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24 ' filE PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN.


OlUGINAL MISOELLANY.


POETRY.


God of the mourned 0 relieve the lot


Of him to whom thy Provid ence has bro't


Th is hour ofwo: Be thou the mournertstrust , '


Now bent by grief and sorrow to. the dust.


!\ lay this. event thy wisdom overrule-..


Advancing him in virtue's trying school :


Guiding his feet in that eternnl way• .


\ Vhi ch brighter grows, e' en unto'perfect day ,


D. S. w ,


lU--, Dec . 27, 1839.


Dear Br. S ,:


AIthough it is so short " n time


since I wrote you, I cannot refrain fi'om ac­knowledg


ing yo~ r last- containing a.~ it does


. accounts of'affliction, watchings, anxiety , pains,


and I tru st of hope, r esi gna tion, a chastened


joy and gratitude, " Hope inGod," It is tru­Iy


matter of rejoicing thut we are thus COlli­manded


; so that when we feel, our weakness


and frailty , and fly to, our Fnther, we do but


fulfil on e of his gracious commands. 1 only


know by imagination a parent's feelings; yet


my nutural love for children enables me , I


tru st, to appreciate their trial s 1I 1111 anxieties in


, the s ickness and death of th eir . lilli e ones ;_


and also to con ceive of th e joy of pnreuts'


hearts wh en the. . ohJect of th e ir solicitude is


spare d, contrary to human jud~ U1 ent and proh­!


lbiJity . " lUnny, 1I tim e have I been afflicted,


hut th e Lord d eliv er ed me." , Thou ca ns t, dear


B.'., adopt th is langUllge in its literal se ns e. ­He


will deliv er; tire obed ien t an rl cu nfiding,


or se nd stre ng th equal to th eir trials. ." B1essed


is th at mun who mak eth th e Lord his trust,"


I hope, th e Lord will ing, that yo ur little


on e will soon he ab le to he removed to the


field ' of yo ur future Jabors, Go forth, my


Br., in the strength of the Lord God, lind fear


not for your success am ong th e lost of your


race . L et th e cotnpnssion of J esu s for th e ru­ined,


rest upon you co ntinuully.


Y ours in love,


" Ill that day sh all the deaf hear the WOni


of the lIook, lind the eyes of th e blind shall5ll


out ofobscurity . They also that erred insl'u,


it shall corne to understandillg, and they till


murmured sha ll learn doclrine."


sABaATH SCHOOLS , ANIl BIBLE CLASSES.


These ar e among the most important instru­mentalities


in th e hands of christians, for the


spre ad ing of thnt go sp el which brings pea ce


ou ea rth und ex cit es good ~ iII nmong I/ ICII. ­With


regard to th e ' first, I think we cannot


filii , to relllize its · imporlal1l: e , if we co nsider,


but fiJI' a moment, th e ~ ast influence that we


hnv e up on the young, and the stre llj;( th, 1I11d I


might IIImost i! aj Ihe eternal, dljrnhility of ear­Iy


imprcssiolls. Taking lIdvautnge ofthi s fi, ct,


tfie ,\! ahol/ l etlln ! cuc hes his ch ild from infllu­cy


to trearl ~ u nd e r & ot th e_ Bible; th! L!! ru nk­ard


' giv es the very babe in- its 1II0thel" s arm


the last draught of th e intoxicating cup; the


slaveholde r puts a slave IHider the power ofhis


offspr ing- thus pr eparing him to lIct his pllrl


with a tYl'llnt's Imnd; while th e warl'i ilr tllkesl


his lilli e son upon ' hi s knee, lIncl reCOUIJIs to:


him th e story of llis exploits upon the field of


bailIe- puts iIJIo his hand the miuiatllre sword


and gun, and inspires him with a s trong desire'


and even thirsting for 1I1l11' tial glory. / In the


midst '< if ali this, sholi the ch ristian be iu ac.:


tive? God forbid. Let him, in the fear of


God, use his i'nflu ence over the yOlln g' for the'


promotion ofpieiy, temperance, fi'eedom arid'


peace.


Wilh regard to. the second means, th e Bihle


Class, lrow many have heen brought to ac.


knowledge and confess Christ before men, byl


its influ en ce! In thi s lies its power and effi'!


~ acy- i t is th e stepping st on e to the churchJ


the porch ofthe sanctllary- the cour t 01 the


temple. Let it not then he d. isr egDrded.


I hope thllt th e Irrethren , who have all had


some ex pe r ience , will give the results o f thl(


cxperie nl: e a tan g ible form and shape in thel


pup al', from, tim e to tim e. Some of th e POi; lU


upon whi ch light is needed, are, the ol~ ects 01


th e schoo l, the ' 1ulllilications of tellch enl, thl


best morle of managing th e L ibrary, the UII


of Questioll Boolls, Munuals, & c. ; and til!


best meih~ d of illstrnctiOli for the Billie Clu5&


I tru st, also, th e subj ect will receive dne aI,


tention at the next Conference. }'. H.


A NE CDOTE OF A GR ENADI ER.- A gr enailil!


in Mllrshai Saxe's urmy having ' been tak en i


, the ac t of plundering, was se lllen ce d 1' 1 b


hunged. ' Vhat he had stol en was only of t~


vulue of five sh illings ; . on which th e rnal'l! hr


sa id to him, " you mu st be II pitiful fellow, I


risk yOIll' life, for five shillings."-" I heg YOl


purdou , General, I risk it eve ry day for two,


l' ence- lalllfpenny." The mar~ hal smiled, a~


pardoned him.


A. B.


P. D•


B--, MlIrch 18, 1839.


body, sou I, and - spirit may be sanctified. And


may you be comforted and hl est beyond my


pe or prayer, and guided in the way e/ el'lasting


to the home of immortality.


I pau se and look into my ' own unchasten­ed


heart; I ask myself. full often, will any


thing but the afflictive rod of my Futher re­d


nce me to perfect subjection to his will? ­Whcn


will th e flesh be crucified, e xce pt by


so me dreadful blows of be reavement ? And I


tremhle as I r eflect. I know not what to ask,


exemption from suc h blow s, or tri als irl som e


othe r WilY' . But 0, let me suy, whatever God


sees fit to lay . upon me, and wh at ev er s h IlI1


betid e me, " th.!! will , not mine, be d on e." ­Only


let me have a heart to love, and tru sts .


and ob ey him- a heart to follow J esu s- lind'


nil will he well, .• To God, ou r Fnrher, I com­mend


my Br., his eompauion, a nd th'eir sur­viving


offspring• . Your" Hr. iu Christ,


Br. S. :


, On the very sudde n rlea th of your


lilli e int er esting boy, I flrl1Y )' 011 to ac cept the ,


assuranc e of my s incere sympath y . . Ev ery •


day he was becoming more and more int er­C!


1ling to you and his affection at e mother , who


watched his dail y growth with that silent and


heartfe ii pleasure known only to IlJothe rs.-


. But a lus ! how soon that pleasu re has been


turned into grief, deep nnd heartfelt by her


and yourself. Bri ttle is th e silver co rd that


hind s us . to ench - othe r mill to life. Yet in


your youth, of six lovcly bab es, you have fol ­low


ed four to th e grave. BUl . you are nst


without comfort from your faith, wh ich tea ch ­es


you th at , though young, th ey had immortal


spirits, plac ed by th eir own nature heyond th e


. rea ch and power ofdeath; and that th ose tell­del'


immortals nr e ev en now tl'llil! in g' under


a nge lic ca re for th e blissful soc ie ty of hea\' en,


fllld th e ' glory of lIlat hlessed Savior who lovell


littl e c h ild ren, and di ed that they mi ght live.


How lovely and . sweet to YOllr hearts, my l!. r.


alld sister , mu st he the hope that yOIl shall


8ee and recognize them as bl essed heirs of


G;' t1 Ilnd . th e. Lamb" wholl1 y, ou ' ha vc heell in ­s


trumenta l of introducing. into being,- by Di ·


vin e PrQvidence, lind most gladly ha ve assist­ed


in truining for the kiiigdom of light and life'


Eternal. · W, hen you see them again, all a


inother's care s , a nd tea;: 1S will he abullduntly


rewarded , and all a fllther' s desires reuli zed. '


, 1\ l. ay Heav en kindly saoctif; ' your . bitt er


afflictions, and enrich to your hearts the con­sola


tions of his grace ; and liS he lightens your


earth ly ClIres, increase your devotion to that


( Jlessed re ligion which only can wipe tears


fi'om the eyes ofall th at moul'l1. -


Yours lIffecti on8tely,


1\ 1--, Jan. 2, 1840..,


My ~ ear and oft afflicted Dr. S. :


, 1 dilly re-ceived


YOllrs of th e 19th lilt ., nnd th er efrom


' Ieal'llt YOllr lIffliction in. tile alarming sickness


oflittle Theodore, and your consolation lit his


rescue from the grasp of th e destroyer. I trust


that by this time his health is quite restored-_


and I hope it willnht he ill- timed th at I \ Yish


yOll, in a better than the mere complime n to ry


' sen; e, " a happy new year." I do not kuow


but this will find you removed. If so, may it


also filld you comfortably s he lte red from the


cold of th is now se ve re winter. How many


lind gr eat ar e YOllroutwllrd lIfflictions, my Dr.!


How milch of discipline is it YOllr lot to ex pe­ri


en ce ! But I find you need no lesson s from


me- nothing bllt the ass ura nce ofmy frat el'lllli


sympathy. . Those blessed pr inciples , lind


trllths of Christianity, op ened to y" u in ' the


gosp el..,-- esp ecially" that ' view of th e gospel


pr esent er! il1 th e St llnrlanl, nre YOllr resoll/' ce


of strength and consolation. You nptl erstand


how to apply them; you Ira\' e already applied


them- and kno\ y by expe rie nce th at th ey are


fi'llught with all that your deepest wllnts de­mand.


'. T hroug h · much tl'ibulalion we trllIst


en te r into the Idngd oll1, - hilt it i8 our F uther's


good pl ellsure~ that th e little flock should entt'r


in. It i~ a grellt att ainlllent to be ~ h le to trust


alwllys in God"":' und to, act upon th e ussura, nce


that " a ll things work together for good to them


diat love him." Bllt we cannot d onbt thllt


this is the case. May your S a vior refresh


your soul, and turn all your trials to the e ver­lasting


good of yourself, YOUI' companion, and


little ones. YOlll' 1! in Christ, A. B.


tion, yet as th e common lot of humanity i ~ to


be tri ed in the ordeal of afflction, oth er


hearts will ,110t fail to feel th eir soothing appli­cation.


As none but ber eaved parent s know


th e depth of that wound- s- the intensity of that


gri ef, which lays in th e cold arms of death the


pledges of th eir ' affec tion, so none can more


fully appreciate words of comfort fitly spoken.


HEmce I am sure those who hav e been call­ed


to sh ed the parental tear upon the clay- im­age


oftheir departed lambs, will with vmelan-,


choly pleasure tre asure in th ei r hearts words


of profit and condolence. .


\ Vithout being tedious, I may perhaps sp eak


II word personally, before presenting the cor ­respondence,


And in doing so I sha ll give a


strong, if not the stron gest reason, wh y I de­sire


to pla ce wh at follow s on record. I love


in secr et silence ' to dwellnpon th e past. It


afford s me solid comfort to lirin g ' my mind


frequently int ~ eommunlon with those sce nes


which c has tened my deceitful anti wieked


heart ; c urbed my j; r ide and worldly nrnbitiou,


and led me . to seek after , th e substantia l j oys


ofthnt kingdom which is not of thi s world, ­Each


thoug ht an~ 1 sc en e wlli~ h lead s me from


th e noise a nd strife of earth to th e si lence of


• 1


th e sick chamber, the solemnity of th e dying


bed, the subdued calmness of my ' walk s to the


silent grave, I hail with holy pleasure, A nd


wh en an ger , resentment, prid e, 01' levity, ­tempt


me fro~ th e path my Savior ir~ d, I find


a read y ch eck in pass ing ha ck to tho se mourn­fill


season s which ' called me to view all things


of cre atu re I!' 0od, ns deceitful and false . . Oh


th er e is truth and blessedness in th e words of


David- " lt is good for me that I hav e been af-l'Iicted


." .


And now to th e correspondence. !\ Tay it


lig hten so me burdened henrt- e- ense som e 1111 ­guished


s pir it that in the hittemess of gri ef is


saying-" Ha ve pit y, h~ ve pit y up on me, 0


ye my ft'iends ; for th e hand of God hath


touched me." G. w. S.


M--, lUarch 13, l 839.


l\ Iy Dear Affli cted Brother :


Your ~ I o u rn fu l


letter came to hand this day; an ifill Corms me


that the al, lgel of d'entb has visi ted yo ur family


agai! t; for tlie fifth time- that a fourth llading .


infant sleeps in J esu s! ( hastened to commu­nicate


the , sad news to Mrs. B. who listenetlto


yourleller with tears of sympathy and grief.


Oh uri certain and sorrowful world! Oh Ville


of trial anrl afflction! If th er e were no better,


well mi ght th ose who are ber eav ed like my'


b'eloved Br. and S ister mourn as without hope,


under th eir sudden a ua oft repeated losses ! ­But,;


IOWhow' different YOUI' cas e! Though '


you ca n say ' in t he anguish of su nde re d . tie s,


" have p. ity, have pity upon us, 0 oltr fri ends;


for th e hand of G od hath touched us"- yet in


another point of vie w; you min '" rejoice in


tr ibul ation," and feel that th ese " light affli c­Ih:>


Ils which are but for a moment 00 work


out for you a fal' more exceerling'an d eternal


weight ofglory .; while you look not at the


th jog s that are seen, but at the · th ings uuseen,


which are eternal." ...


Ifwe Wet'e doom ed to SillY here for evel',


always separated from the lo~ ed objects of our


affect! on~ how dreadful d eath would be liS ~ he


despoiler ofour families. But now they pre­cede


us for a littl e while, tllken awt~ y, n'o


doubt, " from'the e vil to come .." A: nd wh er e


are those innocent cherubs ? With J e& us in


Paradise. Do you not," weeping p_ arents, hea r


that gentle voice wh ispering in ~ t l l ese visita­tions,


" sntrer littl e children to come unto me


and foruid them not; for of such is th e king­dom


of heaven." 0 how mu ch tr easure


have you now in heaven, Illid ' up' \ yhere no


moth can corrupt, no dart of death can pen e­trate.


SlIt'ely, " where your trensul'e is there


will your heart be also!" And if so, how


much more to he envied a're you, th an if filled


with all earth'ly good yet de stitute of th e Jove


of God and the hope of heaven. 0, belov ed


. brothel' and sister, here is your victory ' over


the world. A littl e while, and you shall see


those lov ed ones never more to part. Only


make heaven and God your chief good. So


frequetitly admonished, look for nothin g more


on eal, th than nature's wants demand- look


beyond. Surely you would not call one of


those angels back to dust, a ~ d sin, and wo'e,


and all th e uncertainties of this l1Iortal ch. equer


board. Pray for grace. Pray that )' our whole '


.. ..


..


..


..


.


CONSOLAT ORY ' CORRE SPONDE NCE.


With the fact in view that life is emphatic­ally


a " vale oftllllrs,"~ that broken hearts aud


anguish ed bosoms are constantly walking to


the man sion s of the grave, I have concluded


that the following Consolatory GorrespOlid ­ence,


may profitably occupy a splice in ~ he


' P ractica l Chllistian. Although sO~ le senten­ce


s lOlly & eem to have an ind ividua l applica -


God of the orphan ! hear the orphans' prayer­And


take them UDder thine Almighty care:


Be thou their God, their Guardian. and their Guide ,


Whate'er of ill or sorrow mayfbet ide,


O !, may these lambs of the dear Sa vior' s choice


Listen atte ntive ~ o his kindly voice, ..


Jo ining the fold) n this their day of youth,


Ofhim who is the Way, the Life, the Truth, .


F , H ,


For the Practical Christian.


00 the Death of a Wire and IUotller.


Father of mercies, who art all in all !


Hear U8, thy children, while on thee we call;


W ilt thou thy grace in rich abundance shed,


That we may heed this warning from the dead.


Thy Providence has spoken: may its voice


' Lead everyone to make the better choice,..


Lead us to thee, our Father and ODr Friend,


And make our earthly spirits heavenward bend.


CHRIST IN THE GARDEN,


\ Vhil e nature was Binking in s il ellc~ to rest,


The last beams ' of day- light shone dim in the


West ;


O'er fields by the moonl igb t a lonely retreat,


ID deep, meditation. I wandered to seek.


\ Vhil e passing a garden. I halted to hear


A voice faint and falt'ring, from one that was


there ; .


Th e voice of the mourner affected my heart,


Whil e: pl eading in anguish, the poor sinn er ' s part,


In'off'ring to Heaven his pi. tying prayer ,


He spake onhe torments the sinner lIlust bear ;


His life a8 a ransom he offered to give,


That sinners r~ deem ed, in glory might live.


I listened a moment, then turn'd me to see,


Wha( man of compassion the strallger could '~ ~


When lo! I discover'o'knelt on the cold ground,


T~ e lov! lliest Being on. earth ,: ver found.


Hi. mantle was wet with the dews of the night.


H is locks by pale moonlight, were glit'ring and '


bright,


Hi s eyea bright like diarilOnds to Heaven \ verg


rais'd J


. While angels in wondee "' ood round Ilim amazed .


' So deep wa s hi~ sorrow, . o fervent his praJ · er,


That down o' e; his bosom, rolled sweat, blood.


and tears;


1 wept to behold him, ani:! askod him hi. name,


. He answered, " tis JE SUS, from Heaven I came.


I ~' m thy Redeemer, for thee I must di e , :


. The cup is most painful, hut caDnot pass by;


Thy sins like a mounta in~ are laid upon me,


And all this deop anguish I suffer for the e."


I heard with att ention the tale of his woe, •


While tears like a fountain of water dill flow;


' fhe cause of his sorrow ' to hear . him repeat ,


Affecte'd my heart ; an4 I feil at his feet.


ADd trembling with horror I boldly did cry,


" Lord, save a poor sinner, oh, save, or I die;"


He smiled when he sawm e, and said to me. .. Ii.... e,


Thy sins, which are many, I freely forgive."


110": sweet was the moment he bade me rejoice,


How pleauDt his smilo, oh, how charming hi. voice;


I flew from the garden to spread it abroad,


I shouted " Salvation, oh, glory to God. "


I'm now on my journey to mansions above ,


My soul's full of glory. of peace; light, and love;


i think of the g~ rd en, the prayer, and the tears,


Of that lovely straDger that banished my fears .


The day of redemption is rolling aro'imd, .


' When Gabriel. descendiDg. the trumpet shall souDd;


My ~ oulthen in raptures of glory shall rise,


' fo gaze a? the straDger with unclouded e}' es.

Page 24 from Volume 1 of The Practical Christian 1840-1841

Ballou, Adin

1840