Page016

Page016

' Hilldoo : Jlforality worthy of adoption f, y 0


tians,- Sit 1I0t puti ently to heul' evil'


ken of, nor speak that which is wicked IIi


lIIischi evous, thyself; tell no lies, nol' use d.


ce it, pmvllrieation or h)' poeri sy ; be not 011


rea ching in trad e or dealing; nev el' opp~


th e weak ' 111111 humhle, 1I01' offer violencei


YOllr neighbors, keep your hands from pile


ing IIl1d th eft; and in no way injure II relid


creature.


,


SELECTIONS.


Th e LOl'd:.~ Pray er on the Field of Battle.-"


' Let us 1I0W, ' toays E l'm.; r Il Il~ , ' iIJHtgillc. wc her


a so ldi er a Oiollg th ese fight ing Chr istians say


ing tile Lord ' s Pray'" ,. ' 0111' Fllthel',' sllys hI,


o harden ed wretch ! eUII \, ou euilli illl llttho,


wh ell yo u lire j ust I! 0i/ lg io c ut fo ur hrothci


thl'oal ? ' Hallowed be th, 1/ name.' 1I0w


th e lIalll e IIf Go d bc 1Il0re illlpiollsly lIIrhafl,


ed th llll hy lIlutllal hlooll y mlll" ller a / llollg y


his SOliS? ' Thy kin~ dlJ m come.' D",)' oll JI


for . the cOlll illg of H is king dum, wh ile yllll


tl'y illg to estnh lish lin ean h ly d e~ poti slll,


th e ~ Jl i ll i ll g ' of- th e hlood of God's so ns a


Fllhjec ts ? ' Th y will he don e 0 11 earth as it


in heaven.' lIis will in hellven is for peace, ­hilt


yon ' are 1I0W lIleJitllt ing Wllr. Dllre yo


~ ay to YOIll' F ltth el' in heav en, ' Give, tiS t,"


dU! 1 0111' daily bread 7' wh en yOIl ar e going I


next lIlillllt e to hllm )' 0111' " I'oth er ~ s e ll ru fie l~


mId 1",, 1 rath er lose th e hen efit s of them yOIl'


self thllll suffer hilll to enj oy them ul1l11ol este¢


With wh llt titce elln yOIl sa y, ' Forgit, c ItS 01


tresspll s,~ es as we f orgive those that tres~


against us 7' wllell so luI' fi'Ol1l f orgiv ing yOl


hl'O th el', you lire going with IlII th e IlIIste JO


(' 1111 , to lIIunl el' him in co ld hlood for 1111 .


leged tl'eSpllSS, which, aft er all, is bllt illlllgi


ary ? Do yon preslliutl to de pr eellte the ' d.


ge l' of lC'" ptation, wh o, not without great dl


;.: er to YO lll:~ e l ves, ar e doing all yOll cnnl'


fim ' e yonI' brothel' illlo danger? Do you iI


serve to he delivered f rom evil, that is the a'


being by whose spir it yon lire ~ lIiil e< l, in cn


triving th e greatest possible evil to )' OUI' br'


er ?"


family aud friend s, that s he mi ght he susta in"


ed in th e 1; 8t conflict. As th e tim e of her de,


pnrture drew nigh, her faith grew brighter an


s tro ng er" and the display of divine power


through her to her family and fri ends on tbJ


Illst day of her ea rthly pilgrimage, was a scen~


which language is pow erl ess to describe, 8~ 111


which non e could co ntemplate without profit.


In th e lIIorning of th e day before iler deuth,-'


she was comparatively ellsy , and availed of


that moment ' to take 1111 ea rt h lv farewell ofher


ramily. S he requested the c hi ldre n to he bro'tl


10 her bedsid e for ihut ' purpose . With thel


most entire self- control, she embraced them,


and told them she was 1I0Wgoiug home , The


ca ll whi ch it was her heav enly mast er's will to'


11I1I1< e, she said she WIl S renrly to oh ey. She


had , at first , she said, a desire to live a few'


~- -....._ " " . f


years ) oll5er fOI' th eir sall es ;- hlll she had now


no will other than Hi s in whose merey si~,~,


co nfide d. S he reminded them that this woul.


mak e th e third death ill th e fiunily in less than


three years, anrl tluu wh om it mi ght pl ease


God to call next was quite uncertain, She,


urged them . to live ill cou stuut preparation for


death, to he dutiful to th eir farher, lind to pUI


their tru st in God, and all would he welL,


S eeing th e family in tears, sh e snid, " I alii 1' 01'"


ry to see yo u ' weep.. Do not weep for -'; ne. ­'


fears, I know, are n nturn] ; hilt th e loss to you


will he to me great ga in. PUI your tru st in


th e L ord , wh o. is not on ly ahle hilt will ing to


more than sn pp ly my pluee, ' Ask of him in


sinceri ly, a ud he will sus tain yo n under this


as wclllls all oth er tri iIl8." S he lidd ed , she'


s hould soo n he with her dellI', dep llrted chil.


dren , alld hop cd fjlr 1\ re- ullion, ere IlIng, withl


a ll her fUlllily. To hpr hll sh alHI she ex presSed


her desire thllt he would lmi n th e c hil( lren inl


th e fi, ar of th e L ord , II l1d pllrsu e th e co nI':


whieh Ih cy IJad togl'lll er trod th rou gh life.


S he f'lIjoiue d upon hilll to guurd th eir habit


IIIHI allelld to th eir ed ueatiou,- to sc t them I


wOl'lhy e'xa tll ple, and lil'e lIellr to God ill vie~


uf tIll' jlld gm ent dlly. : l'I le wh ol ~ da)' Shl


cOllt inued t o , se ~ co nllex ions lIlId fi'ielld F, 10 al


01' 11' 110/ 11she ex pre8s\: d 1! 1I IIl1w ay" ri, tl~ nCl


; " (/ 10 meri ts . llf he r Hedceul er. III thi s ha


py Ii- uine she continue ( l IIl1til tlte IIcxt 1II0rD


ing , IV hell ' her spir it was rerea sed from its tab


el'llllele of c lay to, e ntc r , that rcst which re


tlIl1illetll for t ~ e peoi , le o~ God .


" Thi ther let us tnl'll Ou r view ;


Peace is there, and cO lll fo~ t ton:


There shall those we love he foulld,


Tracing joy's eternal round ': '


er possess it. W. H. F .


could go within, nud find th e mind of J esus


th ere, we sh ould recognize it as a transcript of


th e divln e Mind. \ V e should know our love


to he differ ent from Gelll's on ly in degree-'


that His is infinitely gre ute r ; ana , that l\ S we


could nev er he malignant and rev engeful , ­much


less could HF. be malignnnt and rev enge­fill.


Helice we ou glu all to st riv e to be what


J esu s calls us to be- holy, harmless , arul un -,


, J efiled- pelject. ' I'h ~ n should we kllOl~' GOII,


and kn ol~ that II God is Love." \ V e s hou ld be


abl e to decide, to our own snti sfa cti on , at


least , what di sposal his love call 1II1lke of. me n,


a nd what disposal it cannot make of , them j­1'


01' we shou ld know th e natllre or love hy its


workings in our own hearts. And it is enough


1' 01' liS to kn ow that nOlhitJlt CIIII ever . come


from God hut LOI'e ; that our only pro sp ect of


ohtaining happiness liesin 0111' becoming like


Him- and that th ey who place th eir affe cti on s


on earth ly thillg~ II111s1 IIna}' Qm~ b! y des cend • tg ..-:&' '' ' to th e shades of dllrl< neF. li~ l:~~<,,~ nd be-cause


the, y are flO! pllre. t ~ YN'who con­tinu


e in sin cannot know tM8~ TI, 1oth em God


" I.',


must be as a co usuru iug fire. S till, " God , is


Love," lind by COllflll: ming to the instru etlnns


o f J esu s, we sha ll hav e th e witn ess of thi s in


our own hearts. In 110 other way call we ev-


Religion in Life and in Death.


Mt · s. E---, th e snhject of t h, s lu ief'ma.


moir, wus born in Berks Co unty , P ennsyl vu.


Ilia. \ Vhile ljllit e yOllng her ) lllrents relllOl'ed


to l\ Iaryland, wh ere th ey co nt inue: 1 to resi lle


nlltil. 1815, at which \ ime th ey emigmtel! to


th e " fill' \ V est," und estab lishe d th eir resid ence


ill th ; city of C. ' l'revi ousto this, her mind


ha ving hecome seri ously imprct'sed , sh e mllde


a Jiublic profession of re Jig ion hy nniting with '


the LUlh e1' ll1l Ch llrc h. On th e decellse of her


mother, which OCCUlTed some 11l0nlhs sllhse­ljllent


to Iler arrivlIl in C., she IIssumed th e


cares of Jwr fath er's fiullily, amI di scllllrw'd ils


dmies with s ignIII fi, lelity, n lltil her marriuge


in 1817. It added 1I0t a Iju le to th e huppill l'sS


of thi s cO/ lneXiOIl thut her h nshllud lVas U J~ I-


• " . Ii", ioll, " ", I , tl 8"< nr mem her o ft llll


samlJ church. A fillnily of nine children WU8


ih e result of this lin ion, 10 wh ich she gave IIn­r'emitted


care. As II mother, she ronlld ill re­ligi


oll a 11I'esent help . . The freshness it iln­parted


to her s pid ts enablell hel' to fil lfil ma­tenHlI


resp on sihililies with ulucri ty , a lld its in­f1l1


e, ice o ~ her ge nera l de!' ortnlelll rendered


hel' pr ecepts 1II0re effec tive. .


During th e hilsiness de pr essi6.1 of 1819 lind


18: JO, her hu sband became deeply emlJllITIl, S­ed.


At thi s trying moment, und throu gh , th e '


wh ole of his pecnniary ~ I i fli ( m l ties, s lle d is­pla


y ed 1IIIeO/ l/ lIlOn ene rgy, persel ' erell ce 111111


c hr istian forti tnde. , He ron nd ill her a fi'iend,


cou llse llor lind cOlllpanion of inexpressihl e


worth. She lJreust ed Wilh Ilim th e sto rm, ­toil


ed a t his s ide, and wh en : hi s s pi ri ls Sllllk ,


' lIlimed him to tllllt Heiu g wh ose gool hlllFS is


over all, allllto that Savior who hus said, " tlly


grace is suffi cient fill." th ee ."


The blessing of God on wcll direct ed in-


. du stry, enuhled her ' husha nd to discharge hi ~


liabiliti es, lind to uccullllllute u cOlllp et elll: y for


th e support lind edllcntion of his fillllily. Bllt


th e retnrn of prosp erity did 1I0t lead to II fOI' ­ge


tflllness of the Give r . 1\ lrs. Eoremained th e


SlI lIIe humlJle allli devoted ehr istilln as hefore.


S he felt it was " lII or e hll'ssetl to g ive th llll to


rece ive," alld th e lIec( ly nev er sollght her e1l1lr­ity


ill, vain.


Both Mrs. E. un() her hll shulld prel'iou s to


this time, had hecollie di sslltisfied with so me


of th e doctrill es o f the L'u th erun c hlll'eh ; und


lifter prayer/ ill ex aminlltion of the Scriptu res,


in cOllnexion with such helps , ns th ey cOllld


cOllJm/ lnd, th ey emhra ced the R estoratioll. ­S


lIlJseljue ntly , for th e first lillie in th eir lives,


th ey enjoye d lh e 8atisfactioll of listening to


an ex posit ion of christian tl'llth from a Itesto.


' ra tionist cl er gymall.


In Decemher of 1839, Mrs. E. was attac ked


hy viQlent di sea se , fi'om wldeh she nev er re­covered


. And her e agaill she found the " preS' ­ellt


help" of reli gion in tim e of need. She


e n( llIre d the cOllfinem ent IIlId pains ofa death­hed


wilh th e IItmost chrislillll rortitud e aI'lrl


resignati ~ n. S he see med impressed fi'om th e


lJeginning , that her race W II~ nearly run, and


that her heavllllly l\ laster WIISliJ out to ca ll her ,


horn e. She spo ke rep eat edly of approachiug


di ssolution, and requested th e prayers of her _


THE PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN.


nit e Bein g, we huve only to , learn whnt it will


do in us: at lea st thi s is th e way in which


goud men mu st obtain their knowled ge. ' And


what will it do? Of co urse , it will do nothing


to any per son but wl int will he for his ben efit.


If I wer e perfect, it wouhl be impossibl e for


me to hav e a wrong feeling towards allY one.


, I shou ld alwnys be mo ved by a desire to com­municate


happiness. It would he my meat


and drink to do th e will of Illy Father in heav­en.


I s ho uld not seek my own welfar e c h ief­ly


, hut that' of oth ers- the welfare even of e n­emies.


. flll are ready JO ad mit this. But God


is perf ect in th e very highest sen se; IIIld his


perfecti on , we may he su re , seek s tq bestow


nothing hill blessedn ess. Nor can vintli eitive­ness


a nd revenge be holy qiinliiil'S ilfGod, ­though


sinful in In lin , These passion s ar e


n ever found sa ve in - fallen beings :- restored


beings are div est ed of them ;- tlley ' ha ve been


co ns ume d in all such hy th e love or Gu d ; and


hence it is impossibl e th ut, th ey sh ou ld be any


part of God's nature. . They lire huteful, and


to be hat ed. If th ey dwelt in God, we co uld


uotIove Him ;- and we believethat th e rea­son


, why he is gen erally feared more than


loved by pr ofessed Chr istians even, is that he


ha s been so oft en described as the Infinite


E vil, not th e Infinite Good. Em from ete rn i­ty


to e te rn ity , nothi, ng cun come from Go d but


Love :- ancl Love ever seeks to bless.


' Ve sho u ld , how ever, he cnre fu l not to draw


a false inference from thi s view of Oo d, re­sIlec


ting th e future co nd ition of dtp rll'ced men.


God's perl ections ca nno t lJe di sc el'lled, nor his


spiriltla l I. lessin gs enjoyed. but h)' the pure in


he al'l. All other s IIJ llst' walk in dllrkn esS',


: md dwell in llIiser y , so 100Ig liS th ey re lllai n


8inflll hlld debased. Your bein g good, heloved


re ade r, YOUI' having n othing bllt 10l'e for me,


wOllld not prel ' en t my sllffe r ing, IInless I were


influ en ced hy yOIl to be gooI! also. And it is


cer ta i'nly IInr e'.. lsonahle to su pJlose thnt profes­so


rs ( if religi on, or non - professors , will at death ,


01' at IIny period aft er, he purifi ed and mal! e


happy b y arb itrary mil'Rele. .. If I enter th e fil'


,,' t" '~. w oo'l ,1 (' o n~ a~) ; .. " tuJ...". ii" H~ i l'litll' in posJ­scs~


lo n of a SJlll'lt of se lfishness, I jh Pl. CL HI_ ,


situ ation will be on e of rcmorse lind sorrow.


Though God mllY s till be Love- Love that


knows no limits a nd th at cannot , be ljllell ch ed,


yet ' l s ha ll not re" lize thi s , ' nor ha\' c un ability


to reali ze it, so lon g a s 1 remain IInr egen erate.


I shall be as th e blind mUll, who ca ll behold


nothing of th e g lory alld lJeanty of th e bright


Spring momillgs, up on whieh we ar~ privi­leged


to opell our eye s . And it is lI e c es~ ury


for us to " sanc tify ' the Lord GQd in our hearts"


- to go within to st udy his ch arac te r . and pur­Ijoses;


becall se thi s is the ollly way wh er eby


we can prepar~ oursel ves to receil'e' hellvenly


illuminati on s :- it is th e on ly WilY ir{ which


th e rel'elution made to liS ca ll be nll () er st<; od.


The New T estament is to a certain ex tent u


sealed book to a per verted und worldly mind.


Its light s h ines up on us ollly iu proportion as


we follow aft er holiness. For, ., ays Pllnl, ­"


The things of God knoweth no lIIan, bnt the


spirit of Go d"- the s piri t of GOIVn the so n l.


Alld he a~ ds : -" \ V e huv e received, not. ihe


s pir it of the \\' orld ," not a worldly spirit, " hilt


tl ie spirit wlJich is of GOd; that we might


fi'eely know ,! 1 1l~ things that are ~ g i v lJ n II ~ of


God." They had become pllrified th rongh


th e inflll cllile of C hr istiullity ; IIIld thi s is on e


reasoll why th ey cOllld di scem ktwcen truth


lind er ro r.


. So ' when ICe lise evcry means pl~ cer1 within


our reach, to sa v~ on rselves from rhe e vils thut.


are within ns-':- when we succeed in se cUl'ing


right hearts, by see ld ng comillllally th e good ­ness


of onr heuver\ ly Father, Ih en~ s! lall we lJe


e nabled to learn a ll llecessa ry trut H, ' Ve shall


he th e beloved children of God, IIl1d hy know­ing


' 0' 111' own rest~ red natllres7" hy knowing


that th ey arc love, IIlId Cllilnot hate, we shall


know th e nature of God- that Be canl10t hat~.


For it will he admilted thllt if we discem, in


uny giv en case , wh at th e conduct of Jesns


would he towards men, we a lso di scern what'


th e conduct of God wonld he. The forb ear­ance


or J esn s- the love ofJ esn s- the l~ illing­ness


ofJ esn s to bless all who followed him, ­are


only finite manifestations of th e forb ear­alice


of the Father- the love of the Father­the


willingness of the Father t~ commu n icate


happilless to all his offspring. " They Ihut


have se en me," said Jesus, " have see ll the Fa­iher"-


an illla~ e of th e Father. And ro ifwe


./


POETRy.,


nv MONTGOMF. R Y.


STANZAS.-- IUatthew 25, 40.


ORIGINAL MISCELLANY.


16


I spied him where a fountain bu rst


Clear from the Rock- His strength was gone,


" I'he heedless water mocked his thirst,


li e'heard it , saw it hurrying on-


I ran to raise th e sufferer up,


Thrice from the stre'; m he drai ned my cup,


Dipt and returned it ruo, ning 0 ' e r-


1 drank and never thirsted more.


" I\ vas night- the ' winds were ont- it blew


A winter hurrican e a loof-


' I heard his voice abroad ; and flew


" I'o bid him welcome to rny roof,


' I clothed, and warmed, and cheered my guest ,


T. lIid him on my own couch to rest ,


Then made the hearth my bed, and seeulild


IIIEden~ s gardeu while, I dreamed. '


Stript , wounded, beaten, nigh to death ,


I found him by the higbway side;


I roused his pulslI, brought back his breath,


Revived his spir it, and sup plied


' Vine, oil, refreshment: He was ' healed,


1 had mysel f a wound concealed ,


And from thllt hour forgot , the smart,


And peace bound up my brollen henrt.


\


A poor way- faring man of grief


lIath often crossed me on my way ,


And sued so humbly for relief


That I could never answer nay-


Iliad not power to ask his name,


\ Yhith er he went or whence he came;


Yet there was something in his eye


Th at won my love- I know not why .


Once when my scanty meal was spread,


He entered- not a word he spake -


W.. as perishing; for want of bread;


I ga ve hirn ali- lIe hlessedit , brake,


But gave me part again- •


Mine was an ang el' s portion then,


For while 1 fed with eager haste, ,


The crust was man na to my taste.


In, p rison, I saw him n~~ condolllu!, d _


' 1' 0 die a traitor' s death al ," lflrn : ,


T he tide of lying tongues i stemmed ,


And honored him midst shame and scorn.


iily friendship '~ utmost zeal to try ,


lie asked if I for him would die!


Th e f1 e'sh was wea ll- 1\ Iy blood ran ehill­But


the fr; e . pirit cried- I w ~ 1.


Then in a moment to my view


~ I' h e stranger darted from disguise-


T he tokens in his hands I knew,


My SAVIOUR stood before my eyes,


li e spake, and my poor name he named, ­Of


me thou hast not been ashamed,


These deeds shall thy memorial be,


' Fear not, thou didst the fu untu me.


GOil is Love-- the way to know'this.


' fo find th e s tro ng es t possihl e evidence that


God is Love, we must look withill ; for there i~


is tlmt H e reveals hi m'selfthe most glor iously .


" \ Ve kn ow him," say s the ap ostl e J ohn, ." he­canse


lie hath given us of hi s spiri t." Awl


th e, lan guage of Paul is: " No man kn oweth


th e thiugs of God, sav e th e spir it ofGod that


is in him,'" This is import ant for us to under­s


ta nd. [\ Iany th er e ar e in almos t e very com­munity


, who seem to IlUve ' th e impression


( Jeep upon th eir minds, thut nothing definite


call Le kn own re! lpectin g , God . But iil th e


trlle heart th er e is a heavenly wftn~~ s to Ilis


constant presenc e i- it is th e witness of Hi s '


own spirit. ' fhe natural man- i. e. th e illl­pu


re nlan- discern s Him not; but to those


who are see king to be all that th ey arc cap abl e


o f being, He is reveale ll'day by day. And


this is what we suppose , to be the meaning of


the Savior, ' when he says: " Blesse d ar e th e


pure in heart, fOi' they shall se e God." Hut


not a few a\ tempt to und erst ~ nd Him ., mel · ely


hy th e exerc ise of the int ellecl- olllwardly­and


hence th ey remain in Atheism . Letthem


learn that they can never receive light up on this


subj ect , only as th ey approuch a s tale of sin -


, less perfection. And let those who ar e in ­,


cl ined to look upon God with distrust- those


to wh om he appears angry and wrn. thful, see k


to be filled with ' love, and they will no lou gel'


dread him as an en emy, but rejoice in him as


a Frieud. P erfect love within us casteth out


a ll fear. Lov e in man dUcerns love in GOI\.


A nd to know what Love will do in an infi ·

Page 16 from Volume 1 of The Practical Christian 1840-1841

Ballou, Adin

1840