. We,
therefore, have the net product of his
greatnesE, condensed by time and
modified by reconstructions.
The materials to be wrought into
life, or into our construction of his
life, are varied and abundant. The
most fitting encomium that can be
bestowed upon his memory is a
simple narration of his achieve
ments. In God’s order men are
“judged by the deeds done in the
body.” This is just for both worlds.
If there are no deeds, that tells its
own story. If there are, it is
enough to present them.
John P. Durbin was born in
Bourbon co.,Ky., October 10,1800.
He has thus kept step with this
most eventful country. In 1818
he was born into the kingdom of
Christ, and began his new and
wonderful life almost simultaneously
with the life of the Missionary
Society of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, for which he was destined
to do so much, and which was des
tined to become his enduring monu
ment.
After careful examination of his
quiet, unimpassioned experience,
(so questionable in that day,) he
took his deep, conscious, simple
communion with God as indubitable
evidence of the work of saving
grace. Satisfied concerning this,
he joined the Church, and in the
same week was sent to Limestone
circuit, to preach under the elder.
The next year he was sent to the
north-west corner of Ohio, to hunt
and feed a hundred members—
scattered over a two hundred mile
circuit, among the Indians. The
boy here discovered the qualities
that made his name a household
word in Methodism. From a Ger
man brother he borrowed Clarke’s
Commentary, then issued in num
bers, and carried it about with him
in a tin box, strapped to his saddle.
This year he nearly transferred the
Pentateuch and New Testament to
his own memory.
Other standard works soon fed
his awakened hunger. The light of
a burning pine-knot directed his
steps into the ways of great scholar
ship. The next year he was sent
to Indiana. Here he studied Gram
mar, English, Latin, and Greek.
These were nearly all memorized.
The year following he was sent to
Hamilton, twelve miles from Ox
ford, the seat of the Miami Uni
versity. In spite of the objections
and complaints of his board, he
went regularly to the University on
Monday, and returned to his charge
on Friday. The people soon found
that this improved their preaching.
The following year he was sent to
Cincinnati, where he entered Cin
cinnati College, and completed his
college studies, taking the degree
of A. M. on account of his thorough
ness and scholarship.
Shortly after he was elected Pro
fessor of Languages in Augusta
College, Kentucky, and to regain his
health he traveled for the college.
Now he was brought before the
Church at large, and his fame as a
preacher was established. Soon his
name called together thousands.
No such voice of inspiration had
been heard in the West or South.
In 1831 he was appointed Chap
lain of the United States Senate,
where his sermons were often ob
jects of wonder and admiration
among the great men of that time,
Webster, Clay, Calhoun, and their
associates, whose oratory has made
the United States Senate immortal.
In 1832 he preached a sermon on
the*. Centennial birth-day of Wash
ington, in which he traced the
Divine hand in the War of the
Revolution. The Senate and House
of Representatives and Supreme
, Court were in attendance. The
• sermon was overwhelming. Gover
nor Wickliffe, of Kentucky, met
ATLANTA, GA., WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1876.
him at the foot of the pulpit steps,
and, taking him in both hands,
said, “I advise you never to preach
agaiD, if you have any regard for
your reputation. You never can
see such another day as this.” In
that year he was elected Professor
of Natural Science in Wesleyan
University, and the same year he
was called to the editorship of The
Christian Advocate. In 1834 he
was elected President of Dickinson
College, where he labored till 1845.
In 1849 he was appointed presid
ing elder on the North Philadelphia
district.
In 1850, on the death of Dr.
Charles Pitman, he was appointed
Missionary Secretary, which post
he filled till 1872. This brought
him to the field of his great useful
ness.
He did not create the Mission
ary Society, but did more than any
other one man to systematize and
universalize the missionary benevo
lence of the Methodist Church.
In 1850, when he took up the
work, the missionary appropriation
was §IOO,OOO. Before he left it
the appropriations had advanced
more than seven-fold. When he
came to this work our foreign mis
sions were in Africa and China.
(South America was supported by
resident English.) Under his plan
ning and advice the work was ex
tended in China and India, Ger
many, Switzerland, Norway, Den
mark, Sweden, Bulgaria, and Italy.
(Mexico and Japan have since been
added.)
It is not too much to say that he,
more than any other man, gave the
missionary impetus to our Church.
He moved from conference to con
ference, addressing the preachers
on the floor of the conference about
missions, and about extending God’s
work, and preaching evenings and
Sabbaths, till every preacher caught
the spirit.
His peculiar eloquence always
made him the center of every
gathering of preachers. He had
that “something that does it.” No
man could [hear him and not feel
that there was something for which
to work more important than his
own salary, larger than his own
society, more enduring than worldly
fame, and more imperative than
temporal comfort. Through the
conferences he worked resolutions
in favor of his work. He followed
it till the General Conference made
these collections the law of the
Church, and brought every preacher
to answer annually for his steward
ship in this matter.
He talked and preached missions
till they were on the conscience of
the Church. It was always solemn
reality to him. He had convictions
concerning the fate of the un
gospeled, and he did not hesitate to
utter and defend them. He plead
as a man would plead to save his
brother from eternal death. Out
of his own great conviction was
born the conviction of the Church.
He did not believe that the publica
tion of the Gospel was a matter of
convenience. It was a divine com
mand, an imperative, everlasting
obligation. When he spoke, the
divine authority ,was in his logic,
and the divine compassion in his
voice, and the divine inspiration in
his eye. To hear him, as he sounded
through the Church the charge for
the rescue and salvation of the
heathen millions, was to receive an
impetus that would make a common
preacher spin and burn through his
charges for five years.
Durbin’s voice is silent. Who
will now give the bugle blasts to
awaken our Zion? Good men and
true have entered the field, but Dur
bins can not grow more than one
or two in a century. May his
spirit rest upon and arouse the
whole Church ! He was bold in his
logic, fervid in his imagination,
fine in his sensibilities, artistic in
his taste, fathomless in his emotions,
resistless in his convictions, simple
in his faith, tender in his affections,
and unalterable in his purposes.
He studied like a scholar, thought
like a philosopher, planned like a
statesman, executed like a general,
decided like a judge, plead like an
advocate, prayed like a saint,
preached like a prophet, and wit
nessed like a martyr.
Endowed with many wonderful
gifts, he scourged them all into the
perfect service of his work, what
ever that might be. Consequently,
every thing he touched prospered,
and his path was a trail of light.
Asa preacher, he shook the land.
As an educator, he bequeathed glory
enough to his old college to crown
it every morning with anew halo
until this day. As an organizer,
he touched the whole Church, and
brought every one into line, from
the senior bishop to the least Sun
day-school child. Asa secretary,
he comes out of the first century of
Methodism as the embodiment of
her greatest benevolence, and rides
down into the second as the figure
head of her greatest connectional
interest.
John P. Durbin has built his own
monument. Let the Church offer
a worthy thank-offering. Out of
1,600,000 members we call for 200,-
000 that will give this year only
one dollar each extra to the Mission
ary Society, as a thank-offering to
God for the gift of such a man as
the Great Secretary. This will pay
off the missionary debt, and put the
society he loved on a war footing
for the subjugation of the world.
— N. Y. Chrutian Advocate.
t*. -
The Dullness of Pews.
The are saying very many
true things, in regard to the arousal
of ministers. They want more
animation, more snap, more di
rectness, and more fire. This
demand on the part of the pews
has had its good effect, and dry
bones have got up and shaken
themselvss, and worn out manu
script sermons, after having been
preached ten or twenty timeS, have
been thrown into the stove, or put
on a back shelf as fossiliferous spec
imens to be examined by the follow
ing generations. Now, as the pews
have been so successful in waking
up the pulpit, and as “turn about is
fair play,” it is time for the pulpit
to wake up the pews. We suspect
that much of the former dullness of
the pulpit was inherited from the
pew. We know not why a religious
audience should not look as bright
as any other audience, but how often
it is that people who at a lecture or>
concert ’ look’ animated, seem to
feel it their duty as soon as they
come into a devotional assembly to
look stupid. Some hearers shut
their eyes, and so extinguish, as far
as the preacher is concerned, the
chief light of their face. What is
the matter with your eyes? Is it
emotion? O, no! It is easily seen
when that is the reason. You are
probably trying to review your ac
counts at the store, or calculating
the prospects for the Spring. Open
your eyes and look the preacher in
the face. Your manner is a wet
blanket on the preacher’s enthusi
asm. Others listen with an inani
mate look. You are a soporific in
the house of God. If a speaker be
gin a sentence with power, and hap
pen to see your face about the mid
dle comma, he will in the last half
of the sentence fall to imbecility.
Have you ever seen a preacher in
the midst of his sermon get both
ered and subside into inanity? He
saw two or three intelligent men
looking as indifferent as dolts. The
sun rose clear, but a fog went up
from your countenance and be
clouded it. It is astonishing how
much the manner of listening has
to do with the force of the preaching.
We will take the contract of rous
ing the dullest minister that ever
addressed an audience if you will
give us twenty alert and wide-awake
hearers placed at proper distances
from the pulpit, so that in whatever
direction the preacher looks the
clash of the eyes shall strike fire.
How much spirit would you have
in conversation if in your parlor
your guests should demean them
selves as in church, one of your
friends in the arm-chair closing his
eyes, another lying back on the sofa
as if he were asleep, another putting
his head down on the back of the
chair in front of him? You would
quit talking and wish they would
take their stupidity our of your par
lor, and go home. But the solid
and unconcerned manner which you
would not endure from your friends
you every Sabbath inflict on your
pastor. Wake up, or if you are
awake, as you probably are, do not
let your manner belie your real con
dition.
There are some churches in which
the unarousable look is so chronic,
so hereditary, so perpetual, that we
never want to preach there. If a
Methodist should cry in that assem
blage an “Amen” or an “Hallelu
iah,” it would create a panic in the
audience and make the reading of the
riot act appropriate. The Church is
a pond frozen over, smooth, and
good for skating. But no warm
tides of life, no meeting for preach
er’s earnest eye with hearers’ intent
stare. Every Sunday humdrum,
and extract of poppy, and ecclesi
astical morphine.
Come! come! church pew, you
must share with the pulpit in the
responsibility of a lethargic service.
We will try to fire up at our end of
the column. We will divide the
blame, and then share in the im
provement. We will furnish and
shovel in the coal, but you must fur
nish the kindling wood and open the
dampers. An eager, intent pew
will make a resounding pulpit.
liev. T. j De Witt Talmage, D.D.
Religion versus Morality.
BY REV. E. O. THAYER.
The careful student of religious
history must be impressed with the
persistency with which the very
things intended to turn the mind
and hearts toward God are so
perverted as to have a contrary ef
fect. We see this most vividly il
lustrated by the effect of the Old
Testament dispensation upon the
Jews. The Mosaic laws given from
the fiery summit of Sinai, with its
imposing array of rites and ceremo
nies was intended to aid the heart in
its aspirations toward God, and by
degrees prepare it for the sublimer
realities of the new dispensation.
But instead of this when the figure
of the foreshadowed Mesiah ap
peared upon the scene —the Jews
still cling to the lifeless forms —the
long prayers, the painful fasts and
customary rites, and refused to re
ceive the new life into their hearts.
We see the same picture in the his
tory of the Roman Catholic Church.
At first the solemn mass and holy
sacraments bore the heart aloft to
God while earnest prayers ascended
to His throne sweeter than the
clouds of incense. But gradually
the world crept in and the solemn
words came from the lips rather
than the heart, and Christianity
became a reproach and a by-word in
the earth. Coming further down
toward the present, we find the fire
of Luther nearly extinguished, and
a Wesley comes to implore the bap
tism of the Holy Spirit on the
Church. The boundless love of
Christ and the terrible realities of
eternity were preached by faithful
men, and revivals spread till all
England was aroused, and a portion
of the flame reached America and
swept across the continent, and its
warming power is being felt all over
the globe.
One of the most noticeable fruits
of this religious revolution has been
a belief in the necessity of stated
revivals or times of refreshing. So
beneficial have been the results of
these blessings upon the Church,
that other denominations have
adopted the same plans, more or
less modified. Os course such sea
sons, especially among the more
simple and ignorant, are attended
with considerable excitement, some
times becoming feverish and wild.
Now there is no subject on which
excitement is more appropriate than
man’s eternal welfare, and the con
victions of sin produced by the Holy
Spirit may well cause men to groan,
and the joy of pardoned sin may
well call forth a shout. For be it far
from us to denounce reasonable ex
citement on such subjects. But is it
not well to consider whether there
is danger lurking beneath the good?
A shout which comes from a heart
running over with love to God is a
good thing, but is there not dan
ger of mistaking a state of mental
or physical excitement as a high
religious experience, and thus almost
unconsciously ignoring the deeper
piety which should pervade the
whole religious being?
Let us study some of these sweep
ing revivals that bring scores to the
altar and keep ministers and people
up to the utmost pitch of nervous
excitement till tired nature gives way.
Now probably for every one brought
to the altar by a calm decision, re
sulting from a conviction of duty,
five come because others are going,
and kind friends are urging them.
Under such circumstances, amid a
perfect storm of prayers and songs
and shouts, how is it possible for
these persons to exercise that faith
which secures justification and
peace ? You all know the results of
such scenes. Large numbers never
have their names on the probation
ers’ list, while many others run well
for a season till the wear of excite- •
ment has subsided, and then drop
back into the world. -
Another result is that our churches
are filled every year with mem
bers who never got a strong hold
upon Christ by the arms of faith,
and hence know nothing of the deep
peace which comes from entire con
fidence. If these persons by care
ful watching of pastors and class
leaders are kept on the Church-roll,
their lives are a continual record of
periodic back-slidings and re-con
version. While the activity of re
vival lasts they are on the top wave
and their shouts are the loudest, but
coldness comes again with quiet.
It seems to me that the manifest
tendency of all this is to give
these deluded Christians and the
unconverted members of our congre
gations the idea that religion is
emotion, and has no thought of mor
ality connected with it. The writer’s
view of revival seasons is not full
and perhaps not correct, but let each
reader canvass his own experience,
and then after careful study ask
himself if this danger of losing
sight of the pious side of religion is
not often lost sight of among Meth
odist Christians.
Our Saviour in all his teachings,
while he declares that those who be
lieve are saved by grace divine, yet,
he also continually impresses it upon
his followers that true faith will be
known by its fruits, and that those
who love him will keep his com
mandments. Nowhere can we find
a more rigid system of morality
than in the Bible. Locke, the phi
losopher, said that to give a man a
full knowledge of morality he would
send him to no other book than the
Bible. And yet no system is easier
to follow, because the degree of our
obedience is measured by the love
to Christ which prompts our acts.
Without this love, it is impossible
for us to keep Christ’s commands,
and unless we do keep them we are
none of His. It seems clear, then,
that a Christian life requires some
thing more than emotion, and that a
continual life of obedience is a surer
test of a true believer than mere
professions or lusty shouts.
Would we then draw the conclu
sion that excitement is wrong and
revivals out of place ? By no means,
but as people we must be sure that
our religious joy is based upon a
faith that takes sure hold of the
promises, and a love that will keep
us from willful sin; and as ministers
we must show our people the neces
sity of good works, of well-ordered
lives as well as to feed their imagin
ations on the glories of heaven and
the joys of salvation. Only when
Scriptural holiness reigns in our
Churches will the kingdom of Christ
make true progress, and his name
be glorified before an unbelieving
world.
The heir of a great estate, while
a child, thinks more of a few shil
lings in his pocket than of his in
heritance. So a Christian is often
more elevated by some frame of
heart than by his title to glory.
Reform.
< BV BEV. J. A. TKIMMEB.
Perhaps no single word has, of late,
been so conspicuous, as the above.
It has been flaunted before the
American public until it has become
as familiar as ordinary household
words. As used at the present, it
has a political significance, and it
would seem that its meaning was
confined to this particular. But its
meaning is broad, and is applicable
not only to political affairs, but to
every department of life. The word
reform, admits of two general defini
tions. First, to go back, to re
turn to a former usage; also, to
form anew, to recreate. In other
words, a changing for the better.
This is not anew word. It is as old
as the Reformation. It has no new
significance. It is, however, a word
of great practical importance, and
seems to be the watchword of the
hour. We join in the chorus and
say-—“let us- have reform.” But
we would not restrict its meaning to
national affairs.
Many at the present are asking
themselves this question—“is the
world growing better or worse?”
Some come to the conclusion that
the world is continually growing
worse, and that we need a general
reform. We are led to think differ
ently; the bump of “good will” was
never developed to such an extent
as at the present. Our asylums, our
hospitals and charitable associations
and institutions, all testify to this.
The Bible was never read and
studied, especially in this country,
as now. Thanks to the International
series of Sunday-school Lessons!
Surely this is a hopeful sign, for in
searching the Scriptures we have
eternal life. And farther, the
Church has never manifested such a
missionary spirit as at the present
hour. The International associa
tions and the spirit of fraternity
exhibited in certain parts, all look in
this direction. These things lead us
to believe, that upon the whole, the
world is growing better rather than
worse. True, in many respects
there is need of reform. There
should be a reform in some things
pertaining to our country where it is
estimated that at least fifteen thou
sand innocent persons have been
murdered in cold blood since the
late war. There should be a speedy
reform in this particular. The sub
ject of intemperance is a sad one,
and presents a dark picture. It is
estimated that thirty-five billions of
dollars have been spent for intoxi
cating drinks during the one hun
dred years of our nation’s history.
A sum that exceeds all the wealth
of our country combined, to say
nothing of the misery and ruin
which grew out of this traffic.
Again, many would have a Sabbath
reformation. They prefer the old
Puritan Sabbath to the Sabbath of
the period, which is spent in many
quarters in driving, visiting and
frivolity. These things seem, at first
sight, to overbalance the good
that there is in the world. But
it is natural for us to look at the
dark side of the picture. A cloud
is more conspicuous than the whole
firmanent of blue. Many in the
world see little but clouds. If we
should look at the spots on the sun
for a long time, he would be lost to
all save the spots. So we find many
who are absorbed in the spots. A
disconsolate brother remarked not
long since that the world is all
wrong. We were forced to the con
clusion that there was something
the matter with him. For,
“ This world is not so bad a world,
As some would like to make it,
For whether good or whether bad,
Depends on how we take it.”
We repeat, that we are in favor
of reform. The largest room in the
world, is the room for improvement.
Outside of politics, there is a de
mand for reform in every direction.
In most cases perfection is always
beyond, and the {reformation must
go on until we reach the beyond.
But how shall we lift the world up
into a higher flame of thought and
feeling? How shall we better our
social and moral condition? These
are important questions, and if sat
isfactorily answered we shall touch
the mainspring of reform. First,
to answer negatively, this consum
mation is not to come through the
channel of united effort so much as
by individual exertion. The reforma
tions of the past have been brought
about by single individuals. The
‘burden rested upon the shoulders of
a single man. An association of
men can not bring about a reforma
tion in society, in politics, in religion,
as an association. A saviour must
be raised up, who being saved him
self, should dedicate himself to the
office of saving others. Hence, it
i3 vain for any body of men to cry
“Reform,” as a body. It is equally
vain to change the body, or associa
tion, in order to bring about any pro
posed reform. It is not a change
of party that wo need, but a change
of men. This rule admits of a wide
application. Herein, we think, lies
the secret of reform—namely: an
individual reformation. The sin lies
at our own door, and we can not
consistently plead for a reform until
we have reformed ourselves. Many
lose sight of this fact. Our nation
is made up of individual character,
each individual being a part of the
nation’s character. How important,
then, that there be an individual re
formation. For, as one defective
link ruins the whole chain and ren
ders it useless, so one defective
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NO. 45.
character may mar and blast a na
tion’s reputation. We forget our
responsibility in this matter. The
question of reform becomes then a
very personal matter. If the sub
ject could speak for itself, it would
say to every individual, “ Thou art
the man.” David was impressed in
this manner when he prayed for a
clean heart and a right spirit. Then
he says, “ will I teach transgressors
thy ways and sinners shall be con
verted unto Thee.” Having reformed
himself, he would be prepared to
bring about a reform. The trouble
is, we look without and wonder what
is the matter, when the difficulty lies
within. We heard of a man not
long since whose mouth was filled
with decayed teeth, and he had been
traveling all around the world try
ing to find a pure atmosphere, but
in vain. And so there are many at
the present hour who are making
the night hideous with cries of “pure
air,” and “Reform,” but to them there
is no pure air, and many of them
would fail to appreciate a reform
until they have reformed themselves.
A distinguished physician has re
cently said that “ the healing prin
ciple lies within.” We get well
from within. And so when each in
dividual in the world shall take a
large dose of reform (and if neces
sary repeat the dose) then may we
hope for the reformation of the
world.
Be Patient.
Be patient with your friends.
They are neither omniscient nor om
nipotent. They cannot see your
heart, and may misunderstand you.
They cannot know what is best for
you, and may select what is worst.
Their arms are short and they may
not be able to reach what you ask.
What if they also lack purity of pur
pose and tenacity of affection; do not
you also lack these graces? Pa
tience is your refuge. Endure; and
enduring, conquer them; and if not
them, then at least yourself. Above
all be patient with your beloved.
Love is the best thing on earth, but
it is to be handled tenderly, and im
patience is the nurse that kills it.
Be patient with your pains and
cares. We know it is easy to say
and hard to do. But, dear child,
you must be patient. These things
are killed by enduring them, and
made strong to bite and sting by
feeding them with your frets and
fears. There is no pain or care that
can last long. A little while, and
you shall leave behind you the
whole troup of howling troubles,
and forget in your first sweet hour
of rest that such things were on
earth.
Be patient with your deferred
hopes. The heart is sick, no doubt,
but sick hearts must take the tonic
of patience. All that is worth hop
ing for will come to the Christian.
The hope itself is put in peril by the
impatience that weakens and pros
trates your strength. Here also
you have no better resource than
patience. You will reach next year
just as soon by taking it quietly;
the end of your preparation for life’s
—work your apprenticeship or col
lege course—will come of itself. The
end of ail your labor is not far beyond,
and need not be sighed for or impa
tiently expected. Clad in patience,
you walk in a visible armor, against
which temptations to repine and
murmur fall harmless. Put on pa
tience against your hungry hope.
Be patient with yourself. You
are full of faults, and your life
abounds in blunders. Do not lash
yourself sore with self-debasement.
Some confidence in yourself is need
ful to your success.
Be patient with God. It seems
almost irreverent to counsel you so.
And yet, you know that even against
God you have cried out in your im
patience. Your garden did not bear
in season, or bear fruit in abundance,
and in your heart you said, “God
will never reward me according to
my works. lie has flowers for
others and fruit for the ungodly, but
me he leaves in want. When shall
my time come?” Be patient. He
has one time and you another.
Your time is when you desire; his
time is when you can be of use. He
sees your day of real want; you see
only the hour of capricious wishes.
For him and for you there is abun
dance of time. Ilis years shall not
fail, nor will yours. You can afford
to wait. Be patient. Selected.
Dangers of Stimulants.
That man is nothing less than a
suicide who drinks tea, coffee or ar
dent spirits of any kind, to induce
him to perform a work in hand
when he feels too weak to go
through with it without such aid.
This is the reason that the ma
jority of great orators and public
favorities die drunkards. The pul
pit, the bench, the bar, the forum,
have contributed their legions to
drunken habits. The beautiful
woman, the sweet singer, the con
versationalist, the periodical writer,
has filled but too often a drunkard’s
grave. The best possible thing for
a man to do when he feels too tired
to perform a task or too weak to
carry it through is to go to bed and
sleep a week if he can ; this is the
only recuperation of brain power;
the only actual renewal of brain
forces, because during sleep the
brain is, in a sense, at rest —in a
condition to receive and appropri
ate particles of nutriment from the
blood which take the place of those